Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1906-01-27

of $4,000 a day-$2,00O,0 600 a month
S2o,UOU,UOO year, and it is much more
than that-will so right along and
continue until all the timber land of
tAe, government has been stolen That
VIII be little over a year, according
to the report of the senate public
lands committee. And after the land
IS all gone-after the horse has been
stolen-the house public lands COM
mittee Will awaken from it's Rip Van
Wrinkle slumbers and close the stable
door with a bang.
Some Things to Do.
Before | close 1 wish to specify
some definite and SPECIFIC things which
should be done;
Ftrst-Repoal the timber and stone
act.
Seeond--Pass the consolidation bill
putting the government forests under
the management OF the bureau Of for
Cstry.
Third-Provlde by national legisla-
tlon that every acre OF agricultural
Iand that can be reclaimed under the
national irrigation system must be
saved Tor the hOmemaker who will go
there and make a home upon it.
IN lAat way you can break up the
timber combinations, and in that way
only; because the land thieves of
NORTH Dakota, under the Communication
clause; the land thieves of Montana,
under the desert land act, the land
thieves under the timber and stone act
ln-Well, perhaps | might be permitted
to mention oregon Qaughter) are
working together. You wll have to
explode some Of those Japanese shells
among them to break up the cOmpi-
nation.
TO show you why we cannot depend
upon congressman from the timber
states Of the west to correct this enor~
nous eYll, year ago both oregon
senators and both representatives
from Oregon were bitterly opposed to
any change in the land laws. Repre-
sehtatlYes Hermann and Williamson
both went before the committee and
protested against any change Mr..
hermann was before the committee.
AT lhat exact moment the Oregon
grand Jury was in session in the city
CT Portland, composed of men drawn
by lot from all over the state, and that
grand jury urged the repeal of all
those laWs-the timber and stone act,
the desert land act and the commuta-
tlon clause-and sent a memorial to
the public lands committee to that eff |
lect' NOW the grand jury has had |
some business with Mr.. Hermann since |
that time. daughter and applause) |
IN an those western states the state |
mas the power to form districts for
local public improvements, such as ir- |
rigation districts, sanitary districts |
drainage districts or leVee districts |
and for one do not believe that that |
Is the right policy that the national |
government should assume the burden |
OF protecting from fire forests now |
owned by men who have gotten them |
from the government for one tenth of |
their value. The state and nation |
should cooperate to form forestry |
districts and have assessments levied |
on all private lands in the district and |
every acre should contribute it's pro-
portion to the cost of preserving it |
from fire. (Applause.)
There is one more thing that l was |
going to urge as mere matter of per- |
sonal opinion. In making the sugges-
ton | do not speak for California or |
for the National Irrigation Associa- |
ton, but for myself alone. / have |
been all my life a republican and In |
my earlier years advocated the repub- |
lican doctrine of tariff for protection |
in many political campaigns in my ma
tive state of California from the Or |
egon line to Mexico; but because l be- |
lieve in preserving our industries and |
not in destroying them believe that |
in order to preserve the forest indus |
tries of this nation we should repeal |
every tariff law imposing tariff upon |
the, products of the forest, whether
timber or wood or wood pulp, at any |
rate for a limited number Of years and |
until we shall have planted forests |
enough to harvest annually from our |
own forests all the wood and timber |
we may use in any one year.
There are number of other things |
that | have in my mind to suggest |
that ought to be done:
Pass the Appalachian Bill.
One is to pass the Appalachian for
estry bill which is ready to be passed |
Another is to stop now and for ali |
time all exchange of lands in forest |
reserves for other lands. If the gov
ernment needs any such land let it buy |
them and pay for them their fair value |
and no more. All lieu land scrip
should be called in and Cancelled and |
no more ever issued under any circum-
stances. The forest lieu land ex-
change law should be repealed.
The bill providing for the consolida.
ton of the government forestry inter-
ests Is ready to be passed by the
senate and should be passed in this
session of congress- 1t has already
passed the house; and If this session
OF congress ad1ourns without the hin
being passed by the house which has
passed the senate. repeating the tim.
Der and stone act, every member of
the public lands committee ought to be
held up to popular obloquy and
whipped at the carts tail with a lash