Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-17
PINCHOT In hostile CAMP


AH I'LL NHMA
Continued from First Page.)
was cut; SSe,Ss4 NJ. B. F. of timber was
sold; 2,1N grazing permits, 3,141 special
use permits, and 9O.3T free use permits
were issued. The total number of permits
issued to June 30, 1905, was 163, 06S.
y the total amount received from those
VINO received direct benefits from the use
ofNthe varied resources of the national
Forests or Colorado last year, Is per cent
of &s. 6l.2S was turned over to the state to
be used in the development and main
tenance of roads and the public school
system.
to Colorado.
The amount which Colorado receives
each year for this purpose will increase
as the forests reach a higher and higher
state OF development and the best possible
use is made Of every resource. During the
last fiscal year the total amount of bust
ness transacted by the forest service in
creased more than IS per cent over that OF
the previous year, and 1t was handled with
but 20 per cent increase I'm money avail
able. A knowledge of such facts as these
should set at rest once and forever. the
claim sometimes and so mistakabIy made.
that the national forests are closed
against development.
I'm the immense amount of business
transacted over so large an area, It was
inevitable that mistakes should be made.
I do not doubt that in isolated cases in
Justice has been done, and wherever such
Injustice has been brought to nv attention
1t has been corrected The mistakes made
are Insignificant IN amount and Importance
compared to the ,eood, accomplished. tt
must be remembered that injustice must be
avoided as much to the government as to
the users of the national forests, and that
II there were no attempt on the part OF dis
honest men to get possession of the prop
erty of the people in ways contrary to law. |
the men who are responsible for taking
care of that property would not be Obliged
to take the precautions to protect it which
are now absolutely necessary.
No Apologies for Work.
"If-by Observation-Disclosures has been done
to any man, it will be corrected. so far as
I have the power. But remember two
things; in the first place, the forest service
Is not responsible for the law as 1t exists
or for the rulings of the Department of the
Interior, but 1t is governed both by the
law and by these rulings, with both, in
most particulars, 1t is in hearty accord,
but II either is wrong, II isn't within the
authority of the forest service to correct
1t. Secondly, during the last fiscal year.
timber worth more than 100000 standing
on invalid mining claims was saved to the
people of the United States by the examina-
tons OF mining claims. The forest service
has no apologies to make for having de-
feated the men who tried to get this timber
under color of the mining laws. Where
similar illegal attempts are made in the
future, It proposes to defeat them 1t IL can,
In every single instance, whether the at
tempt is to take the claim for timber, for
power, or for any other than legitimate
mining purposes. On the other hand II
will do its best to help the legitimate pros
pectors and miners and to give them ad-
vantages and protection which they do not
enjoy on lands outside the national forests.
Mr.. Pinchot said that he was determined
not to question the validity of any mining
claim apparently held in good faith for
mining purposes, and not adverse to the
interests of the government, no matter
whether or not II probably contains a pay
ing amount OF minerals.
Opposition Indicates Value.
I'm other words" he said, THE benefit
Of every reasonable doubt is to be given
TO tho miner. There is a certain kind
of opposition TO the national forests
which cannot and ought not to be
removed, If there were no opposi-
ton whatever TO the forest SER
vice, it would be the clearest possible in
III ton mat the service is not doing us
duty. In the exercise of the duty imposed
upon II, the service has time and again
prevented certain men or certain interests
from getting tn nEs they wanted, bu, oug1I'
! not to have. and from these men and these
interests the bitterest and most persistent
part Of the opposition has steadily come.
Such interests are found, for example. i'm
some of the great sheepmen who object
to making room for the small settler. or
to such reduction on the number OF their
tion interests and from men who are en-
gagged in the formation of a great water
power trust. For the opposition is has ex-
cited from these interests. the forest SER
vice has no apologies whatever TO make.
II proposes to stand resolutely by the
policy of preferring TO help the small
man make a living than to help the large
man make a profit. and It will not aban-
don the policy Of government control OF the
attitude Of the service in these matters
leads to irritation and denunciation, then
let the opponents OF the service make the
most Of them. Neither Is this nor In any
other salutsry policy adopted and main
tained by the forest service win there be
a single backward step"
Italian IL E-leetrOcuted.