The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1911-07-20

nor,t,ons mills and factories that are
dishonest in giving in the value ~
their property, it is everypoay' pa W.,
,co,Iv and practically everybody Will
admit 1t. ,o,ue
Tell me. did you give in the vaiue
q, this office at the price you ~ou'u
ask for it, If you were selling! =
And 1 didn't tell him. instead
told him / was paying more tnan my
lust proportion of the taxes 1
that I believe is true.
II you love your neignoor YOU .sa
generally explain away the things '"a1
would make trouble otherwise.
notice that the government mas
sold $4,000, 900 feet of standing tlm-
her in the Mt. Baker reserve, se'-
ting therefor $3.50 a thousandh 'o'
fir and $2.1O for cedar. and 1t makes
me wonder what's the use.'
T know that timber up near diac-
Tor Only last summer with a triend
I was walking through this same t'"'-
har or timber that Is like it, with q
friend a travelling man from Seattle
I'm at Glacier. and in fact In many
western towns the people are oppos-
ed to conservation practice. and so
naturally my friend and l fell to dis
cussing the government reserve.
remarked how it was only in such
places that my children's children
would ever see real forests, and my
friend from Seattle laughed.
"Your children, let alone their chile'
rem. will do well If they find any OF
the present trees standing when they
grow up. A forest reserve isn't n
forest preserve. Every year lot OF
this timber is sold off. Someone WIG
ia in charge Of the forests reccomends
the selling and someone who is
friendly to those who are in charge
are always ready to buy, and believe
me they always buy right. l know
men who are said to have amassed
fortunes by buying timber off forest
reserves"
but why do they sell it," l asked
'Oh sometimes the excuse is that
the wrong sort Of trees are growing
on a certain mountain. You know
don't you. that the Lord isn't in II
with the average forest reserve ex-
pert"
But I should think the sale OF
this timber would leave bare spots in
the reserve?"
80 it does. Look yonder," and he
pointed to bare mountain side back
f3se the hotel ia the result Of tim.
piantins lot OF new tree. over there
| IL was true. A whole mountain
side had been cut bare that the for.
est rangers might have-a place to de
some planting-or was it because
some one wanted the logs?
II our government wants fields ior
forest planting why not select and
buy few thousand acres Of the
waste land of this county. Oh, we
have it even In this fertile West. ]
know hills. yes and valleys too. out
side Of the reserve that are as bare
and black as can possibly be made.
The money-mad owners shaved off
everything of value and are leaving
the land dead and barren. 1t would
be an act worthy Of a government.
such as ours to regain title to these
barren lands and to make them green
again with trees. But I can't see
where We have any particular right
to feel proud of government that is
selling timber from our forest reserve
now.
My friend from Seattle also told
Inc. and what little observation / was
able to make confirmed the state
ment. that the government always
found it advisable to want to cut the
trees on reserve land that happened
to be nearest railroads. 1t is said
that the 3s.OOO,OOO feet of timber
sold the other day is all found on
300 acres Of land.
Some people are big because they
mark their own measuring sticks.
There was some old politics handed
out at the meeting of the stock
holders Of the Farmers Phone Co.
the other day. The Guide Meridian
bunch from Lynden were there, ie-
to rue or ruin, and their
methods were as crooked and mud
dy as the road they tried to saddle
onto the State as state highway.
The welfare and efficiency of the
Farmers company were entirely lost
Il