The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-01-12

the officers of the forest service. A
great deal of the criticism against the
forest service in the administration IF
this act is to some extent at least,
just. but at the. game time it is doubt
full If any other organization of the
government or any private corporation
| would have done very much better. AS
a general rule, If there is no timber
involved on. the agricultural lands, the
tract is listed, for entry without any
more delay than Is necessary for any
inter-departmental matter. Where
there Is valuable timber involved it has
been. the policy of the forest service
to hold the land until after the timber
is cut and then to list the land. Fol
a justification of this policy 1t is only
necessary for the ordinary citizen to
consider the timber lands adjoining the
boundaries of any of the western ma
/ tional forests. Many of the national
forests west of the continental divide
in western Montana and northern
| Idaho. have their boundaries located
well towards the breaks of the noun
tains through heavy timber. The por-
ton outside the forest boundaries is
timber land and a great deal of it Is
agricultural land. These lands were
entered under the public land laws be-
fore the forests We're created. The
/ land, however, is not being used for
agriculture, but is held by lumber com
panies for its timber value. Eventually
there Is no question but that these
lands will pass into the hands of farm
ers, but they will not be farmed until
the timber is cut off and marketed. If
the forest service followed the plan of
opening to entry agriculture land hav-
ing valuable stands of timber on them,
they would follow the same course as
similar lands outside the boundaries.
In other words they would fall into the
hands of lumber companies and be held
until it suited their pleasure to cut off
| the timber. In the meantime the set
clement of the country would be held
up just as it is now held up by the
timber holdings outside the forest
boundaries.
The quickest way to open up agri-
culture land to settlement, having val
i liable stand of timber, is to retain
them In the hands of the government
until the timber is cut off. There is
nothing left then but agricultural alu
and all these lands which are suffi-
GENTLY valuable for agriculture. will be
cleared and settled. The agricultural
lands inside the national forest bound
aries will be settled at the present
rate long before similar lands outside
the boundaries. The western country
needs settlers. In his policy the forest
service VIII, in the long run, help the
country most. The remoya OF the
timber depends, however, on the mar
ket for lumber. But this is necessarily
the case whether inside or outside the
! forest with the difference that If 1t Is
in the hands Of the forest service ev-
ery effort viii be made to dispose of
the timber within a reasonable time.
| No attempt will be made to hold 1t for
higher prices. No man would be JUS
titled in throwing away 5000 or sc, 900
or more in stumpage value. of timber in
order to clear land for agriculture.
Neither is the forest service justified
in doing this as agents of the people.
Act of June II, 1906.
The procedure for the. securing of
land under the act of June II. 1906, is
about as follows: One prospective
homcsteader locates a piece of land in
side the forest which he desires for
a home. Application blanks are fur
nished him by any officer of the forest
service without charge. On this blank
he describes the land desired and for
wards it to the district forester at
Missoula. A record ID made or his ap-
plication and the case referred to the
supervisor who takes action to have
| the claim SURVEYED and Ii found chiefly
valuable for agriculture under the law,
he recommends the ease for opening
to entry. 1t is then referred to the
! district forester and by him to the