35* AMERICAN FORESTRY 



orrn^nrth/*'^V'''°*?V\r*''* '° congress. Against the contention 

 of some of the western states that the public lands are held in trust for the 

 people of those states, the Court sets up the broader doctrine that "All the 

 public lands of the nation are held in trust for the people of the whole 



Zufd^CilLrrrd"^"^^^^^' °^* ''' ^«"^*«' '^ ^^^--^- ^- *^-*^-t 



evident that these decisions of a united court settle^clearly and finaHy tte 

 fundamental questions of the rights of the nation as an owner, ?he leSslative 

 powers of Congress, and the administrative powers of the executivf demrt 

 ment, which may be in charge of such lands. The developmenfof a natTonal 

 policy for dealing with our natural resources can now proceed with surer 

 footing along a road more fairly marked. 



A FORCED ISSUE 



?rt nf^^ if?- A, f ^^"^'^^/c^ewce giving currency to sensational reports 

 ^^ Fow r'° ^la«ka caused, it is alleged, by the regulations of the national 

 J^orest Service. According to the correspondent of Mining Science 

 the only remedy is the purchase of Alaska by Canada, The chief sponsor fo^ 

 this amazing proposal is a Canadian "who has important holdings in' Se 

 province (British Columbia) and territory." A great deal is 3 bv th^« 

 gentleman about the unsatisfactory boundary and^he difficult^ of opeJat'ng 

 on both sides of the line. It is not a new suggestion that the Alaskan 

 boundary IS unsatisfactory to Canadians. But whit has that to do with the 

 rules of the Forest Service? It almost always happens that an interlllTonal 

 w.nuf '^ line IS unsatisfactory if there is a' considerable amoun? of natura 

 wealth on both sides of the fence. Two or three citizens of this country who 



Canadian. """'"^ '°*''''*' '° '''' '''''''' ^'^ ^"^^^^ ^« agreeing wTth the 



The ^ievance at the root of all these complaints is the familiar ohp of 



Spw7.'" ^^ *\"1 ^' ^'•^^* P'-^P^^^y purchased of Rus ia thr^ lecretary 

 Seward's foresight, by and for the whole nation, cannot be used solely for thl 

 immediate profit of a few individuals, but is to b^ guarded and maintafned as I 

 permanent contributor to the general welfare. It is undoubtedly true tha* 

 a check has been placed temporarily upon the development of the resources 

 of Alaska, but the responsibility for this lies not with the verr reasonaS 

 rules of the Forest Service, but its root is to be found in the attem^s which 



own' Zr.^T^%^^ If ^' °'^°'^'*' '''''"'''' t« *^^Pl«it these resourceslor their 

 o^^n benefit and without much regard to national regulations Under tK 

 circumsrances 1 became necessary to call a halt, and if many enternr su's 

 and .elf-rehant individuals who have gone into Alaska to beTter^their fortune^ 

 have suflfered somewhat by this delay, it is to be regretted but it I 



It is quite natural that men who have gone into the wilderness and «too<l 

 alone, measuring their strength against the strength of thT frozen North un?n 

 they seemed to be the center of the universe, should find it diflicuft to ?urn ?heir 

 gaze backward to the increasing millions whom they left behind them and to 

 reduce the colossal fortunes of their dreams to a reasonable shar^'inttlt 



