COMMENT. 



"Nasty'' is the proper epithet for the lucubrations, which, in 

 early June, Congressman Humphrey brought forward in the 

 House of Representatives in support of a resolution to have the 

 Forest Service administration investigated — nasty, because, if not 

 lying direct, the speaker did knowingly lay to the door of the 

 Service the blame for transactions for which the responsibility did 

 not belong to the Service, indeed, which, it appears, the Service 

 had strenuously objected to. The arraignment was based pri- 

 marily upon the abuse in the application of the lieu land law, by 

 which certain railroad companies were allowed to exchange poor 

 lands for good lands. It appears that these exchanges were made 

 before the Service was in charge of the National Forests, and 

 imder the influence of the very "gang" to which the Honorable 

 gentleman undoubtedly belongs. The full history of these trans- 

 actions was effectively presented by Mr. Humphrey's own col- 

 league from the State of Washington, Mr. Bryan, whose speech 

 settled the investigation resolution. 



Ill-will and ignorance characterized also Mr. Humphrey's com- 

 plaint, that the Service is not cutting enough timber, not as much 

 as by its own showing could and should be cut. We dare say that 

 the Service would like to remedy this defect, if it could do so 

 practically in the absence of development of means of transpor- 

 tation. That a lot of dead work must be done and expenditures 

 incurred and time allowed to bring the National Forests into 

 full working order can only be realized by business men, but 

 these are poorly represented in Congress. 



At the head of his speech, which has been widely circulated, the 

 following resume of the charges is printed : 



The national forest system is now and always has been to the interest 

 of the railroads, the Weyerhaeuser syndicate, and other private timber 

 owners. 



Millions of acres of the best timberland beneath the flag have been given 

 to the railroads, acre for acre, in exchange for barren, worthless land 

 in the national forest reserves. 



Every dollar's worth of timber taken from a national forest ha? cost 

 the Nation $2. 



The national forests, containing $1,045,000,000 worth of standing tim- 

 ber, are so controlled that they give a gross return of less than one-tenth 

 of I per cent., less than half the cost of administration. 



