The Glenwood post., 1905-11-25


W, rk, ard above all, take them in
young and let them grow into the
knowledge, training, and discipline
of the service and finally into its
higher places, as they may show
themselves worthy.
Until recently the only source Of
revenue from the forest reserves came
from the sale of timber and it was
insignificant in amount, because little
was sold. We are selling the matured
timber now under rules which insure
the safety of the forest. instead of let
ting it fall and decay, and the reve-
nue. from that source will increase
many fold. We shall make reason
able charge hereafter for grazing in
the reserves, because it is just and
fair that we should do so and because
the attorney general has dcided that
we have the right. And we shall
charge for certain other privileges,
also, SO l am not without hope that
the net cost to the treasury for the
national forest work may be reduced
from more than 80 per cent of the
gross cost during the last fiscal year
before the creation of the forest SER
vice. to less than so per cent for the
first fiscal year after it. And every
dollar that comes in gives us more
power to protect the reserves and
make them useful to you.
"Until recently the forest officers
kinds of trespass OF too nearly so.
Now they have the right to arrest for
violation of the law and regulations
and the fact that they have it is the
best of all guarantees that they will
not have to use it. But because of it
the reserves will be safer against fire
and more helpful to every man who
needs them.
''Finally, I have taken all the work
l could away from Washington, and
given it to the men on the ground.
Whether or not a settler may Craze
few head of stock or a merchant buy
$50 worth of logs, is now no longer
decided by a clerk in Washington
who never saw forest reserve, but
by man who knows the settler and
the merchant. the cattle and the
trees, and he will be held to rigid
account for deciding promptly and
rightly, through the personal exami-
nation of inspecting officers on the
ground.
"To sum up the new policy in few
words the forest service is trying to
combine a knowledge of forestry and
local conditions with business princi
Piles and common sense, in the effort
to give the reserves their highest use
fulness, and by 50 doing to make them
pay their way. And | believe we
can do it.
At the same session in the forestry
section presided over by Mr.. Pinchot
himself MIR. Lawrence of Oregon read
paper on "Grszing on Forest Re-
serves" which was apparently ap-
proved by Mr.. Pinchot and from
which we quote a paragraph as fol-
lows:
Legally and morally the stockmen
have no more right to the grass upon
the public lands than the Iumbermen
have to the timber. There was a
time when those who objected to the
stripping of timber from public lands
by private lumbermen were regarded
as ascetics and prudes. That time is
not so remote as we wish it were, but
it is to be observed from recent events
that lumbernen have grown very
careful to go through the forms of
law to get their timber, even if there
be, in given instances, something
lacking for satisfaction of the spirit of
the law. The stockmen have also
been active in getting control of land.
it is tue. but their motive has been
to put themselves in position to de-
prive competitors of needful range, to
keep others stock away 1t has not
been through recognition of grass as
valuable property. in the same sense
that timber is. But i believe the
time for such recognition is fast com
ing. Indeed, l think we can regard
the comparative absence of protest
against the proposal to charge a per
capita fee for grazing privileges on
the reserves as evidence of such recog-
milton at this time. Grass is a valu-
able property in the same sense that
timber is.
Custom, however. has long sane
toned the grazing of private flocks
and herds upon unoccupied lands.
whether such lands were in govern
ment or private ownership, and in
the adjustment to new economic condi
tions it has been deemed wise to do as
little violence as possible to establish
practice. There are many obvious
reasons for this Those who care