FURTHER APPROPRIATIONS NEEDED 



49 



designates the areas purchased and the areas examined 

 for purchase and then in recommending further appro 

 priations says : 



Appropriations for purchase ceased with the fiscal 

 year 1915. The balance which remained unexpended at 

 the close of the year will be used largely to fill the gaps 

 between the lands which have already been acquired so 

 as to better fit them for administration. In its last 

 annual report the Commission stated that it is prac- 

 ticable for the Government to acquire lands of the 

 character desired in sufficient area for successful 

 administration and at reasonable prices. By the employ- 

 ment of condemnation where titles are defective, a safe 

 title may be vested in the United States. 



The wisdom of the Government's acquiring and 

 administering extensive bodies of forest land at the 

 headwaters of the great navigable rivers has become 

 entirely clear. Far-reaching good will result in safe- 

 guarding the streams from erratic flow and in protectuv; 

 the watersheds from destructive erosion to which the\ 

 are subject when unwisely 

 cleared. A basis will be afforded 

 for permanent industries in 

 regions which otherwise are in 

 danger of ceasing to be produc- 

 tive and of becoming a menace 

 to the navigable rivers and to 

 the communities situated upon 

 them. 



The appropriations which were 

 made have been sufficient to 

 start the work and make very 

 substantial progress. Through 

 the care exercised in makinf^ 

 purchases the lands acquired are 

 so well situated for administra- 

 tion and use that even should 



appropriations cease considerable good would be accom- 

 plished. But the progress should not stop at this point. 

 It should go further. However, the Commission does not 

 look upon the program 

 as requiring expendi- 

 tures through a long 

 period of time, but 

 rather through only a 

 limited number of years. 

 Renewing its recom- 

 mendations of last year, 

 it is the judgment of this 

 Commission that the 

 work can best be done 

 under appropriations 

 covering periods of five 

 years each, the appropri- 

 ations becomingavailable 

 annually and remaining 

 available until expended, 

 as is now the case. Ex- 

 perience has shown that 

 it is impracticable to at- 



THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE 



HON. A. F. LEVER, Dem., Lexington, S. C. 



HON. GORDON LEE, Dem., Chickamauga, Ga. 



HON. EZEKIEL S. CANDLER, JR., Dem., Corinth, Miss. 



HON. J. THOMAS HEFLIN, Dem., Lafayette. Alabama. 



HON. THOMAS L. RUBEY, Dem., Lebanon, Missouri. 



HON. JAMES YOUNG, Dem., Kaufman. Texas. 



HON. H. M. JACOWAY, Dem., Dardanelle, Arkansas. 



HON. JOHN V. LESHER, Dem.. Sujibury, Pa. 



HON. MICHAEL K. REILLY, Dem., Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 



HON. DUDLEY DOOLITTLE, Dem., Strong City. Kansas. 



HON. JAMES T. McDERMOTT. Dem., Chicago, lU. 



fiON. ARTHUR W. OVERMYER, Dem., Fremont. Ohio. 



HON. THOMAS J. STEELE, Dem., Sioux City, Iowa. 



HON. GILBERT N. HAUGEN, Rep.. Northwood, Iowa. 



HON. JAMES C. McLaughlin, Rep., Muskegon, Michigan. 



HON. WILLIS C. HAWLEY, Rep., Salem, Oregon. 



HON. JOSEPH HOWELL, Rep., Logan, Utah. 



HON. HENRY T. HELGESEN, Rep., Milton. North Dakota. 



HON. SIDNEY ANDERSON, Rep., Lanesboro, Minn. 



HON. WILLIAM W. WILSON, Rep., Chicago, Illinois. 



HON. CHARLES B. WARD, Rep., Debruce, SuUivan Co., N. Y. 



HON. J. KUHIO KALANIANAOLE, Rep., Hawaii. 



tempt to do this work under appropriations which expire 

 with the fiscal year. It is also of the utmost importance 

 that appropriations be continued through periods of not 



less than five years. 

 When the work was 

 begun a force of timber 

 cruisers, title examiners 

 and surveyors had to be 

 assembled and trained, a 

 task which required two 

 years. It would be most 

 unbusinesslike to have to 

 disband this force on ac- 

 count of a gap in the 

 appropriations. If pur- 

 chases were suspended 

 it would also require 

 much time and expense 

 to build up a new force 

 and get under way again 

 the negotiations that 

 would be broken off 

 Many of the cruises and 



