Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-06-20

DEFINES POLICY

general scarcity OF timber, not the ma
| tional forests, that is raising the price
of lumber to the consumer, and this is
proved by the fact that prices have
risen far more rapidly in the east,
where there are no national forests
| than in the west, where there are
many.
Another very powerful reason
stands behind our forests policy. 1t
| IS needed to protect the water sheds
of streams used for irrigation for do
nestle water and manufacturing sup
| ply and for transportation. No we'll
Informed man any longer doubts the
/ benetcent effects of the forests on the
streams. No friend Of irrigation, which
is to be the great fundamental indus
try of the west, doubts the wisdom of
protecting the forests, or of protect
! ing the vegetation on the summer
ranger within the forest which are al
most important in their effect on wa
ter flow as the forests themselves. If
there are no other reasons-and there
are many-the protection of irrigation
throughout the west would amply
| justify the presidents forest policy
! All true agriculture land in national
forests is opened to settlement and en-
| try under the conditions imposed by
congress in the act of June H. 1906.
Actual settlers are now using the act
and a number of applications have
been filed by persons seeking to make
settlements. Every effort is exerted
to secure prompt acton on these ap-
| plications. 1t has often been asserted
money out of the national forests. This
| is a profound mistake The forests
service is not in business in the ordi-
nary sense of the word.
What it is trying to do, and trying
| hard, is to make the national forests
pay expenses by handling them in a
business like way. AS soon as posi-
BILE we hope to make the national for
ests self supporting, so that they will
meet the costs not only of ordinary adj
ministration, but also of trail and road
making bridge building. planting on
important water sheds and all other
improvements to make the forests as
useful to the people as possible,
1.-THE returns from the sale of tim
Der will in the end be very large. We
can and do give away large amounts
of timber to- the small man who is
making his home, but there is only one
safe and clean way to dispose of tim
Der to men who use considerable
quantities of 1t in their business, and
that is by auction to the highest bid
der: then there can be no question of
favoritism or graft
"The case of the range in the ma
tional forests is wholly different The
charge for range AMOUNTS to but a
small fraction of it's actual market
value. The range, however, is not a
transportable commodity like timber
1t must be used by the people who
live reasonably near by and it has
been In use by them.
There is no insuperable difficulty In
finding out who has the best right to
use it without putting 1t up for auc-
ton. 1t is not the policy of the forest
service to charge the full market value
for range rights. unless the users o.
the range themselves should make 4
necessary. Thee intention is to chargt
merely the cost of range protection
and Improvement to the users of tbs
range in the form of grazing fees.
"The effect of range protection il
the national forests is already strik
ingly evident. In many localities
has been possible to increase the mum
Der of stock carried because OF marke'
Improvement of the range under NOR
reasonable use. Very much Of tn
range In the national forests was bad
" over grazed. 1t is recovering. o.
the whole. with most gratifying rapid
ity. The protection of the forest an
the protection OF the range by wis
use are two divisions Of a probler
vastly larger and more important tina
either. This is the problem Of tn
conservation of all our national re
sources. This is the basic problem
and it is very practical and definit
one. If we conserve our natural re
sources we shall prosper. If we de
stroy them no amount of success
any other direction. win keep us pros
porous. It is the question both of tn
present and the future"