Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1904-02-25
THE FOREST RESERVES
Officials Deliberate in Deciding
on Questions.

A good principle underlies the
system of forest reserves. There can
be no doubt of the efficacy of timber
belts along mountain SUBMITS and
their lateral ridge IN the preservation
of the summer supply of water for the
inhabited and cultivated sections ON
the lower levels. There can be no
rational dissent from this general
proposition and there is general ac.
quiescence in the establishment of
forest reserves for this purpose.
But, aside from this consideration,
there is no important reason for
withholding the timber resources of
the country from being used by the
people who inhabit it. Good system
as it is, however, it has been overdone
in many instances, at the suggestion,
without doubt. of land speoulators, un-
til thousands of acres of land in no
manner helpful towards preserving u
water supply nor even valuable for its
timber, have been incorporated within
forest reserves permanently, or with
drawn, temporarily, as is claimed, un-
til their location and character can be
Investigated.
Out Of this tendency to increase the
boundaries of forest reserves beyond
all reason, have grown the immense
land frauds which have startled the
country within the last few years, as
we'll as the loss to settlement of large
tracts of lands which have been secured
through the advantages afforded
through the lawful working of unjust
laws.
One of the vexations attending this
wholesale Withdrawing Of vast tracts
of lands from settlement of other pub
lie disposition is the dilatoriness with
which the land department of the gov
ernment in its various subdivisions,
performs its. work. A man who de-
sires piece of land, as rule, wants
it during his life time. whereas, the
land department continues from gen
Grafton to generation. There are few
things on this mundane sphere slower
than a government official, unless il is
two such officials working together. In
such cases, deliberation can be seen in
all the perfection of its matured de-
yelopment. And during this pro-
tracted period OF elaboration, the I'M
patient settler wants to secure tract
of land but must wait until it is ex-
amined and reported upon by some in
spector whose job is his sole means Of
subsistence, and, therefore, must be
made coexistent with the probable
length Of his life. And after he is
through with his Investigation, some
other man in some other department
that the ordinary man never heard of
before, is sent out to examine and con
firm the former report, If he can.
In the meantime. the settler dies
from old age or leaves the country in
disgust for some other location.
Some Of these proposed reserves ex-
tend down into the western foothills
Of the Cascade mountains and include
thousands Of acres with scattering pine
trees, not timber lands in the sense of
being valuable for their timber, nor
aifording any sort of protection to the
water supply. Besides, much Of this
land is Of the bost character for the
raising Of gram, grass and fruit.
Some of the very best fruit land in
Union county is on land Of this nature
having been cleared If its timber be-
fore planting to fruit trees.
There is no doubt that the porma.
nent reserves have in some instances
been extended beyond their proper
limits, but certainly the large tracts
being temporarily withdrawn" are
not Of such nature as to justify even
a passing consideration Of the proposed
moyement And the worst feature OF
it is the fatiguingly deliberate man
ner in which the land department pro.
ceeds in the matter of deciding these
important questions. Salem States
man