The Cordova daily times., 1915-02-09
UNCLE SAM MUST PAY HIMSELF
 FUR TIMBER FUR ALASKA ROAD

If Franklin K Lane, secretary of the interior. or Woodrow Wilson, pres ident of the United States, want to use any timber, earth or stone from the national forests of Alaska for the construction of the government rail road in the territory of Alaska, they will have to pay the forest service for 1t out of the railroad appropriation and take it under the forest service supervision.
 If Josephus Daniels, secretary of the navy, wants to cut costs in navy | shipbuildng by using the timebr from the national forests, he, too, will have to pay out of his appropriations.
 The rights, the powers and the pre- | negatives of the forest service in the administration of the national forests l must De preserved.
 This is the ruling of the committee on agriculture of the house of repre- sentatives, and the ruling has been indorsed by the house itself.
 The reason given is that the forest service is entitled to whatever book keeping showing that can be made of earnings, even if that earning consists simply of taking money out of one of Uncle Sam's pockets and putting it in another
 As an immediate result the govern ment railroad in Alaska will have to pay out of it's maximum allowance of $35,OOO,OOO just as corporation would pay, off it's ties and timber When the agricultural appropria- tion was being made in committee. proposals were submitted to it to permit the government railroad in Alaska to take earth, stone and tim Der free from the national forests, it having been found that the national forest service had no authority of law to favor even Uncle Sam himself in the matter of parting with the precious trees or anything else. Also a pro posal was submitted, at the insistance of Secretary Daniels, to permit the navy to take free such timber aa it might need for naval purposes, it being understood in both cases that the costs of labor and transportation were to be borne by the department which took the timber or other mater ial.
 In the committee Representative | Henry T. Helgesen, of North Dakota, opposed the proposal "The effect" | he told the committee, would be to | increase all of those appropriations (those for the railroad and those for | the navy, by the amount of the value of the timber or other material that | they took. They already have their appropriations so far as they have | asked for them, or that congress thought that they ought to have, and | this would increase them by that much | without any other act of congress. I cannot see why they should be given anything free of charge"
 The committee sustained MT. Hell geson, and when the bill came to the floor of the house it did not contain l the desired language. Representa- tive Albert Johnson called attention to the fact.
 Replying for the committee, Repre- sentative James c. Mclaughlin, of Michigan. felicitated the country that the peoples forests are being taken care of" Referring to the Alaska railroad proposal he said.
 That matter was fully considered | and discussed by us in the meetings of the committee, and we determined | to recommend to this house that no such provision should be put into this appropriation bill. Congress has ap- propriated money for construction of a railroad in Alaska, sufficient for the purchase of materials of all kinds, and there is no reason why that money should not be used.
 "The forest service is attacked in this house every time a bill is present ed more vehemently that any other provision of the appropriation bill. The forestry service is, and always has been, more savegely attacked than any other of the department of agri-