The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-01-19
Public Timber Land 70 Be Sold al
Its Real Value.
PRESENT LAW BRANDED As VICIOUS
Western Men Want Good Substitute
Enacted for the Present One On
the Statute Books.

the 0tdtuCe BOOKS.
Some time during the present session
of congress the timber and stone act
is likely to be repealed, and in It's place
law will be written on the statute
books which will authorize the sale of
public timber at something like it's real
value, is the report that comes from
Washington City.
But before any legislation of this
character is enacted the public land
committees Of the senate and the house
to the various pending bills, and some
practical effective solution of the pres
ent timber land evil is expected to re-
suit
That the timber and stone act in its
present form is vicious is generally ad
mitted. 1t is generally acknowledged
that no just law can be enforced which
requires the same price for the valu-
able timber lands of Washington as for
the very cheap timber lands of the
Rocky mountain states. That is what
the timber and stone act does.
Western Men Want Substitutes.
While there is a very general senti-
ment in favor of the repeal of this law,
western men are not willing to merely
wipe the Objectionable law off the stat
ute books, they insist upon some sub
stitute which will not only permit the
use of mature timber, but which will
also provide a material revenue 70
compensate for the loss of receipts due
to the repeal of the timber and stone
act. This law is the principal source
of revenue with which to build the
government irrigation works, and to
repeal it without submitting some
other means of getting revenue from
the public timber would be to material
ly hamper the construction of govern
ment irrigation projects.
What Congress May Do.
The discussion of this problem has
not gone far enough to justify a pre-
diction as to the form of bill that will
hJ1t in
seems probable that congress, after re-
pealing the timber and stone act, will
authorize the sale of public timber at
something like its real value; that is to
say, some scheme will be devised for
appraising the public timber, and per-
hitting its sale at not less than it's ap-
praised value. Even in those states
where the timber is of poor quality
the government will derive as much
recvnue from it's timber lands as it
does under the present law, while in
Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Cali
fornia the prices will range way above
the price required under the exist
ing law.
There is a demand from some quar-
tiers for law which will authorize
merely the sale of the public timber,
the title to public timber lands to re-
main with the government. The advo-
Gates of this plan point out that by
holding the title to the land in the gov
eminent it will be comparatively easy
to perpetuate the forests, and to regu-
late the cutting so that none but ma
ture timber will be removed. By per-
petuating the forests the government
will have a continual source Of reve-
nue., whereas if the title to the timber
land passes to lumbermen there is lit
tie chance of demonstration, and no
hope whatever of deriving revenue for
the government once the land is sold.
To Swell Reclamation Fund.
Under existing law the government
is selling mature timber from it's for
from such sales do not find their way
into the reclamation fund. Attention
of western senators and representa-
tives has been called to this fact, and
it is not unlikely that bill will be
pressed this session requiring that such
revenues. like the revenues from the
sale of public lands, shall be turned
into the reclamation fund, and not go
into the federal treasury Strictly
speaking, this money ought to 60 to
the reclamation fund, since it is really
part of the public land receipts, and
those senators and congressman who
have been handicapped because of a
shortage of money for irrigation work
will probably favor a bill which turns
this enormous revenue into the nation
al reclamation fund.
Republican Editors of Missouri.