Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1906-02-09
OPPOSES PUBLIC AUCTION
Dallas Citizen Expresses His Views
of the Timber Situation In
the United States.

DALLAS, Or, February S-(To the
Editor. Here are few plain facts
regarding the Timber Lands. and the
Timber and Stone Act: A great deal
has been written on this subject, and
it nearly all tends in the same direc-
tion, and that is to show that the
Government has lost vast sums of
money by reason Of the fact that the
Timber and Stone Actwas not repealed
years ago.
Some time since, a Washington
correspondent of the Oregonian made
the statement that $40, 600, 900 had been
lost, and a recent article has the
amount swelled to $lOO, 100000. The
writer arrives at this conclusion by
reason of the fact that 4,7O9,860 acres
of timber land have been sold by the
Government under the Timber and
Stone Act since 1901, at $3.50 per acre,
and that the real value of this land
was $25 per acre. Now is this true?
Has the Government lost 800, 100000.
Has it lost $7O,OOO,OOO, or any part
thereof?
To begin with, we must bear in mind
this fact: That any land open to
entry under the Timber and Stone Act
could also be had by placing scrip on
it. The Northern Pacific Railway
Company, the Santa Fe r. r.. Com
pany, and many other large railroad
companies, have millions Of acres Of
scrip, which they want chance to
use And many different kinds of
scrip could at all times be had since
1901, and before that time, at prices
ranging from $5 to 81 per acre, or an
average Of 1925 per acre. By the end
of the year 1901, there was practically
no timber land in the country that the
scripping syndicates and the timber
men had not cruised, or, at least, they
had general knowledge Of the value
of all Of it,
Now mark you, il any of this
4, 709, 500 acres was worth 1915 per acre,
or one-half of that amount, would not
the scripping syndicates and timber
men have placed scrip on it? They
certainly would, and did. So that the
SO called $25 lands that were left for
the Timber and Stone claims were
really lands that had been culled over
by the syndicate and were not con-
sidered by them to be worth the price
of the scrip.
here state without fear Of success
full contradiction, that the lands that
have been proved up on under the
Timber and Stone Act, since the first
of the year 1902, will not average to be
worth over 1925 per acre, except in a
few instances where lands had been
held for long time under the Home
stead act, and the parties concluded to
relinquish their Homestead right and
make proof under the Timber and
Stone Act.
Many instances are Of record in the
Local Land Office where people filed
Timber and Stone entry on land, after
making a hasty examination Of the
land, and when they had made a care
ful examination, they found that one
fourth or one-half of the land was
worthless, and they made proof on
only a part of it. Does this look like
$25 per acre land?
If these statements are true, and the
4, ,7O9, 800 acres oftimber land that have
been sold by the Government under
the Timber and Stone Act since Janu
ary /, 1902, we're really worth only
about Sc per acre, the Government
has certainly lost no great sum.
A writer in the Sunday Oregonian
in speaking of the Timber and Stone
claimant, says "He stays waiting
and carefully forebears from complet
ing his title, and taking his patent
and this because he SO escapes tax
alton. The State, the county, is not
penny the gamer by the whole trans
. action" I do not think the write
can point to a single instance of thi
] kind in the whole of the Portland
. Land District. No, indeed, nothing i
farther from the claimants thoughts
He makes his proof, and gets hi
patent Gf he CAM with as little della,
as possible, for he knows that neN
laws are liable to be enacted at an,
time, allowing the Northern Pacific
or some other railroad company, t
trade off some more of those WORTHLESS
lands on the snow-capped mountain
of Montana, and get his poor littl
claim in exchange.
d In the unsurveyed portion Of TIP.
~ s., r. 8 W., the N. P. r. r. Co. ha
u placed scrip on 5000 acres Of the bes
n timber land in Polk County-lan
that is really worth s25 per acre; an
!, at that price the Government has loi
4 S15O,OOO, and what did it get for II
Not a penny. Yet our Washingto
st correspondent refrains from saying
/. word along these lines. 1t certainl
e looks as though this howl about tn
5. imaginary loss Of the Government o
account Of the Timber and Stone A.
2. is only to direct attention from ia
greater wrongs that have bee
perpetrated.