The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-07

timber supply by fire CT through export by lumber companies when timber lands adjacent to their mines pas Into private ownership: lumbsrmsn. transportation conn paniss. builders. and commercial tnterests n generalA
 Although the wisdom of creating forest | reserves is nearly everywhers heartily rec osnised. yet in . few localities there has | been misunderstanding and complaint The following statement is therefore desirable. The forest-reserve policy can be success | ful only when 1t has the full support 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 inter
 est, in the forest Is temporary; who are anx- | ious to reap what they have not sown and | then move away. leaving iesolation behind them. On the contrary. it is everywhere
 and always the interest of the permanent | settler and the permanent business man. the
 man with . stake in the country. which
 must be considered and which must decide. The making of forest reserves within rail- | road and wagon-road 1and-grant limits will hereafter. as for the past three years. l be % managed as to prevent the issue. under the act of June (. 1887. of base for exchange or lieu selection Casually called scrip): In | all eases whore forest reserves within areaa covered by land grants appear to be essen- | tiaI to the prosperity of settlers. miners. or | others; the Government lands within such proposed forest reserves will e in the re- cent past. be withdrawn from sale or entry pending the completion of such negotiations | with the owners Of the land grants e will prevent the creation of s6-eaIIed scrip. It was formerly the custom to make for est reserves without first gettins definite and detailed information as to the character l of land and timber within their boundaries
 This method of action often resulted in bad iy chosen boundaries and consequent in. justice to settlers and others. Therefore this Administration adopted the present | method of first withdrawing the land from disposal. followed by careful examination on the ground and the preparation of detail- l ed maps and descriptions. before any forest reserve is created. {i have repeatedly called attention to the confusion which existed in Government for- est matters because the work l. scattered The United States Is the only ono of the great nations in which the forest work of the Government is not concentrated under one department, in consonance with the plainest dictates of good administration and common sense. The present arrangement is bad from every point of view. Merely to mention 1t is to prove that 1t should be ter minated at once. As have repeatedly rec commended, all the forest work of the Gov ernment should be concentrated in the De- partment of Agriculture. where the larger part of that work Is already done. where practically all of the trained foresters of the Government are employed. where chief ly in Washington there is comprehensive first hand knowledge of the problems of the | reserves acquired on the ground. where all problems relating to growth from the soil are already gathered. and where all the sciences auxiliary to forestry are at hand for prompt and affective cooperation. These reasons arc decisive in themselves, but it should be added that the great organixa- tions of citizens whose interests are affect ed by the forest reserves, such as the Ma tional Live Stock Association. the National Wool Growers Association. the American Mining Congress. the National Irrigation Congress. and the National Board of Trade. have uniformly. emphaticaiiy, and most of them repeatedly, expressed themselves in favor of placing all Government forest work in the Department of Agriculture be- cause of the peculiar adaptation of that De- partment for 1t. It fs true. also, that the forest services of nearly all the great ma. tions of the world are under the respective departments of agriculture. while in but two of the smaller nations and in one colony are they under the department of the interior That Is the result of long and varied experi- ence and 1t agrees fully with the require ments of good administration in our own case. .s.
 The creation of . forest service in the De- partment, of Agriculture will have for its important results: First. A better handling of all forest work. because 1t will be under a single head. and because the vast and indispensable ex- perience of the Department in all matters pertaining to forest reserves. to forestry in general. and to other forme of production. from the soil. will be easily and rapidly &C., cessible.
 Second. The reserves themselves. being handled from the point of view of the man in the field. instead of the man in the off, fices will be more easily and more widely useful to the people of the West than has been the case hitherto.
 Third. Within comparatively short time the reserves will become self supporting. This is important. because continually and rapidly increasing appropriations will be necessary for the proper care of this exceed ingly important interest of the Nation. anu they can and should be offset by returns from the National forests Under similar circumstances the forest possessions of oth- CT great nations form an important source of revenue to their governments,
 Every administrative officer is convinced of the necessity for the proposed consolida- tion of forest work in the Department of Agriculture. and I myself have urged it more than once in former messages. Again I commend 1t to the early and favorable consideration of the Congress. The interests of the Nation at large and of the West in particular have suffered greatly because of the delay.
 Public Lands.
 call the attention of the Congress again to the report and recommenjation of the Commission the Public Lands forwarded by me to the second session of the present Congress. The Commission has prosecuted its Investigations actively during the past season. and second report is now in an advanced stage Of preparation.
 Game Preserves.
 In connection with the work of the forest reserves I desire again to urge upon the Congress the importance of authorizing the President to set aside certain portions of these reserves other public lands as game refuges for the preservation of the bison. the wapiti. and other large beasts once 50 abundant in woods and mountains and on our great plains. and now tending toward extinction. Exery support should be given to the authorities of the Yellowstone Park in their successful efforts at preserving the large creatures therein; and at very little expense portions of the public domain in other regions which are wholly unsuited to agricultural settlement could be similarly utilized. We owe 1t to future generations to keep alive the noble and beautiful creatures which by their presence add such distinc- tive character to the American wilderness. The limits of the Yellowstone Park should be extended southwaris. The Canyon of the Colorado should be made national park; and the national park system should include the Yosemite and many possible Of the groves of giant trees in California.
 Pensions.
 The veterans of the Cival War have claim upon the Nation such as no other hnd of 1ifi PNnGiOn