The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-09-04

eminent work, he is preventing others
from acquiring g home. and is actually
keeping down the population of the state.
speculation in lands reclaimed by the
government must be checked at what
ever cost The object OF the reclamation
act is not TO make money. but to make
homes. Therefore, the requirement of the
reclamation act that the size of the farm
unit shall be limited i'm each region to
the area which will comfortably sup
port on family must be enforced I'm letter
and in spirit. This does not mean that
the farm unit shall be sufficient for the
children and grandchildren, but rather
that during the ten years of payment
the area assigned for each family shall
be sufficient to support it. When once
the farms have been fully titled by free
holders little danger of land monopoly
will remain.
Should Make Law Effective.
This great meeting Of practical irriga-
tors should give particular attention TO this
problem and others of the same kind. You
should, and / doubt not that you will,
give your effectual support to the Off
GERS or the government In making the re-
clamation law successful in all respects
and particularly i'm getting back the orig
ina! Investment so that the money NAV
be used again and again in the compile
ton OF other projects and thus i'm the
general extension Of prosperity in the
west. Until 1T has been proved that this
great investment Of S40O00.000 in irrigation
made by the government will be returning
to the treasury il is useless to expect
that the people of the country will con-
sicer direct appropriations for the work
Let us give the reclamation service a
chance to utilize the present investment
a second time before discussing such in
crease | look forward with great con-
fidence to the result
BY the side of the reclamation service
there has grown up another service of
not less interest and value TO YOU of the
west. This is the forest service which
was created when the charge of. the for
est reserves was transferred from the in
terror department to the department Of
agriculture The forest policy of the adj
ministration which the forest service is
engaged in carrying out. is based as
have often said. on the vigorous purpose
u make every resource of the forest re-
serves contribute in the highest degree
to the permanent prosperity of the peo-
pie who depend upon them If ever the
time should come when the western for
eSts are destroyed. there will disappear
with them the prosperity Of the stock
man, the miner, the lumberman, and the
railroads, and, most important Of all the
small ranchman. who cultivates his own
land. | know that you are with me in
the intention to preserve the timber the
water, and the grass by using them fully,
but wisely and conservatively We pro
pose 10 do this through the freest and
most cordial cooperation between the
government and every man who is in
".
which no man who knows the facts can
for moment doubt.
Good Word for Forest Service.
1T is now less than two years since the
forest service was established. 1t had
great task before ito create or reorgan-
ize the service on a hundred forest re-
serves and 10 ascertain and meet the very
different local conditions and local needs
all over the west. This task is not fin
ished, and OF course II could not have
been finished in so short time But
the work has been carried forward with
energy and intelligence. and enough has
been done to show how our forest policy
is working out.
1.-THE result of first Importance to YOU
as irrigators is this The forest service
has proved that forest fires can be con-
trolled, by controlling them Only one
tenth of l per cent OF the area of the for
est reserves was burned over in 1905 This
achievement was due to TIE forest SER
vice and TO the effective assistance of set
tiers and others in and near the reserves.
Everything the government has ever spent
upon its forest work is q small price TO
pay for the knowledge that the streams
which make your prosperity can be and
are being freed from the ever-present
threat of forest fires.
1.-The long-standing and formerly bitter
differences between the stockmen and
the forest officers are nearly all settled
Those which remain are i'm process of set
tlement. Hearty cooperation exists al
most everywhere between. the officers OF
the forest service and the local associa-
tons OF stockmen, who are appointing adj
visory committees which are systemati-
cslly consulted by the forest service on
all questions in which they are concerned
This most satisfactory condition of mu-
tual help will be as welcome to YOU as to
the administration and to the stockmen.
To the stockmen Ii means more. an1 more
certain, grass; TO you, because of the bet
ter protection and wiser use Of the range
ii means steadier stream-flow and more
water.
The sales Of forest-reserve timber To
settlers, miners, lumbermen and other
users are increasing very rapidly and in
that way also the reserves arc success
fully meeting q growing need.
Settlement Not Retarded.
Lands in the forest reserves that are
more valuable for agriculture than for
forest purposes are being opened to set
Element and entry as fast as their agricul-
tural character can be aScertained There
is therefore no longer excuse for saying
that the reserves retard the legitimate
settlement and development OF the coun-
try. On the contrary they promote and
sustain that development. and they will
do so in no way more powerfully than
through their direct contributions to the
schools and roads. Ten per cent of All
the money received from the forest re-
serves goes to the states for the use of
the counties in which the reserves lie
to be used for schools and roads. The
amount OF this contribution is nearly SO.
600 for the first year. II will grow stead
lily larger. and will form a certain and
permanent source of income, which would
not have been the case with the taxes
whose place il takes.
Finally, a body of intelligent. practical
well-trained men. citizens Of the west.
is being built up-men in whose hands the
public interests. including your own, are
and will be safe.
''Al these results are good; but they
have not been achieved by the forest SER
vice alone. On the contrary, they repre-
snt also the needs and suggestions of the
people Of the whole west. They embody
changes and adjustments to