356 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



the watersheds of navigable streams ; 

 2. To safeguard available water-pow- 

 ers ; 3. To improve timber supply ; 4. 

 For health and recreation ; 5. For pur- 

 ity of water supply; 6. For protection 

 of soil; 7. In the control of floods; 8. 

 The states cannot act; 9. Experiences 

 of other countries show that the Fed- 

 eral Government must do this work; 

 10. The present a favorable time for 

 action; 11. Proposed action is funda- 

 mental to any systematic plan of con- 

 servation of natural resources. It in- 

 dicates the land needing protection, 

 discusses the treatment of the region, 

 the method of acquirement and cost 

 of lands, and epitomizes the history 

 of the movement for Appalachian Na- 

 tional Forests. 



Senator Teller spoke nearly two 

 hours against the Brandegee Bill, and 

 Senators Daniels and Newlands spoke 

 for it. 



On May 21 the House of Represent- 

 atives passed a bill, H. R. 21986, 

 known as the Scott Bill. Its title is, 

 "A Bill to Enable any State to Co-op- 

 erate with any other State or States, 

 or With the United States, for the 

 Conservation of Navigable Rivers, and 

 To Provide For the Appointment of a 

 Commission." 



Following are the provisions of the 

 bill: The consent of Congress is given 

 for each state to enter into such agree- 

 ment or compact, not to conflict with 

 any law of the United States, as it may 

 deem desirable or necessary, with any 

 state or states to conserve forests and 

 water supply of states in agreement. 



One hundred thousand dollars is ap- 

 propriated to enable the Secretary of 

 Agriculture to co-operate, when request- 

 ed, with any state or states by supplying 

 expert advice on forest preservation, util- 

 ization and administration, and on re- 

 forestation of denuded areas. He is au- 

 thorized to agree with owners to admin- 

 ister and protect private forest lands up- 

 on watersheds of navigable rivers, pro- 

 vided owners cut and remove under reg- 

 ulations for the protection of the for- 

 ests in aid of navigation. The United 

 States shall not be liable for damage re- 

 sulting from fire or other cause. 



A National Forest Commission, con- 

 sisting of five Senators and five Repre- 

 sentatives, is created to investigate con- 

 nection between forest preservation on 



watersheds of navigable rivers rising in 

 White and Southern Appalachian Moun- 

 tains, and navigability of said rivers, and 

 to ascertain extent, if any, to which U. 

 S. Government should acquire land, with 

 probable • cost, or whether Government 

 should supervise watersheds without pur 

 chasing land. The Commission is to re- 

 port to the President not later than Janu- 

 ary I, 1909. It may expend twenty thou- 

 sand dollars. 



Representative Scott, Chairman of 

 the Committee on Agriculture, ac- 

 companied this bill with report num- 

 ber 1700, on "Co-operation of States 

 for Conservation of Navigability of 

 Navigable Rivers, etc." In this, he 

 apologized for the delay, extending 

 throughout practically the entire long 

 session, in considering a measure 

 which he concedes has been "widely 

 discussed and has awakened profound 

 interest throughout the entire coun- 

 try." He stated four methods that 

 have been suggested of handling the 

 problem: i. Exclusive state action; 2, 

 U. S. Government co-operation, by ad- 

 vice and assistance, with states or pri- 

 vate owners; 3, The exercise of Fed- 

 eral jurisdiction over privately owned 

 forests on watersheds having connec- 

 tion with navigability of navigable 

 streams; 4, Federal purchase of all 

 lands necessary to protect watersheds 

 of navigable rivers, and exercise over 

 forests of rights and privileges of ab- 

 solute ownership. 



The Bill H. R. 21986 was, he said, 

 drawn to meet in a measure each of 

 these four proposed plans. He then 

 explained the bill and recommended its 

 passage, which promptly followed. 



This bill is. of course, highly objec- 

 tionable to friends of National Forests 

 in the Southern Appalachians and 

 White Mountains. It seeks to shift 

 responsibility from Congress to the 

 States, thus reflecting the view so of- 

 ten expressed by the Speaker. As the 

 Boston Transcript puts it, it provides 

 for a Congressional junket, enabling 

 ten statesmen to spend the summer in 

 the mountains, with two thousand 

 dollars of Government money apiece 

 for expenses. It staves ofif the issue 

 on the assumption that more investi- 



