Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-11
R0OSEVtLT'S IRRIGATION LETTER
Greatest Problem Now is to Evolve Plan to Keep
Down Speculation and Encourage Home
Making on the Lands.
Making on the Lands.

you ol the west. his Is the forest SER
vice. which was created when the
charge Of the forest reserves was
transferred from the interior depart-
ment to the department of agriculture.
The forest policy Of the administration,
which the forest service Is engaged in
carrying out, is based, as l have often
said. on the vigorous purpose to make
every resource of the forest reserves
contribute In the highest degree to the
permanent prosperity of the people,
VINO depend upon them. II ever the
time should come when the western
forests are destroyed, there will disap-
pear with them the prosperity of the
stockman, the miner, the lumberman,
and the railroads, and, most Important
OF all. the small ranchman who culti-
Yates his own land. I know that YOU
are with me In the intention to pre-.
serve the timber the water, and the
grass by using them fully. but wisely
and conservatively. We propose to do
this through the freest and most cor.
dial cooperation between the govern.
ment and every man who Is In sympa-
thy with this policy, the wisdom OF
Whlch no man who knows the facta
can for moment doubt.
1t is now less than two years since
the forest service was established. II
nao great task before ito create
or reorganize the service on hundred
TOT reserves and to ascertain and meet
the very different local conditions and
local needs all over the west. Th4s
task IS not finished, and Of course II
could not have been finished In SO
snort a time. But the work has been
carried forward with energy ana fn-,
telllgence and enough has been done
to show how our forest policv In vvorh1d
ing out. "
The result of first importance 10 yo,t
as trrigators is this: The forest aerv,..
ice mas proved that forest fires can
%, pc controlled by controlling them, On
~ one-tenth Of one per cent OF the
area OF the forest reserves was burned
over In 1905. This achievement was
que Doth to the forest service and to-
me enect1ve assistance of settlers and
e1l IN and near the reserves Everyl
thlng inc government has ever spent
upon it's forest work is a small nrioe
10 pay for the knowledge that the
streams which make you prosperity.
can be and are being freed from tts
represent threat of forest fires.
me long standing and formerly bit-
Ter d1frerences between the stookmen
and the forest offices are nearly ali ret
tied. Those which remain are IN
process OF settlement. Hearty co-op-
eratlon exists almost everywhere be-
tween the officers Of the forest service
and the local associations of stocknen.
VINO are appointing advisory commit
tees which are systematically consult-
ca oy the forest service on all uues-
IONS In which they are concerned.
rms most satisfactory condition OF
mutual help will be as welcome to Won
as a., 1t is to the administration and to
lne stockmen. To the stockmen it
means more and more certain. era ss.B
to you, because of the better protection
ana wiser use of the range it means
stead1er flow and more water
Inc sales of forest reserve timber. TO
settlers, miners. lumbermen, and other
users, are increasing very rapidly. and
IN mat way also the reserves are sue
cessfuiiy meeting growing need.
LANDS In the forest reserves that are
more valuable for agriculture than for
forest purposes are being opened to
settlement and entry as fast as their
agricultural character can be asoer.
tanned. There is therefore no longer
excuse for saying that the reserves re-
tard the legitimate settlement ana de-
velpoment of the country. On tho
contrary, they promote and sustain
' ~ Stopiiieiil' ana tney Will do SO
~ no way more powerfully then
through their direct contributions to
the schools and roads. Ten per cent OF
all the money received from the for
est reserves goes to the states for the
use OF the counties in which the re-
serves lie to be used for schools and
roads. Inc amount of this contribute
tion 10 nearly $4,000 for the first year,
IL Will grow steadily larger and viii
q certain mr.
OF income, which would not have been
the case with the taxes whose place II
takes.
Finally, a body Of Intelligent, prao-
tlcal, well-trained men, citizens Of thu
west. Is being built up by men In
whose hands the public interests, In.
Guiding your own. are and win be
safe.
All these results are good, but they
nave not been achieved by the forest
service alone. On the contrary, they
represent also the needs and SUCCESS
lions Of the people Of the whole west.
They embody constant changes and ads
1ustment to meet these suggestions end
needs. The forest policy of the govern
ment In the west has now become what
the west desired it to be, 1t Is a ma
t1onal policy-wider than the boundar.
les Of any state, and larger than tho
interests Of any single industry. OF
course 1t cannot give any set Of men
exactly what they would choose. Uns
doubtedly the irrigator would often
like to have less stock on his waters
sheds, while the stockman wants moro.
The lumberman would like to cut rnore
timber, the settler and the miner
would often like to have him cut less.
The county authorities want to sea
more money coming in for schools and
roads while the lumberrnan and the
stockman object to the rise In value OF
timber and grass. But the interests OF
the people as whole are, repeat. safe
in the hands Of the forest service.
BY keeping the public forests In tho
public hands our forest policy substi-
tutes the good OF the whole people for
the profits Of the privileged few. with
that result none will quarrel except the
men who are losing the chance of per-
sonal profit at the public expense.
Our western forest policy Is based
upon meeting the wishes Of the best
public sentiment OF the whole west. II
proposes to create new reserves
wherever forest lands still vacant ara