FORESTRY MOVEMENT OF THE SEVENTIES 399 



In commenting upon this course of action Secretary Schurz did 

 not hesitate to deal with the situation with vigor. In his report for 

 that year he has placed both himself and the Commisisoner of the 

 General Land Office of record on the subject, as follows: 



"In my last annual report I called attention to the necessity of rigorous 

 measures for the suppression of depredations upon the timberlands of the 

 United States. . . But we can not close our eyes to the fact that any- 



thing like complete success in suppressing these unlawful practices is impos- 

 sible, unless the efforts made by this department for the protection of the pub- 

 lic property meet with hearty cooperation on the part of the legislative branch 

 of the government. Actual experience enables me to say that the want of such 

 cooperation has been and will always be an encouragement to the depredators 

 to persist in their lawless operations and to defy the authorities. 



"As to the importance of this subject I shall add but little to what I said in 

 my last annual report. The disastrous consequences which always follow the 

 destruction of the forests of a country are known to every well-informed man. 

 These consequences will inevitably come upon us in a comparatively short 

 period of time, considering the rapidity with which the timber growth of this 

 country is being swept away, unless legislation be adopted systematically to 

 arrest this indiscriminate spoliation. In accordance with the suggestions which, 

 in this respect, I offered in my last annual report, a bill was introduced in the 

 Senate (Senate bill No. 609) which provides that all timber-bearing lands, 

 chiefly valuable for the timber upon them, shall be withdrawn from sale or 

 other disposition under existing laws, and be held by the government with a 

 view to preventing indiscriminate destruction and waste, and to the preservation 

 of the young timber and the reproduction of the forests. The bill further pro- 

 vides ample means by which settlers on the public lands and miners can pro- 

 cure timber and firewood to supply their wants, with or without the soil, at 

 minimum rates. It also provides for the sale of timber at reasonable prices for 

 manufacturing purposes and for export. It finally provides for the appoint- 

 ment of a number of officers to execute its provisions under the direction of 

 this department. 



"While I have no doubt that this bill may be improved in many respects, I ad- 

 here to the opinion that it is practicable and that its enactment into a law and 

 its faithful execution would bring a large revenue into the Treasury, while 

 averting from this country very disastrous experiences and securing great and 

 lasting benefits to our people. This bill was not acted upon at the last ses- 

 sion of Congress, and I again invite to it that attention which the importance 

 of this great public interest merits. 



"While no legislation applicable to all parts of the country- with regard to 

 this subject was had, two bills of a local character were passed. 



"In the opinion of the Commissioner of the General Land Office (in letter to 

 Secretary Schurz, dated May 27, 1S78]. which is on record in this department, 

 these two acts are more calculated to hasten the destruction of the forests in 

 the States and Territories named than to secure the preservation of them. . . . 



