The San Francisco call., 1908-04-09

lutely useless without the refor-
estation now under way. Stngu-
larly enough the green portion is
already nearly all taken up py the
settlers and the state.
Again and again the silver
tongues swung back to the old
argument that the national forests
keep the public from its domain
And with every circle they un-
consciously came nearer to stating
in so many words the truth-that
"the public" is themselves and the
big men the rapacious ones-not
you and I and the little fellow.
The greed begins to show its lit
tie eyes. Thus Hepburn: TT is
the policy and it is to the interest
of the government to get rid OF
these public lands as fast as pos
sib1e. The system of forest re-
serves is so vicious, so unfair, as
to encounter the antagonism of
every American citizen who ever
dreams of taking advantage of his
right to share In the public do
mnin.' (The blackface is mine)
He then goes on to draw q pa
thetic figure of thriving towns
going without wood because the
iniquitous national forests came
down to their doors. That con-
stitutes no reason why these
thriving towns should go without
wood. Indeed, it is a very good
reason to predict that they will
enjoy it for all time to come. And
the poor man who wants to go out
and get 1t with his own hands can
have 1t free.
To develop the resources of the
nation money is required; to main
tain these resources in an efficient
state more money is required. Who
should pay it? The general tax
payer or the man who utilized those
benefits? The senator from Colo
RADIO wants the grazing fee removed
SO that the "publio"-consisting OF
those few cattlemen who live near
the range-can have free feed.
These cattlemen are perfectly able
to pay that fee-of 20 cents a year
for cattle and 5 cents for sheep
and have been paying it without
the slightest trouble. If the fee is
removed that means a diminution
of the public revenues for the ma
tional forests to the extent of
SS50,000 per annum. That deficit
must be made up by a larger con-
gressional appropriation. It is
direct present from us to them of
well on toward million dollars.
They need the money, that's the
whole matter In a nutshell. The
silver tongues would have US be-
lieye that they need 1t worse than
we do. Three hundred thousand
acres of the Rainier national for
est was turned into an Indian res
ervation. The cattlemen had then
to treat for pasturage directly with
the Indians, and to make the best
bargain they could. They are now
paying gladly 50 head for horses,
$3.50 for cattle and 20 cents for
sheep, and making money. Are we
to suppose that on the portion not
included in the Indian reservation
these cattlemen are still losing
money-and at 25 cents and
cents respectively?
They claimed. and with some
show Of Justice, that the sequestra-
tion Of the large tracts of land was
unjust to the state government in
that 1t reduced the income from
taxation. This statement ignored
the fact that 10 per cent of all in
come from the national forests
goes to the state. The national
forests, II in private hands, would
pay taxes only until cut over. Then
the owner, following an invariable
custom. would let them revert to
the state. which would find itself
possessed of barrens paying no
taxes and having no value The
10 per cent of the forest incom.
on the other hand. is a constantly
increasing revenue.
Such Is the history of the case up
to the present time. But the bill
lions of dollars are lying there in
plain sight, behind the bars erect
ed by our forest policy, and the
rapacious ones are going to scratch
and dig and gnaw and stink and
try by every means in the power
of the unscrupulous to get those
bars down or to wriggle between
them A second attack is promised
at the present session OF con ngress.
The farcical and packed convention
at Denver in June was an attempt
to persuade the public in general
that the people OF the west are a
unit in demanding plunder. Only
when public sentiment is crystal
lized and expressed Will these at
tempts. cease.