The Coconino sun., 1917-01-26
Honorable David F. Houston,S Secretary of Agriculture,
 Washington, D. c.

Washington, D. c.
 Dear Sir:
 Your letter to T. w. Tomlinson, Secretary of the American National Live Stock Association, under date of November 3rd, 1916, wherein you set forth the reasons offered by the De- partment of Agriculture for the pro- posed increase in fees for grazing stock upon National Forests, has been called to the attention of the Advisory Board of the Tusayan Cattle Growers Association, an organization repre- senting over eighty per cent of the permittees grazing cattle upon the Tusayan National Forest, one of the largest National Forests in the state of Arizona.
 After a careful consideration of the reasons offered by you for the pro- posed increase in grazing fees, upon behalf of the members of this asso- citation we desire to enter an earnest protest against the proposed action, and in doing so submit our reasons as herinafter set forth.
 In your letter to Secretary Tomlin- son you state that one of the leading criticisms of the management of the National Forests is that they are not self-supporting and are burden upon the national treasury. In our judg. ment this is by no means valid criti- cism.
 If the original objects of Forestry, viz, the conservation of the timber and water supplies of the nation, as were set forth by the Naional Acade- my of Sciences in 1897 when that body was requested by the Secretary of the Interior to formulate a national forest policy, and which resulted in the pass age of the act of June 30th., 1897, (30 Stat. 34-36), are correct and are a benefit to the people as whole, and if the timber and water resources of the National Forests are insufficient to sustain the cost of administration, why should the National Forests not be a legitimate burden upon the na- tional treasury?
 An examination of the organic act authorizing the creation of National Forests, the act of March 3rd, 1891, (26 Stat. 1095), and the act of June 3Oth., 1897 (30 Stat, 34-36), which supplements the same, discloses the fact that neither the words stock raising" nor grazing" appear there in. As an asset, therefore, of Forest ry, grazing is bi-product. It is some thing that has been thrown into the lap of the National Forests which was not contemplated at the time of the passage of the organic act. That this is true is amply testified by the fact that originally, in fact up to 1905, no fees whatever were charged permit. tees for the privilege of grazing stock upon National Forests.
 Again, it is asserted by you that one of the criticisms frequently ad- vanced against the Forest Service is the fact that timber and other re sources of the Forests are being dis posed of at market prices under com mercial methods and at competitive prices, while grazing is being dis posed of to stockmen at extremely low prices.
 The effect of this criticism IS that grazing privileges should be disposed of in the same manner as the timber on a Forest is sold, viz. to the highest bidder. In reply to this we are loath to believe that the government would for a moment contemplate such ac- tion. It is admitted that under the act of June 30th., 1897, the govern ment would for a moment contem- plate such action. It is admitted that under the act of June 30th, 1897, the government has a legal right to take such action should it fit to do so. However, we do deny the moral and equitable right of it to place the dis posal of grazing privileges upon the same plane as is the right to cut and sell timber. In the first place the highest bidder for the right to cut and sell timber has acquired no right, pri- vilege or preference to do so in the sense of that acquired by a permittee to graze stock upon National For est. He has in no sense assisted Tn the development of the country or the range. He has never been prior user or occupant of the range, nor in any instance has he been pioneer in the country, blazing trail for others to come and assist in making the West what it is today. Upon the other hand the average stockman is pioneer in the development of the resources oi the West. Long, long before such thing as a National Forest was ever