Albuquerque morning journal., 1913-11-28

character; lt rs opening to entry land
chiefly adapted to agriculture. Il ia|
further helping the settler by provid-
ing free such timber as he needs and
protecting him In the use Of the range
needed FOR his stock; and in every
way II undertakes 20 make the for
ests of public service and the coun
Try In the long run a better place FOR
men ana women to live in.
That a long step has already heen
taken toward this end Is indicated by
tho very extraordinary change in SEN
timent IN the west in the last few
years. I have this year been able to
analyze I'm detail the sentiment on the
individual forests and now know just
whore opposition In each case exists
and the extent 20 which the work u
the federal govorument is valued.
have been astonlshed az the over
whelming prepondetaucc Of sentiment
among the local communities IN favor
OF tho forest system Frequently
there are objections to certain regu-
lations, or difficulty and friction in
specific transactions but every year
these local troubles are being ad-
iusted on the ground. There is still
definite opposition to the forest sys-
tenn and the principles Of our admin
istraticn from certain groups. and
certain interests. There are still GER
tain water power interests which are
carrying on a fight against the forest
service. Many speculative interests
oppose the forest system because the
resources are not open TO private ac-
QUESTION under the general land laws
Certain men are opposed to the ma
tional forests because they can not
secure privileges that would be pos
sible II the forests were unprotected. /
For example In the southwest. ] find /
a well defined opposition among those
who desire to run herds of goats ON
the forests, without restriction. The |
desire to secure valuable timber for
speculation is now. and always viii I
be, a source Of opposition to the pub /
He control OF our forests
one proof of the present favorable /
sentiment is the fact that there are
now relatively few breaches of the (
regulations For example, in the .
Fourth administrative district which I
includes Utah. Nevada. northern Arl- /
coma, southern Idaho and southwest +
ern Wyoming. over 11.000 permits I
were issued last year. each involving I
some regulation. There were only I
cases Of tresnass, about I
half of which were innocent and the 4
of the remainder not very
important Such record would be I
lbsolutely impossible If the people /
themselves were not right behind the +
In other words, it was I
public sentiment that made It posi- 7
Die to carry out the procedure with .
such success.
In the national forest districts It I
IS now seen that the aim is to make
he national forests serviceahle at /
present as well as in the future, and /
people are cooperating more and /
more with the government TO make I
he local administration successful.
In the east the work of the federal I
government is today far more effec-
i've than ever before. The establish
nent of natiorml forests under the pro- +
visions of the Weeks law Is accom-
olishing many results not anticipated I.
wen by its more earnest advocates. (
The purchase Of lands on important
in the White mountains /
md southern Appalachians is stead
ly progressing Already contracts for
lver 100000 acres have been ap-
proved by the National Forest Reser- .
yation commission. These lands are
ocated on the most important water
sheds and have been secured at prices +
their actual value, the 7
lverage being $5.07 per acre It has +
llready been demonstrated that the /
up Of national forests BY
purchase and at reasonable prices is
The first effect Of these purchases
has been an educational one. The 4
vide interest in the work has result /
ID in an awakened appreciation of
crest protection and forestry wher
ver the government has been exam +
ming land for purchase. Co-opera
ion in forestry between the govern
nent and the states has received a
;reat stimulus The actual annual saw
ng from loss on areas protected from
ire directly as a result Of the Weeks
aw, on private as well as public
property, would amount to a very
arge aggregate sum. In short, the
Weeks law is now yielding results
which fully justify the new policy
which it established.
The nations interest in the success
# the forestry service is very great
he contribution Of the nation through
ederal agencies should be cores
,ondingly liberal Let the federal
government assume its full responsl-
'iltes Of leadership, assistance and
cooperation, and our forest problem
viii be on the way to certain solution.
SPOKANE GTlLlE EMTG-