The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-13
REPORT DISCUSSES CONCENTRATION 0F U. s. TIMBER LANDS Control of Timber Limited to Small Number
 of Men
REPORT IS SUBMITTED
 TO PRESIDENT WILSON
Says Control of Standing Timber by Few Men Means Higher Prices. Some Owners Acquired Land
 in Wholesale Manner

III "
 Washington, July 12.-Concentration 0 timber lands in the United States fl ahe hands of a few owners is discussed at length in the second and third part of the report of the bureau of corpor ations on the lumber industry, submitted to President Wilson today by Commis sioner Davies.
 Two men hold 49 per cent of the tim Der in southwestern Washington, the re port says: five men hold 36 per cent ii western Oregon; six have TO per cent il northeastern California; 10 have nor than half in the redwood area and II north central Idaho four holders hay, 50 per cent.
 Affects Price of Timber
 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 HIS III pdIl lloili SQt0 SDttuldIiNt nOiu- ing. are underlying facts that will be- come more and more important elements in determining the price of lumber as the supply of timber diminis1es, says the report.
 "The main fact shown is that 1894 tim Der owners hold in fee over one-twentieth of the land area of the entire United States from the Canadian to the Mex 1pp In mo a1t Gf.tn own no lands at all In the 900 timbered counties investigated they own one seventh of the are.
 ''These 1891 holders own iO5, ,GoOooo 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,S0O,00 acres, or nearly 10 times the land area of New Jersey Three land grant railroads own enough to give 15 acres to every male or voting age in the nine western states where almost all their holdings lie.
 All Not Suitable for Filling
 Not all this land is suitable for ag- ricuture. 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 semiarid.
 in the upper peninsula of Michigan 45 per cent of the land is held, mostly in fee, by 32 timber owners. In Florida 52 holders, mostly timber owners, hold one-third of the land in the entire state
 Lavish land grants and loose. ill en- forced land laws are the historical back ground of the concentration of land and timber ownership shown in this report
 "A study of the present ownership oi 7,S70,000 acres of railroad, wogan road and canal grant lands, covering most of the granted lands in the map area and a little elsewhere. shows that oi these particular lands, granted long ago to single corporations apparently with the idea that they would be quick ly sold to settlers, only 15 per cen are now distributed in small holdings Eighty-five per cent are owned by tho grantees or their successors, or b5 large timber holders. Of S2,500 900 acres granted to three western railroads 1T the sixties, the roads still retained 4l per cent in 1910.
 Moreover, the states appear to have disposed of the various federal grants made to them in such way as to con tribute to the concentration of lant and timber ownership Florida is striking example of this. Again, tn, public land laws. the cash sale law tnow repealed), the scrip laws, and tn, homestead and timber and stone law. operated, al least in timber regions, tc transfer government lands directly or almost directly to great holders.
 Acquired in Wholesale Lots
 Ninety eight per cent Of the 1,50O 900 acres comprised In the larges timber holdings in the lake states wa! asquired in a wholesale manner, chief, from tracts disposed of by the govern ment through grants to the state O under the scrip and the cash sale laws
 This marked concentration in thu ownership of land has two importan aspects. The first is the concentration of control of the natural resources, oth CT than agricultural in the area com prised in these great holdings. Besides it's timber now standing, part of tn, land must be depended on, together with the national forests. to suppl, future crops of timber. Furthermore some of it has valuable resources O. ores. oil, gas, water power. etc.
 "rhe second is the possibility tha these holdings, which will form a con siderable proportion of the future ares used for agriculture in this country
 
 control. Formerly lumbermen often go rid of their cut-over land at nomina prices or let 1t go for taxes
 Policy Abandoned
 But as the agricultural possibilitie of such land have become apparent thi policy is bein gabandoned A large par of the present cut-over land is now 0 considerable value for tfllage. That par of the present tiinberland which, whel eenuded will be arabic, will have a high or and higher value as land the longe the timber is kept uncut. because If tn timber is held for many years the Ian. when finally denuded will be in greate demand for agriculture. Such a condi ton suggests the following potential ef fects upon the public: High prices fo land sold to settlers, increase of the ten anfry system, or direct farming by larg corporations
 The data obtained by the bureau, s far as land is concerned, are not stuff cient for a study of the land problem a q whole. They cover only one class c owners, the timbermen, and only pal of the country. They show condition only at the time of the investigation and do not show whether the concentra tion is increasing or decreasing. The are not typical of present conditions i