The copper era., 1909-11-18
VOLUME II.
Injurious Effect of the Forest Service on
 Mining.
(By Russell L Dump

(By Russell L Dump
 The appointment of your committed
 suggests that there is an idea com
 mon among mining men whose oper-
 ations have come in contact with the
 National Forest Service that its effect
 upon the mining industry is bad. The idea is correct. It is bad, and be
 coming worse in California and Ne
 vada, where the writer has come ir personal contact with it's operation and has noticed it's cumulative effect: for several years. As it's operation
 is controlled by uniformly applied rules of administrations, the assump-
 tion is proper that the effect of the National Forest Service on the min ing industry in the other states and territories is bad also.
 The National Forest Service is un- derstandable divided into two parts first, the government policy of it; and second, the administration of the policy.
 The governmental policy of the Ma tional Forest Service is impersonal , and the people of the mining industry do not question it being a wise goYerr- mental policy. A the mining people understand it, this policy is that the government shall protect and save the natural forests on the public lands from avoidable wastage, and shall restore or replace the unavoida- ble wastage. Concretely, the govern ment shall prevent and put out fires on the forested public lands, shall prevent the avoidable part of the wastage of forest cutting, and con- currently shall plant and protect the growing of-young trees to replace the unavoidable wastage from death and the useful cutting of forest. The re- planting of forest and it's protection are the governments warrant for the regulation of grazing on public land.
 The government holds the title of the lands as trustee for the people of the several states. Obviously, the policy of the National Forest Service, as the mining people understand it, is proper governmental function of the government. The prevention of avoidable waste of a destructible natural product of the soil of the pub lie land, and the replacement of the unavoidable wastage of it which is made by its useful consumption, are duties clearly consistent with the trusteeship of the public land. This fulfilling of these trustee duties could not possibly have bad effect on the mining industry, but, on the coun- trary, must have a positively good effect. Before there was any Ma tional Forest Service policy, the miners in states the government of which was influenced by their indus try undertook this same duty by In 1864 California enacted a statute to prevent wasteful destruc- tion of the forest on public land. A few years later the territory of Washington, at the suggestion of Governor Solomon, made it felony to clear agricultural land by setting fire to the forest.
 The administration of the policy of the National Forest Service is per sonal administration. The people of the mining industry question this personal administration. The mining industry people. declaring the policy of the National Forest Service to be good, also say that the administration of that policy is bad, particularly bad for the mining industry, and there fore for them.
 The mining industry people owe it to themselves to make it perfectly clear and intelligible to the remain der of the people of the United States that they assert that the personal ad- of the National Forest Service has been and is bad for the mining industry, and that they are uncompromisingly opposed to its con- tinuance.
 Generally, the personal administra- tion is bad because it is not an ad- of the governmental policy of the National Forest Service alone, but has been made the means of administration of policies which are not governmental policies at all That the personal administration of the National Forest Service claims these other policies as natural corol laries of the National Forest Service