The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-07-13
(Bv Associated Press.)

Washington. July characterization
of timber lands in the United States
in the hands of a few owners is dis
cussed at length in the second and |
third parts Of the report Of the Bu-
reau Of Corporations on the Lumber
Industry. submitted President Wilson
today by Commissioner Davies.
Two men hold 40 per cent of the
timber in Southwestern washington,
the report says; five men hold 36 per
cent in Western Oregon; six have 70
per cent in northeastern California;
ten have more than half in the red
wood area, and in north central Idaho
four holders have so per cent.
"The control of our standing timber
in comparatively few enormous hold
ings, speculatively held far in advance
of any use thereof, and the great in
crease in the value of timber, result
ing in part from such speculative hold
ings, are underlying facts that will
become more and more important ele-
ments in determining the price of
lumber as the supply Of timber dimin-
ishes,' says the report
The main fact shown is that 1884
timber owners hold in fee over one
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 investi
gated they own one-seventh of the
area.
Ownership Concentrated.
"These 1894 holders own 105, 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,S00,000 acres
or nearly ten times the land area Of
New Jersey. These land-grant rail
roads own enough to give Is acres tc
every male of voting age in the
western states where almost all theil
holdings lie.
"In the Upper Peninsula of Michi
gan As per cent of the land Is held
mostly in fee, by 32 timber owners. II
Florida So holders (mostly timber own
ers) hold one-third of the land in the
entire state.
Lavish land grants and loose, Ill
enforced land laws are the historical
background of the concentration o
land and timber ownership shown ii
this report. A study Of the present
ownership of 100000 acres of rail
road, wagon-road, and canal gram
lands, covering most of the granted
lands in the map area, and 6
little elsewhere, shows that of these
particular lands, granted long ago tt
single corporations apparently witt
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 holders. OF S2,50O,O0(
acres granted to three western rail
roads in the sixties, the roads still
retained 40 per cent in 1910.
Tie Up Natural Resources.
"This marked concentration in thu
ownership of land has two important
aspects. The first is the concentration
of control of the natural resources
other than agricultural in the ares
comprised in these great holdings. Be
sides its timber now standing, par
of the land must be depended on, to
gether with the national forests, t.
supply future crops of timber. Fur
thermore, some of it has valuable re
sources of ores, oil, gas, water pow
er, etc.
"The second is the possibility tina
these holdings, which will form con
siderable proportion of the futur
area used for agriculture in this coun
try, may be retained under concer
trated control. Formerly lumbermel
often got rid of their cut-over land a
nominal prices or let 1t go for taxes
But as the agricultural possibilities
such land have become apparent thi
, policy is being abandoned. A larg
, part of the present cut-over land
now of considerable value for tillag'
That part OF the present timberlan