Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-12-06

hamilton sefvice,, y corps ~ engineers
selected through. competitive civil serv-
Ice examinati Ions. This corps includes
experienced consulting and construct
ing engineers as well as various ex-
perts III mechanical and legal matters
and Ii compSsed largely OF men who
have spent most Of: their lives In prac-
teal affairs connected with Irrigation.
The larger problems have been solved,
and 1t now remains to execute with
care, economy and thoroughness the
work which has been laid out. All im-
portant details are being carefully con-
Bidered by boards of consulting en-
gtneers, selected for their thorough
knowledge and practical experience.
Each project IL taken up on the ground
by competent men and Viewed from
the standpoint OF the creation Of pros
porous homes and Of promptly refund
ing to the treasury the cost Of construc-
ton. The reclamation act has been
found to be remarkably complete and
effective and so broad In Its provisions
that a. wide range Of undertakings has
been possible under 1t. At the same
time economy IL guaranteed by the
fact that the funds must ultimately be
rsturned to be used over again. ~
..,..,:... as1 q, Forests, I : .,...5. = ''''
It is the cardinal principle Of the
forest reserve policy Of this admins
.tration that the reserves are for use.
Whatever interferes with the use Of
their resources is to be avoided by ev-
cry possible means. But these re-
resources must be used In such way
90 to make them permanent. ,.a=
The forest policy Of the government
II just now a subject Of vivid public
interest throughout the west and to the
people of the United States in general.
The forest reserves themselves are Of
extreme value to the present as we'll as
to the future welfare of all the west
ern public land states: They powerful
ly affect the use and disposal Of the
public lands, They are of special i'm
portance because they preserve the
water supply and the supply of timber
for domestic purposes and so promote
settlement under the reclamation act
Indeed they are essential to the well
fare Of every one Of the great interests
Of the west, '"s- 's.-~"; 80 : ) IT, ro-
Forest reserves are created for two
principal purposes. The first is to pre-
serve the water supply. This Is their
most important use. The principal
users of the water thus preserved are
irrigation ranchers and settlers, cities
and towns to whom their municipal
water supplies are Of the very first Inn
portance, users and furnisElers Of wa:
ter power and the users Of water for
domestic, manufacturing, mining and
other purposes. All these are directly
dependent upon the forest reserves. >
The second reason for which forest
reserves are created is to preserve the
timber supply for various classes Of
wood users. Among the more impor-
tant Of these are settlers under the
reclamation act and other acts, e. for
whom a cheap and accessible supply
Of timber for domestic uses is absolute
~ necessary; miners and prospectors,
who are in serious danger of losing
their timber supply by fire or through
export by lumber companies when TIM
Der lands adjacent to their mines pass
into private ownership; lumbermen,
transportation companies, builders and
commercial interests in general. :rf
Although the wisdom Of creating for
est reserves Is nearly everywhere
heartily recognized, yet in few locali-
ties there has been misunderstanding
and complaint. The following state
ment is therefore desirable: s'' =,
The forest reserve policy can be sue
cessful only when it has the full sup
port of the people Of the west. It can
not safely and should not in any case
be imposed upon them against their
will. But neither can we accept the
views Of those whose only interest III
the forest is. temporary, who are anx-
ious to reap what they have not sown
and then move away, leaving desola-
ton behind them. On the contrary, it
70 everywhere and always the interest
Of the permanent settler and the per-
manent business man, the man with a
stake in the country, which must be
considered and which must decide.
The making Of forest reserves within
railroad and wagon road land grant
limits will hereafter, as for the past
three years, be so managed as to pre-
vent the issue under the act of June 4,
1897, Of base for exchange or lieu sc.
lection usually called scrip. In all
cases where forest reserves within
areas covered by land grants appear to
be essential to the prosperity Of set
tiers, miners or others the government
lands within such proposed forest re-
serves viii, as III the recent past, be-
withdrawn from sale OF entry pending
the completion OF such negotiations;
with the owners Of the land grants as,
viii prevent the creation Of so called
scrip. ~ sssa
II was formerly the custom to make
forest reserves without first getting
definite and detailed information as to
the character OF land and timber with
In their boundaries This method Of
action often resulted Is badly chosen
boundaries and consequent injustice to