Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1913-02-20
Clifford PlnChOt Opposed to Turning
National Forests TO Western States
MAJORITY IN PRIVATE HANDS
Thirty.Seven Private Citizens Control as Much
as Remaining NInety.fOur Million.

llOidl CONSERVATION hSSOCldllOll, III
which he clearly defines his reason
for opposing turning the National
Forests over to the people of the
Western States. To those interested
in Conservation, the article will prove
of interest
My Dear Sir:
Both in and out of Congress an
attempt is being made to turn the
National Forests, which now belong
to the whole people, over to the
Western States. The attempt was
was started because most of the
openings through which the public
lands and their resources used to be
stolen have been closed The men
who have grown rich or who desire
TO grow rich, by looting the public
domain and now facing hard times.
These men regard any change from
national control as a change for the
better, for TO them the present situa-
ton could not we'll be worse. AL
though a certain number of honest
but mistaken men are behind the eff
fort to destroy the National Forests,
still in a somewhat extensive expert
ence with land grabbers, | cannot re-
call a single one who was not an ar
dent friend of this policy
Some of the men most interested
deny that any such movement exists
at all A partial answer is that a
provision to give the National For
ests and public lands to the Western
States was introduced and defeated
at the last session OF Congress, that
many Western Governors advocate
it, and that more than dozen bills
to promote or carry it out are actu-
ally before Congress now.
The National Forests, like the tim
Der, the water power, the grass where
the forest is open, and the minerals
they contain, do not stop, and the
use Of them does not stop, at State
lines. They can be protected and
used with success only under pol
icy that is alive to the interests Of
the whole people, and not merely to
the interests of any one section or
State.
The heart of the Conservation pol
icy is development and use. The
United States Forest Service, now
bitterly attacked by those whom it
has prevented from grabbing public
resources, has always stood for the
prompt development OF the National
Forests, and the use of them by the
small man first.
Six hundred thousand people use
the National Forests every year The
sheep and cattle which Craze within
their boundaries supply one-sixth of
the American people with meat.
Every man, woman, and child in the
United States owns six thousand feet
of lumber in the National Forests.
Much of the timber in them is still
too remote and difficult of access to
be saleable now; but as rapidly as it
can be sold without loss and without
injury to the forest, it is cut and
used The Service has built more
than eleven thousand miles of tele-
phone lines, sixteen hundred miles of
road and over thirteen thousand
miles of trails. Forty thousand per-
mits for the use of timber free by
settlers are issued every year. Forty
five thousand miners operate in
National Forests, and the Forests
conserve the water supply of 1,175
towns and cities, and 324-Water power
projects which furnish light and
power for industries of every kind.
Four-ffths of the standing timber
in the United States is in private
hands. Thirty-seven private owners
absolutely control about as much
timber as the other ninety-four mill
lions of us have in the National For
ests. What the Nation has left must
be protected for the use of us all
against the coming time of need, and
only the National Government can
do that
The Forest Service is a clean and
efficient organization almost entirely
made up of Western men. 1t has al
ways been and is today wholly free
from politics. Why should the Am
erican people run the risk of polit-
ical Encouragement and private mo-
nopoly by splitting up the National
Forests between fifteen or twenty
separate States, most of which have
no forest services to take charge of
them? 1t is bad business to multi
ply organizations when one will do
the work. especially when that one
is doing it well already.
If this movement were to succeed
two billion dollars worth of public
property in. the National Forests
would be in danger of passing by
way of State ownership into private
hands. But the greatest danger lies
in the monopolies of coal, water
power, timber, and other natural re-
sources to which such private owner
ship inevitably leads. The proof Of
Nice Strained Hone,