Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1904-03-18
LAW
CHANGES
Senator Quarles' Measure for
Sale Of Government Timber
Reported Favorable.
TO Be AUCT|ONED OFF
Strong Effort to increase Appropriation
for Agricultural CslIeess in States
and Territories.

washington, March 1.-THE favor
able report today on the Quarles bill
providing for the sale OF government
timber by auction, is regarded as the
end of all efforts to effect a repeal o1
public land laws at this session. The
bill practically repeals the timber ACT
and leaves the stone acS. the desert
land law and communication clause OF
the homestead act still open to dis.
pute as to their proposed repeal. The
report of the Presidents public lands
commission, when it comes out, will
probably have much to do with the
question of a further change in the
present law.
Senator Hansbrough offer d and had
accepted an amendmeR# to the
Quarles bill, which applies the pro-
ceeds of the sale of timber'to the arid
land reclamation fund.
No bill introduced in Congress in
several years has been pushed with
more vigor by it's friends s,r fought
more stubbornly by it's enemies than
the original bill fathered by Senator
Quarles, which provided for the ru
peal Of the timber and stone act, the
desert land act and the communication
clause Of the homestead law. For two
years the committee on public lands
has had the measure almost constantly
before it, and the heated cos tests have
been SO frequent that they threatened
many times to break the personal re-
cro rd in urI,i oh bn ,,,n ho
mittee had been no excepi ion. Last
year the committee reported the bill
over the head of the chairman, Sena.
tor Hansbrough, but he served notice
that it could not be passed, and II lied
with the Congress. This year all the
Democratic members of the commit
tee, except Senator Dubois & "a three
Republican members-ssea, atorl Bard
Nelson and Dietrich We're again
against him. making majority of one
in favor of reporting the land bill.
Chairman Hansbrough declined to put
the motion for reporting the bill with
out having a chance to be heard in OPP
position to the measure. He was
charged with filibustering, but remain
ed steadfast. That was at the meeting
last week, and the committee was
compelled to adjourn without taking
action Chairman Hansbrough talked
to members of the committee individu-
ally, and gave as his view that the bill,
if passed, would upset the land laws
of the entire country and turn to Can
ada the great stream of immigration
that was now building up the west. He
declared the homestead law vital to
the interests of the unimproved west,
and suggested to the friends of the bill
that a measure be introduced for the
repeal of the timber and stone act
only. He won Senator Nelson to the
same view, and the bill was intro
duced by Senator Quarles and approv-
ed by the committee.
The public lands committees of both
the House and Senate were in session
this morning, the main business OF
each being the consideration of bills
pertaining to timber lands. The Sen
ate committee agreed to report bill
that timber upon public
lands, after being duly appraised,
should be sold at auction to the high
est bidder, instead of by the acre at a
stipulated price as heretofore. This
practically repeals the present timber
law.
The House committee reconsidered
bill affecting lieu lands and
reported it back favorably, with the
that persons now holding |
timbered lands within forest reserves
would be allowed to select timbered |
lands in lieu thereof. The bill pro-
vides that worthless lands within re-
serves shall not be exchanged for tim
bered lands on the public domain.
The agricultural appropriation bill
is still hung up by the conference COM
mittee appointed to agree on amend |
ments added to the bill by the Senate,
among which is the provision of $780,
900 for cattle feeding experiments in |
the west.
Congressman Brooks expressed his |
opinion, this morning that an appro !
priation Of $25,O0O would be allowed |
for this work and the Fort Collins ex-
pertinent station would get it's share,
in spite of the belief held by several
that all amendments added to the bill |
by the Senate would eventually fail.
The conference will not proceed until
the return of Representative Wads-
worth from the south next week.
The House committee on agriculture
is holding hearings on a bill to pro-
vide $4,000 additional annual appropri-
alton for state agricultural expert
mental stations and a gradual in
crease of this amount annually until
the present appropriation of $4,000 is
The station at the state agri-
college at Fort Collins will be {
affected by this bill.