Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-27
TELLER DEFENDS
TIMBER CUTTERS:
SCORES PINCHOT
SENATE ADOPTS AGRICUL-
TURAL APPROPRIATION
PROPOSED RAISE IN FORESTRY
DONATION REJECTED
Curious Parliamentary Situation
Arises-FIint Tells Of Great
Losses from Fires in
California
[By Associated Press.J

NM ASHINGTON, Feb. 26.-After an
Wv entire day devoted to discuss
ing the forestry provision Of
the agriculture appropriation bill the
senate tonight passed the measure.
The senate rejected the increase Of
$5OO000 in the appropriation for the
forestry service as recommended by
the committee and then a curious par
liamentary situation arose.
Mr.. Hepburn had offered an amend
ment directing the secretary Of agri-
culture to eliminate from all forest
reserves the public lands not timbered
and to restore such public lands to 10.
cation and purchase under the land
laws Of the United States, and the
amendment had been accepted by Sen
ator Warren, in charge Of the bill.
When the amendment was laid be-
fore the senate Mr.. Flint Of California
made a point of order against it which
was sustained by the vice president.
IF | had known the amendment
would not have passed | would never
have cOncurred to the unanimous con-
sent program" declared Mr.. Hepburn.
The senate then declared the amend
ment out Of order.
Senator Carriers amendment to re-
duce the forestry appropriation from
$G,9S6,OO9, as passed by the house to
$3,l6O,O00 was laid on the table by u
vote of 80 to 26.
During the discussion Of the bill
Senator Teller called attention to the
denunciatiOn made against men who
a RII+ ir11I0A
mining districts. He declared the tim
Der had been cut legally and had
yielded the government i'll precious
minerals many times the value Of the
timber.
Was Father Of Act
He said he had drafted and pro-
cured the passage Of the act Of 1878.
which allowed the people of the west
TO do what they had been doing with
out any law in the cutting Of timber
on public lands for mining camps.
The men who swept these hills bare
OF timber" he said, were not public
robbers, but they acted in accordance
with statutes and they returned to the
government much more than the tim
Der was worth. There has been no
WIlltul destruction of timber in Colo
RADIO. The people of that state are
more interested in the conservation Of
the state could possibly be-
Condemning the forestry bureau svs-
tenn, Mr.. Teller said if Pinchot's plan
had been applied to Colorado during the
days Of its development that state
would still be the home Of the covote.
the panther and the bear. The system.
ne said, was destroying the prospects
for settlement in the future
Reforestation, he said, had been a
failure in Colorado. The farmers raise
more timber in that state than is raised
by the forest bureau
would rather" he declared, ''havc
an American home and an American
family than to have a forest as big as
all outdoors. | do not believe there is
a moral or any other claim upon me to
postpone the use of what nature has
given me-"
Statistics Incorrect
Mr.. Teller insisted that the predic-
tlOns concerning exhaustion of the coal
supply are very far from correct. Colo
rado alone, he said, could supply tho
world with coal for $50 or 200 years.
Mr.. SmoOt defended the service, de-
clarilg the cost of all lectures before
various societies last year had been
only $5O22. The lectures he regarded as
entirely justified.
Every time" he said, information
is given about lengthening the life Of D
railroad tie the American people are
benefited"
Mr.. Smoot took up cases cited in the
senate to show injustice to settlers who
had disposed of their land within forest
reserves, and in SO doing became in
vOlved in a controversy with Senators
Clark Carter and others.
Mr.. Smoot said the forestry service
fire patrol system had saved $4,000, 900
worth Of timber
Senator Clark of Wyoming declared
that Mr. Smoot's system of estimating
fire losses was fallacious, as it was
based on the idea that a fire once
started would burn until extinguished
by a forester, whereas many of the fires
even in the reserves are stopped by
settlers.
Senator Flint Of California asserted
that in his state alone the losses i'm
the past year from forest fires would
have amounted to 100000 if it had
not been for the exertions Of tie
foresters.