EDITORIAL 



735 



A Senator's Monologue In the first place the Forestry Bureau 



(Forest Service) has not had ten years' 



AN ARTICLE by Senator Thomas appropriations "to prepare for the bat- 

 H. Carter, of Montana, appeared tie with the flames." The forest re- 

 in Leslie's Weekly for October 2y serves now known as national forests 

 under the caption "Common Sense and were administered by the Interior De- 

 Forest Conservation." It deals particu- partment until 1905, when they were 

 larly with the conditions developed by transferred to the Department of Ag- 

 the recent fires in the national forests, riculture, in order to unify our forest 

 and on account of the prominence of administration. The appropriations 

 the author and the fact that he comes that have been available for the use of 

 from a national forest state, it is likely the bureau which Senator Carter un- 

 to carry more weight than it merits. It dertakes to criticise, cover therefore 

 is entirely characteristic of its author only the years 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 

 in the skill with which certain things 1910, and the current year, which ends 

 are avoided and others are said. With on the 30th of next June. The amount 

 gentle indignation Mr. Carter defends of the total appropriations for all the 

 himself and other senators and repre- work of the Forest Service during this 

 sentatives of his section against the be- period is considerably under twenty 

 lief that they are hostile to the preser- million dollars. The element of time 

 vation of the national forests in their is an important one. It takes a consid- 

 states and districts. We shall not un- erable period of time, more than five 

 dertake to trace the details of the sena- years, even with much larger appro- 

 tor's record in Congress in regard to priations than Congress has allowed, to 

 land and forest legislation, but we sug- train a numerous body of guards and 

 gest that before accepting in full his rangers, make improvements, such as 

 general statement it might be interest- roads, trails, lookouts, and telephone 

 ing to explore the Congressional Rec- ''"^s and instal equipment on over 

 ord, although he is one of those whose 160,000,000 acres, much of it the wild- 

 ulterior thoughts and purposes are not ^ 't and most inaccessible forest land 

 fully revealed by that interesting but' o" the continent. 



sometimes disappointing publication. The Senator from Montana knows 

 We recall him in the Sixtieth Congress that the appropriation bill for the For- 

 as one of that distinguished trio, Sena- ^^t Service, as for other bureaus, fixes 

 tors Teller, Heyburn and Carter, who ^^st a list of statutory salaries. This 

 prevented a vote on the Weeks Bill P^^t of the bill is definite and unchangc- 

 when it came over from the House by ^^^^- ^^^^ there is a paragraph de- 

 threatening to talk out the session. The voted _ to general expenses. This ap- 

 point of Senator Carter's article is not, Pfopriates a lump sum for a great va- 

 however, his own legislative record, but ^'^^^ °^ purposes, all of them import- 

 his criticisms of the Forest Service for ^"^' "^°st of them absolutely neces- 

 the use that has been made of its appro- ^^^^ for carrying out the purposes of 

 priations. the Service. Included in this omnibus 

 The Senator savs that :n the "last ten paragraph is the clause, "to pay all 

 years some $20,000,000 were placed at ^^P^nses necessary to protect, adminis- 

 the disposal of the Forestry Bureau to ^^^' ^F'^ improve the national forests," 

 prepare for the battle with 'the flames " ^"^ ^" ^^^ ^^^^^ appropriation bills 

 This statement is loose and inaccurate ^^^f^ ^^ another specific paragraph pro- 

 inexcusably so, because the uses to "^^^^^S ^or "Improvement of National 

 which the appropriations have been put ^o^^sts." the appropriation for this 

 are prescribed by law in each appropria- P"'P°l^ .^°'" ^^^^^^^ ""^j"^ ^'^'l^^?' 

 tion bill, and their expenditure is duly ^Zi""' ^7^ ^.'^ ^""1^".^. *^"^^"^ ^^^Z 

 accounted for in the annual reports of f T ' r>^" established ruling of 

 fh^ Fr^t-ocf^ • / r , '^ reporrs 01 the Treasury Department that when a 

 the i^orester, printed documents accessi- specific provision is thus made it super- 

 ble to every American citizen. sedes a general clause, like the first 

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