Pueblo chieftain., 1922-01-17
SHALL THE FORESTS CHANGE KEEPERS?

| ture. to bring any part OF this wild
treasure under mans control. Ma
| ture to the pioneer was not a thing TO
| be studied and cared for. She was
Il grim enemy for strong men to
| fight. Game was to be killed. forests
! TO be filled. lend to be ploughed. The
pioneer developed toward the natural
resurces of the earth an aggressive,
| embattled attitude. He rejoiced in
every dent that mans energy mcde
on the wilderness. and he hated the
sight OF the wilderness unconquercd.
| The typical pioneer has never got
! over this attitude, just as he has
never got over his hatred of the In
! dians. And Secretary Fall seems to
be the typical pioneer. His expires,
sions nearly always have the ring OF
sincerity, and they express that pion-
, Ger attitude toward nature is all its
! simplicity
! Man cannot exhaust the resources
! OF Nature and mover will" he pro-
! claimed in an interview published in
{ the Colorado Springs Gazette. Sep
] tcmher 90, 1921 And this premise
he followed with several logical con-
4 clusions from 1t.
"All natural resources should be
made as easy of access as possible
to the present generation" was an
other OF his expression. and he also
announced that there Is enough
timber rotting every year to supply
the normal demand"
CAN RESOURCES BE
EXHAUSTED?
Now the friends of the Roosevelt
policy of conservation in all parts OF
the sountry have seized upon such
expressions as these and made a
Roman holiday. 1t scarcely seems
necessary to set forth their rebuttal,
which the intelligent American news
paper reader will easily imagine. With
regard to the Secretary's great major
premise that natural resources are
ineNahustible, the conscrvationist-
have pointed out that this, as a mat
ter of fact. applies only to air and
water. and they go on to give the
long list of natural resources that
have been exhausted or impaired in
this country. II the Secretary is
right in saying that natural resources
should be made as easily accessible as
possible. then they urge. the whole
science of conservation, as practiscd
all over the civilized world, Is a mis-
take. This science which has en-
abled the French and the German to
perpetuate their forests and game
down thru the centuries. the lack of
which has left so much OF China n
barren waste torn by floods, is really
all unnecessary. In fact, the Secrc-
RADIO Springs interview. n high and
lonely position where the conscrva
ZIONIST snipers can crack away at him
from several different directions. and
they have not neglected the oppor- |
tunity.
This. then, is the real issue behind |
the transfer project. The only osten- |
sible reason brought forward for II |
is that the Interior Department is
tho official real estate office OF tho |
nation and should have charge OF all |
land deals to prevent duplication. /
The Forest Service has certain graz I
ing rights 10 lease and a limited and |
diminishing number of hcmesteads 20 4
give away along streams The inter- /
ior Department. IL Is claimed. should |
exercise these functions. But Is also
wants tho forests themselves. This,
the conservatio1ysts say. Is a case OF
demanding the hide because YOU de- 1
serve tho tail and the two cannot be y
separated. But this whole contention
Is minor one. n smoke screen to /
hide the real issue.
At first Il looked as tho the trans !
Ter might he rushed thru n part
of n general reorganization scheme
without much attention being focused
on it. But Il has been embodied In Y
sevrsl other measures and so brought
out into the open. where its enemies
have n better chance to attack II. and b
Its friends 10 defend It.
Tho Alaska forests are special /
phase OF the question. which will be T
taken up in a future Hassin Letter
Tho main fact. which this article aims
TO set forth impsrtialiy. is that the I
transfer is intended TO be. and will
he TO some extent II IL takcs place. .
n change OF policy toward tho ma
tional forests from that OF scicnti- !
fic conservation in tho Roosevelt ira
dition in tho direction OF free use
IN tho pioneer sense. Tho fact that
Secretary Fail would have charge OF
tho forests, in vicw OF his expressed
policy with regard to all natural re-
sources seems sufficient proof OF this.