Evening star., 1937-05-30
DISPUTE |MPER|LS
U.S.REORCAN|z|NG
Clash of Wallace and Ickes
on Forestry Control
Threatens Plan.
BY WILL P. KENNEDY.

The controversy between two ad-
miniStration favorites in the cabinet
Secretary OF Agriculture wallace and
Secretary of the Interior Ickes-over
control Of forest resources threatens
to wreck the plans Of President Roose- .
welt and congressional leaders for re-
organization Of the administrative
branch Of the Government at this
session.
Direct appeal to each member Of
Congress has been made by important
national organizations interested in
this phase Of reorganization, with the
result that many members of Congress
are set against the proposed transfer
for the forest service from Agriculture
to the Interior Department, to be re-
named the Department of Conserva-
ton. This issue in the minds of many
Senators and Representatives is second
only to the proposal to take the con-
troller general and his pre-audit away
from Congress and place it under the
executive branch, with the legislative
establishment given only a post audit
of expenditures.
Either Tuesday or Wednesday the
House Reorganization Committee is
to meet on it's four-bill program. and
the last of this week the Senate re-
organization group is to meet on
legislation which Majority Leader
Robinson will offer. he says, in a
single bill to carry out the President s
recommendations.
Urges Conservation Unit.
Mr.. Roosevelt has advocated q con-
servation department as one OF II
major departments in the now famous
BroWnlow report, setting forth the
views Of the Presidents Advisory Com
mittee, on which the Joint Congress
sional Committee on Government has
been holding hearings for several
months. This recommendation wa.
made because conservation, the Presi-
dent argued, represents q major
purpose Of our Government"
Such department, 1t was explained
"odAo oaNAAoe VIC lCSlACllG Will lS-
gard to the protection and use Of the
natural resources Of the Nation and
the public domain: would administer
the public lands, parks. territories
and reservations and enforce the con-
servation laws with regard to public
lands and mineral and water re-
sources"
Secretary 1ckes is endeavoring to
bring into the proposed department
all the plant and animal resources
Of the public lands. He contends
forestry has nothing to do with agri-
culture. In opposition to this, it is
argued that such course would "ren-
der asunder the unity of the Govern
ment's farm-forest land program"
Based on experience in this and
foreign countries in dealing with re-
sources Of the soil, forestry was trans
ferred from the Interior Department
to the Agriculture Department in 1905,
by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt Talk Recalled.
Members of Congress are asking how
President Roosevelt can support Sec
retary 1ckes in the present effort to
wrest the national forests from Agri-
culture when, in 1888, addressing q
group Of young Georgia farmers, he
said "it must not be forgotten that
trees are as important q crop as wheat,
corn and other things grown"
Attention also has been directed to
the fact the farms Of America contain
more acreage in trees than any crop,
and that their care and preservation
call for the application Of scientific
knowledge common to agriculture.