Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-13
REPORT GIVEN ON
LUMBER INDUSTRY
IN UNITED STATES
Concentration of Timber
Lands in the Hands of a
Few Shown by the Bureau
Of Corporations.

Washington, July 13.-Concen entration
Of timber lands in the United States in
the hands OF few owners is dis
cussed at length in the second and third
parts Of the report of the bureau of cor
porations on the lumber industry. SUBJ
mitted to President Wilson today by
Commissioner Davies.
Two men hold 40 per cent OF the tim
ber in southwestern Washington, the
report says; five men hold S6 per cent
in western Oregon; six have 10 per
cent in northeastern California; 10
have move than half in the redwood
area, and in north central Idaho four
holders have 80 per cent.
''The control of our standing timber
IL q comparatively few enormous hold
ingA speculatively held far in advance
of any use thereof, and the great In
crease in the value OF timber resulting
in part from such speculative holdings,
are underlying facts that will become
more and more important elements in
determining the price Of lumber are the
supply OF timber diminishes." says the
report.
''The main fact shown is that 1894
OWhCAb hOAA IA AOC ONOA OhO-
twentieth of the land area OF the en-
tire United States from the Canadian
to the Mexican border. In many
states these 1894 own no lands at all.
In the 900 timbered counties inves-
| tigated they own one-seventh of the
area
Holders of Timber.
"These 1894 holders own los, 100000
acres. This Is an area four fifths the
size of France, or greater than the
entire state of California; or more
than two and one-half times the land
area of the six New England states.
Sixteen holders own 47,SoO, 900 acres. or
nearly 10 times the land area of New
Jersey Three land-grant railroads
own enough to give 10 acres to every
male Of voting age in the nine west
ern states where almost all their hold
ings lie.
mot all this land is suitable for ag-
riculture. In the south and in the lake
states and in part of the west a large
portion of 1t can be used for agricul-
ture after the timber is removed; but
in many parts of the west the land is
mountainous and adapted chiefly to re-
forestation. Much of the railroad
owned land outside the timber regions
is arid or semi arid.
In the upper peninsula of Michigan
45 per cent of the land is held, most
ly in fee, by 80 timber owners. In
Florida 81 holders, (mostly timber own
ers) hold one third of the land in the
entire state.
Lavish land grants and loose, I'LL
enforced land laws are the historical
background Of the concentration of
land and timber ownership shown in
this report. A study Of the present
owership of 1870, 600 acres of railroad,
wagon road, and canal grant lands,
covering most of the granted lands in
the map area, and a little elsewhere,
shows that of these particular lands,
granted long ago to single corporations
apparently with the idea that they
would be quickly sold to settlers. only
Is per cent are now distributed in
small holdings. Eighty-five per cent
are owned by the grantees or their
successors, or by large timber hold
ers. or S2,500,0O0 acres granted to
three western railroads in the sixties.
the roads still retained 40 per cent in
1910.
Disposed Of Federal Grants.
Moreover. the states appear to have
disposed of the various federal grants
made to them in such a way as to
contribute to the concentration of land
and timber ownership. Florida is a
striking example OF this. Again, the
Continued on Page Two)