The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-01-26
SCENE IN MINNESOTA.
Timber Devastation After LAUNDERING and Fire.

dents address yesterday and one of
his sentences struck me very forcibly.
He said: I'VE want to change the
hope of accomplishment to the knowI-
edge of things done. III we are go
ing to do that we must have clear
cut idea of what we are going to do
$50 plain and clear that there is no
possibility of any man being so stupid
that he cannot understand it.
We have listened to these gentlemen
here today telling of the necessities of
the mining Industries and of the injus
tice brought about by insufficient
laws. There is a most simple way to
get all the things done that they have
recommended, and more, too. The first
is to come to a perfect understanding
with business bureau of the govern
ment, IL we can create such bureau,
and the way to do that is to pass the
bill consolidating the forest reserves
under the control of Clifford Pinchot.
(ApplauSe) And after you have done
that and he has consulted with the
lumberman and the miner and the far
mer and understands what they want,
then back him up and make your con-
gresham help to get it done.
a Case of Mastery Inactivity.
Let us look at the business end of
that proposition. Other things be-
sides bees have business ends. For a
number of years the president of the
United States, the secretary of the in
general land office have been trying to
impress upon congress, without sue
cess, the necessity of repeating the
timber and stone act l want to give
cember, 1902, more than two years
ago, called the attention of congress in
the strongest possible language to the
necessity of doing something to stop
the frauds and depredations upon the
public domain under the timber and
stone act. The secretary said in his
annual report more than two years
ago:
The timber and stone act will If
not repealed or radically amended, re-
suit ultimately in the complete de-
struction of the timber on the unap-
propriated and unreserved public
lands"
l find these words In the report Of
the senate committee on the public
lands, and the date is February 70,
1903:
1T can be plainly seen that all the
valuable timber lands of the United
States will be owned by spectators
within three. years If the opportunity |
to acquire them at $3.50 an acre Is
That was February 10, 1903, 1t is !
now pretty close to February 10, 1905, |
and one year from that date the three
years will be exhausted and all the |
timber land will be gone according to |
this official statement.A |
Has the bill been repealed? No!
Has the house of representatives
done anything to stop this shameful |
waste of the public property under the |
timber and stone act? No!
They have done nothing whatever to |
stop the abuses and frauds constantly |
being committed under that act.
President Sees the Necessity.
Again the following year the presi- |
dent In his message to congress made /
substantially the same Recommended
lions, They were t. seiterate Tse oy n .ae
committee on public lands recon-
mended a bill to repeal the timber and
stone act and the senate passed the
went to the public lands committee of
the house of representatives. t. b. |
Walker appeared before that commit
tee and waved his magic wand and |
the bill out of eighteen members of
the committee. Two votes! And the |
bill is lying there in that committee |
In this session of congress without
waiting for anything, or for anybody /
to do anything they passed resolu- I
ton in the public lands committee of
the house continuing this whole sub
ject over until the next session OF
congress.
The next session of congress will
convene at a time within two months
Of the expiration Of the three years
told congress that all the timber land
would be gone unless they got action:
In the two years that have expired I
since the president has called the at |
tention of congress to that timber and i
stone law there have been located under |
the timber and stone act over $1,000
600 acres of timber land the greater
mart Of IL the magnificent timber OF |
the northwest, which, according to the /
report of the secretary OF the interior
and the commissioner of the general
land office, is worth anywhere from
$40 to 500 an acre for the mere value |
OF the stumpage, to say nothing or the
young timber or the land ITSELF
Four Miltion Dollar Loss.
In other words, as a result Of the
deliberate delay of the public lands
COMMITTEES of the house. instead OF
havfnr the value Of the stumpage from
that 5000, 900 acres of timber in the
national treasury we have parted with