Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1921-01-27
State Loses
In nO.CLand
Exchanges
Memorial Petitions
Congress to Prevent
Further Pillaging of
Lumber Resources

Contending that the "gre1 est
land steal in the history of the state
is being pulled off, through the
exchange of widely scattered pri-
yateIy owned tracts of timber land
for blocked -out tracts of Oregon
and California grant lands in Lane
Douglas and Coos counties, L. r.
Bean Of Lane "Wednesday intro
duced Join memorial to congress.
asking that all exchanges now
pending be held up by congress un-
til full inVes' igation can be made.
Bean, asking unanimous consent
for the immediate consideration OF
his memorial took the floor this
afternoon in suDDort of bis meas
ure and charged that investigation
Of the records at Washington had
disclosed 10 Rim that the Wcyer-
hauser interests, Porter Bro acrs,
the pilsburg interests the SuiSla"
Timber company and other big
owners were blocking out vast
holdings amounting in tn" aggrn-
gate from 10000 10 100000 acres
Of timber close along the railroads.
and water courses. and offering in
exchange for it widely scattered
small tracts.
Memorial Passed.
He contcnded that there had /
never been fair cruise made of
the lands bv the government and
he charged that the timber offered
in exchange because OF its position I
was not worth 81 a thousand feet
while the blocked-in holdings
would bew orth at least So thou .
sand |
The memorial was adopted with
out any negative votes cast against I
Il.
The Bean memorial sets out that |
congress in June, 1915, revesteu /
title to oregon and California lands
amounting to approximately 1000
900 acres in the federal govern
ment, and reviews the terms OF the |
Chamberlain Ferris act.
Get Better Lands.
IT Is contehded pursuant the
provisions of the law many appll-
cations have been made for the
exchange of privately owned land
for land within the grant, and it Is
alleged that "indlviduals and cor
porations are endeaVorlng to pro-
cure from the federal government
the best and most valuable timber
ed lands within said grant, tender
ing in exchange therefor widely
scattered, inaccessible and unmar-
ketable holdings. and these eX-
changes have been previously rec
commended by the government i
agent" II
IL is also alleged that much of
the lands to be secured under the !
pending applications are situated
''along railroads and water routes
of transpor are now in de-
mand by sawmills now operating
and others wanting to operate. but /,
are withheld wanting to operate,
hut are withheld from sale by the
department Of the interior pending
considering applications for eY-
change.
Not Carefully Crulsed.
IL is also said that large corpor-
ate interests have made application
10 tAGNhlEA ia iNANthN 'N''NN q,
in Douglas county amounting to
many thousands of acres of grant
lands in Coos county" and that !,
these applications which have been
approved, "would remove from the !,
tax rolls of Douglas county vast
areas OF its now taxable resources 9
to the great dctrimept of said coun-
tv and correspondingly add to the =
taxable resources of Coos county"
but that the exchange would cause
the county "to lose 25 per cent of I,
the sale value of the timber as pro- +
vlded i'm the revestmcut act" a
II Is contendcd in the memorial g
that no careful and detailed cruise n
Of the sanding timber upon either a
the privately owned lands or the
lands of the government has been /,
made by the government as a basis l.
for determining the respective n
values OF the priva'o and the gov
ernmcnt lands, II
Wants Power for state. e
II is also alleged that "a large ,
quantity Of these rcycstcd lands has n
been set aside and withdrawn from !.
sale and settlement as power site 81
lands without due or any consider
alton as To their real value for
,Naterpower purposes. that the 1
lands 40 withdrawn are mostly tim =
bered lands lying along the streams
and much of which is good agri-
cultural land after the timber has
been removed: that the withdrawal
from sale and settlement OF theso
water power site lands is material II
Iy obstructing the development OF y"
puts'reams Tor logging purposes u
and the logging OF privately owned G.
timber situate on said streams" o.
IL Is set out that conservative y
,s innate OF the merehautahle tim p
Der on the lands Is approximately b.