Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-10-07

AtnoOgn tho united St1&AS soNeih-
ment this year appropriaso0 $31,o0o,-
O0e for river and harbor Improvement.
and will for long time continue to
make large annual appropriations for
the same purpose. 1t has already in
augurated a policy which strikes at the
very heart Of the problem Of perina-
nent development and maintenance OF
navigable waterways. and which In
time will bring about a remarkable de-
crease in the annual expenditures for
dredging and other methods of tenn
porary waterway Improvement on In
terror rivers with the exception of the
Mississippi
This policy is Of creating national
forests-first by retaining forest lands
already in the possession OF the gov
eminent; second, by purchasing for
est lands on the watersheds Of navi-
gable streams and so regulating these
lands as to improve and maintain the
navigability Of the streams. This gov
eminent long ago recognized the ad-
visibility Of retaining forest lands
which It already owned, both as an aid
to navigation and for other uses. 1t
has now in western and northwestern
states, and In Florida, 100 national
forests covering a total area Of 16o.-
6s1.57s acres. Besides these. public
lands have been reserved in Porto Rico
and Alaska totalling 26,s14,so0 acres.
But 1t was not until barely month
ago that the government, on September
6. 1912, made it's first purchase Of for
est land to be converted into a ma
tional forest. Acting under the au-
thority given him by the Weeks law.
passed in March, 1911, the secretary of
agriculture on that date, with the APP
prevail Of the national forest conserva-
ton commission. signed a check for
$4,000 in payment for S113 acres of
land in western North Carolina, known
a. tho Mt. Mitchell tract. This tract
10 to be the beginning OF the NAppa-
lachian national forests
The Weeks Law.
The Weeks law enacted THAT the
consent of the congress Of the United
States Is hereby given to each of the
several states Of the Union to enter
into any agreement or compact, not I'm
conflict with the law OF the United
States. with any other state or states
for the purpose OF conserving the for
ests and the water supply of the states
entering into such agreement or COM
pact" Tho law appropriated for 1910,
one million dollars, and for five years
thereafter two millions annually, for
use in tho examination, survey and
requirement Of lands located on the
headwaters OF navigable streams or
those which are being or may be de-
veloped for navigable purposes"
The law created the national forest
reservation commission. consisting of
the secretary OF war. the secretary of
the Interior the secretary of agricul-
ture. two members OF the senate to be
appointed by the vice president and
two members OF the house of represen-
tatives to be selected by the speaker
The congressional members are: Sen
ator Jacob H. Gallinger, of New Hamp-
shire. chairman; Senator John Walter
Smith. OF Maryland: Representative
Willis c. Hawley. of Oregon, and Rep
resentative Gordon Lee, of Georgia 1t
is the duty OF the commission to pass
upon and fix the price of lands which
are recommended for purchase by the
bureau of forestry, of the department
of agriculture The secretary of agri-
culture is authorized to sign the checks
Aside from providing that the ap-
preparations be applied to the water
sheds OF navigable streams within
states whose legislatures have con-
scented to the acquisition of such lands
by the United States, the law does not
restrict purchases by particular re-
gions. The states which have passed
the necessary lcgisations and in which
purchases are being considered are:
Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland
Virginia, West Virginia, North Caro-
lima, Tennessee, South Carolina and
Georgia.
Source Of Streams.
The source of streams having origin
In the Rocky mountains or mountains
nearer to the Pacific coast are already
10, lar