The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-01-26

| OF $1O,OOO q day-S2,JOO.000 a month
| $25 100000 a year, and it is much more
than that--will go right along and
continue until all the timber land of
| the government has been stolen. That
will be little over 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 q bang.
Some Things to Do.
Before 1 close l wish to specify
some definite and SPECIFIC things which
| should be DONE
First-Repeal the timber and stone
act
| Second-Pass the consolidation bill
| putting the government forests under
the management of the bureau of for
eStry.
| Third-Provide by national legisla-
| ton that every acre OF agricultural
| land that can be reclaimed under the
national irrigation system must be
| saved for the homemaker who will go
there and make a home upon it,
In that 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
in-well perhaps l might be permitted
working together. You Will have to
explode some of those Japanese shells
among them to break up the combi-
nation.
10 show you why we cannot depend
upon congressman from the timber
states of the west to correct this enor-
nous evil, year ago both Oregon
senators and both representatives.
from Oregon We're bitterly opposed to
any change in the land laws. Repre-
sentatives Hermann and Williamson
both went before the committee and
protested against any change. Mr..
Hermann was before the committee.
At that exact moment the Oregon
grand jury was in session in the city
of Portland, composed of men drawn
by lot from all over the state, and that
grand jury urged the repeal of all
those Iaws--the timber and stone act,
the desert land act and the communal
the public lands committee to that eff
feet. Now the grand jury has had
some business with Mr.. Hermann since
that time. slaughter and applause)
In all those western states the state |
has the power to form districts for
local public improvements, such as ir-
rigation districts, sanitary districts, |
drainage districts or levee districts
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
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 its pro- !
portion to the cost of preserving 1t |
from fire; (Applause.)
There Is one more thing that was |
going to urge as mere matter of per-
sonal opinion. In making the sugges- |
tion / do not speak for California or |
for the National Irrigation Associa-
tion, but for myself alone. have
been all my life a republican and in /
my earlier years advocated the repub-
lican doctrine of a 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
every tariff law imposing a tariff upon
the products of the forest, whether
timber or wood or wood pulp, at any
rate for a limited number of years and
enough to harvest annually from our
own forests all the wood and timber
we may use in any one year.
There are a number OF, other things
that l have in my mind to suggest
that ought to be done:
Pass the Appalachian Bill.
One is to pass the Appalachian for
CStIy Oittg Is ICduy " Ot DstSSGue
Another is to stop now and for all
time all exchange of lands in forest
reserves for other lands. II the gov
eminent needs any such land let 1t 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
session of congress. 1t has already
passed the house; and If this session
OF congress adjourns without the bill
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 lash