The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-12-25
LEVER ON NATIONAL FORES
JOINT AUTHOR OF BILI, TO PF
TECT APPALACHIAN RIVERS
Measure Introduced in the Ho,
Provided for the Acquisition by
Government of Lands in this q
Other Southern States ami i'm Mai
and New Hampshire.

Washington, Dec. 22.-As a mea
or protecting the navigable conditi,
or the rivers rising in the Southe
Appalachian and White Mountain
and incidentally of saving from d
struction by fire and wasteful exnloi
a'ion the rich forests of the two
glons, Representatives Lever of Son,
Carolina and Currier, of New Ham,
shire, have introduced bills in n
mouse authorizing the secretary
agricultu~k to acquire lands for n
tlonal forest purposes i'm Marylan
Virginia, West Virginia, North Car
lina' South Carolina, Georgia. Allah;
ma, Kentucky and Tennessee m n
South, and in New Hampsbire q,
Maine in the North. 1t is understo,
that similar bill will be introduc.
in the senate at once.
The bill provides that the lands
more valuable for the regulation
stream flow than for other purpose
ana tnat they be situated on the ir
portant watersheds in the Appal
chain Mountains in the South. and
White Mountains in New E-g,on
Ihe land is to be acquired by pu
chase or gift, and the sum of $4,000
600 is asked TO carry out the pr,
VISIONS or the Act. Small areas
land chiefly valuable for agricu,tur
which may Of necessity or by madve;
tence be included i'm the tracts q,
CURED under the proposed Act aft,
examination may be occupied f,
agricultural purposes. Such acr;cu
tural lands within the Proposed NJ
| tional forests would be offered f,
sale by the secretary of agricuItn,
as homesteads, at their true value. /
tracts not exceeding eighty acres. TIL
land may be purchased sub ject to IN
reservation by the owner of the mil,
| erals Rr the timber which is me,
chantaole at the time of purchase.
1t is further provided in the hi,
that the civil and criminal iurisdic
ton of the several States over person
upon lands acquired in the Act sba,
not be affected or changed by thei
| permanent reservation and admins
tration as national forest lands. OK
cept so far as the punishment of OF
| FENCES against the United States
concerned. In this way, the state Wi
not lose their jurisdiction in anv mo,
Zen per cent of the gross receip,
OF the proposed national forests w;
go to the States and to the ccpnties :
which the forests are situated for tb
benefit of the public schools and in
provement Of roads, providing r.
sum distributed to any one county, i
which there is a forest does nor ..
ceed forty per cent Of the total :,
cone OF the county. According I
the Act, the secretary Of agricultu.
may, for the further protection of r.
watersheds Of navigable streams, ae
minister and protect Tor defins
term of years as private forest Ian,
where the owner will cnt ann re,oo,
the timber thereon only on rules d,
Vlsed Tor the protection of the fore.
thereon. BY this cooperatbn mar
thousands of acres of privately owne
forest will be preserved through wi.
use without the government ecinx Z
the expense of purchasing it.
The government has a little mo,
than fifth of the country's forest,
area in national forests at nres.,
and all of this land is i'm The Yves
The remainder is in the hands Of mr.
Vate owners, and, for the most mar
Is under no system Of forest manag.
ment but is being logged off as ia,
as the saw can work The West /;
uepehded upon now for confer
While the remaining supply OF hare
woods is largely in the East in III
mountains OF the Appalachian rang,
In MS report;1which was submitted
congress last week, Secretary vii
son recommended the purchase of ,o
more than 100000 acres OF land :;
the South and 100000 acres in Nev
England for national forests IN mr.
der to protect the flow of the impor,
ant streams, on which countless in
dustries Of the East and south de.
pend for navigation and water power
ana incidentally to conserve the re-
naming hardwood timber supply.