Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-02-19
PINCHoT APPEALS TO PUBLIC.
Gives Argument to Support OppOsi-
ton Destruction Forest Service.

tor KeOwee Courier: Both in and out
Of Congress an attempt is being
made to turn the National Forests,
| pie, over to the Western States. This
attempt was started because most of
the openings through which the pub
lie lands and their used to
who have grown rich, or who desire
to grow rich, by looting the public
domain are now facing hard times.
These men regard any change from
national control as a change for the
better, for to them the present stu
alton could not well be worse. AL
though a certain number Of honest.
but mistaken, men are behind the
effort to destroy the national forests,
still, in a somewhat extensive eXpe-
rience with land grabbers, | cannot
recall a single one who was not an
ardent friend of this policy.
Some Of the men most Interested
way Ni'~t "ht S'Sh III SItSit SHlSlo
at all. A partial answer is hal a
provision to give the national for
est md public lands to the Western
st les was introduced and defeated
At the last session of Congress-; that
Iany Western Governors advocate
t, and that more than a dozen bills
TO promote or carry it out are actu-
ally before Congress now.
The national forests, like the tim
Der, the waterpower, 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 a policy
that is alive to the interests Of the
whole people, and not merely to the
interests Of any n 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
prompt development of the national
forests and the use Of them by the
small mar 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, 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 ma
tional forests, and the forests con-
serve the water supply Of 1,175
towns and cities and 324 WATERPROOF.
er projects which furnish light and
power for industries OF every kind.
Four-fifths ofIthe standing timber
in the United States is in private
hands Thirtv-covap nr;voto ou,o,,
absolutely control about as much
timber as the other "a millions Of
us have in the national forests. What
the nation has left must be protect
ed 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 entire
ly made up OF Western men. 1t has
always been and is to-day wholly
free from politics. Why should the
American people run the risk of po-
litical acknowledgement and private
monopoly by splitting up the nation
al forests between fifteen or twenty
separate States, most Of which have
no forest service to take charge Of
them? 1t is bad business to multiply
organizations when one will do the
work-especially when that ono is
doing it well already.
If this movement were to succeed
two billion dollars worth o. public
property in the national forests
would be in danger Of passing, by
way of State ownership. into private