Bisbee daily review., 1906-07-22
United States Will Make Good to Countries for Loss Sus- tained in Loss of Tax on Land Taken in Reserves.
Ten Per Cent Of All Funds Re- ceiyed by Government From Reserves to Go to Counties, Arizona Gets S8,00O.

portionment of the forest reserve funds, about sS,000, which is to be distributed among the counties having icrest reserves, under new rule of The department of agriculture setting aside a certain portion of the receipts from forest reserves 10 compensate the various counties for the loss in taxes as result of the creation of the re- serves.
 Within the last two years the area set aside for forest reserve purposes has increased from less than 50 .OOO. GOO to more than 100.000,000 acres. Such a change caused great consteraation among those who were rot familiar with the objects to be attained by forest reserves All the enemies of the national forest policy made ammu- milton of iI. and many of it's more tinlid friends began to fear that rne movement was going too far. Most of the arguments of doubters, however. could easily be refuted.
 There were two objections that could not be disposed of so readily first, that this vast area, as large as all the New England and Middle States with Maryland and Virginia thrown in. took away from opportu- nity for agricultural settlement and home building many tracts of iand scattered here and there along creeks and valleys within the forest reserve. The forester felt the propriety of this criticism keenly and studied carefully the boundaries of each reserve to elim- mate as much agricultural land as possible. Finding that many anall tracts remained, he submitted to the secretary of agriculture the "AgrIcul- tural Settlement Bill" which the lat ter recommended to congress and which finally received the presidents Signature June II. 1906.
 Although under this law all lands 4ctualiy usabie for heme building will be brought within the reach of the feople, there was another strong op- jection to the reserves, namely, that smany counties in which reserves lie have much. in some instances more than half. of their area withdrawn from the possibility of private owner ship and taxation. The forest service was not unmindful of the unfairness of this condition and submitted a bill to grant 10 per cent of the total re- ceipts from forest reserves to the coun- ties in which they are situated. This proposed law was finally incorporated in the forest reserve provision of the agricultural appropriation act of June 50, 1906. The clause reads as follows:
 To the State
 That 10 percentum of all money received from each forest reserve dur ing any fiscal year, including the year ending June 30, 1906, shall be paid at The end thereof by the secretary of the treasury to the state or territory in which said reserve is situated, to ' be expended as the state or territorial legislature may prescribe for the bene- fit of the public schools and public roads of the county or counties in which the forest reserve is situated; Provided, That when any forest re- serve is in more than one state or ter ritory or county, the distributive share to each from the proceeds of said reserve shall be proportional 10 it's area therein; And provided further, That there shall not be paid to any state or territory for any county an amount equal to more than 40 percent um of the total income of said county from all other sources.''
 The proceeds from forest reserves in the fiscal year ended June 90, 1904, were $5S,436.19. During the next fis- cal year the receipts were s3,27615. The transfer of the forest reserves to the forest service was made February of that year, and during the five he 1fxatvz E.1 v,o0 was busy recognizing the plans for forest reserve administration. The re- suit is notable. During the year ended June 30 last receipts were s767,zIs. .ss, which was more than a tentold in crease over the previous year.
 The full measure of the importance of this 10 percent provision cannot, however, be taken from the figures of this year. The receipts from the re- serves will probably increase with great strides for years to come. and the contributions to the counties is destined to make up richly for the loss of taxation.
 The 10 percent contributed to the counties is safeguarded in .he act by provision that it must be spent en- tiTely for the maintenance of schoois and public roads The state legisIat- uIes are allowed to direct the expendi- ture. Another safeguard is that the contributions from forest reserve re- eeipts must not in any case be greater than 40 per cent of the taxes received from other sourcves.
 The governors of all the states and territories in which forest reserves are situated nave been informed by letter concerning the amount which will cone to each state at the present time from the forest reserve proceeds of the last fiscal year. These letters say:
 "s The payment of the 10