The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-10-02
LAND LooTlNo CONSERVATION

There appears to be no limitation
on what can be done with the gov
eminent domain under the interpre-
tations of the forestry law and in the
name of conservation The dam
age Is great enough when the re,
sources of section are bottled up
and all progress is stopped, as is the
case in Alaska and many parts OF
the west. But worse things than this
have taken place. Here Is well au-
thenticated instance of wholesale
looting, given by the Seattle Post
Intelligencer:
In the early part of June last, Rep
resentative Humphrey of this state,
speaking of the gigantic abuses ana
practical frauds upon the country
which had been committed in the
name of conservation, cited the spe-
cific instance of the Santa Fe rail-
road company, which has been the
beneficiary of such frauds. He show
ed how the forestry service had in
duced President Roosevelt to create
forest reserve in Arizona, which
covered large share OF the lands
granted the Santa Fe, which lands
were largely desert, without any
| timber on them and valueless for any
purpose. When the forest reserve
was thus created, under the lieu land
provisions of the forest reserve act
the railroad company relinquished its
worthless lands to the government
and secured in lieu thereof the right
to select an equal quantity Of the
public domain anywhere in the wesr.
HE showed that, through this fake
reservation and the lieu land privi-
lege, the railroad secured 100000 acres
of the best public lands on the con
tinent in exchange for worthless des-
ert. In this state of Washington
alone $4,000 acres of the best timber
land was selected by the company OF
it's assigns.
ION September IS, Senator Ashurst
of Arizona, arose to defend the PEG
pie of his state. He said he had beer
asked if the conditions described b;
Representative Humphrey actual,
existed and had been compelled II
admit that the statements made by
the representative from Washington
were exactly true. Thereupon he hat
been asked, further, why the people
of Arizona had sat quietly and per.
mitted such gigantic frauds TO b.
Iperpetrated without protest There
fore, he introduced into the record Of
fetal documents showing that pro-
test after protest had been made by
the people of Arizona and by count,
boards of supervisors. Nevertheless
the proclamation creating the reserve
was signed by President Roosevelt
And in this manner said Senator
Ashurst, there lands, which previ-
of taxation at from Is cents to &c
cents per acre. jumped to a specula-
tive value of from S. to IS per acre;
and this speculative inflated and ar
tficial value was created for the rea
son that under the order Of the trans
fer, lands denuded of timber, lands
upon which timber never grew, and
lands upon which a iackrabbit could
not live unless he carried a haver-
sack, were permitted to be conveyed
to the government, and favorably To-
Gated, well timbered and otherwise
valuable lands allowed to be selected
by the railroad company in lieu of
those relinquished to the govern
ment.'
THE worst looting of the public do
main in the past furnishes few, If any.
parallels to the looting done in the
name of conservation.