680 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



sections. If it is finally held that the Government has not reserved 

 such odd sections from selection by the railway company, it is difficult 

 to see how it will be possible to justify the Government's retaining 

 the fruits of the disposal of the major values from such sections. 

 This involves still further complications by reason of the fact that 

 25 per cent of the receipts from the disposal of such timber have been 

 paid to the States for roads and schools. In case of a refund by the 

 Government what means should be adopted to secure from the State 

 its contributory share? These problems, distasteful though they are, 

 must frankly be faced by the Forest Service in order that an adverse 

 decision may not find it unprepared to handle the situation as well 

 as the law and its limited authority will permit. It must be recog- 

 nized that the forest supervisors would be forced immediately to 

 make innumerable adjustments of the grazing privileges enjoyed by 

 stockmen because of the changed status of such odd sections which 

 have been used under Forest Service permits for the past 15 or 20 

 years. Special use permits involving heavy investments by innocent 

 third parties must be given consideration and measures taken to soften 

 the blow of an adverse ruling. 



Such work as is done now must be largely in the nature of an 

 emergency preparation and cannot be expected to contribute in any 

 great degree toward the final solution of the railroad land problem 

 within the National Forests. It is obvious that these great National 

 Forests cannot continue to exist and be protected and efficiently 

 managed while including a checkerboard arrangement of odd sections 

 over which the Government has no control, upon which there is no 

 adequate system of fire protection, and for which there exists no 

 plan of silvicultural management. Eventually each of these large 

 units must either come under the complete control of the Government 

 by exchange or purchase or be relinquished by sale or gift to the 

 complete control and exploitation of private interests. This is the 

 railroad land problem which loomed large even before the menace of 

 the present dangerous assault upon the Government's acreage. If the 

 contention of the railway company should be sustained the difficulties 

 of this problem will be at least doubled. Even without taking into 

 account how such a decision might affect the other railroad grants 

 crossing the National Forests, the problem is one of sufficient serious- 

 ness to demand the most earnest united efforts in preparing to meet it. 



