194 North American Forests and Forestry 



of the region, they might be to some extent ex- 

 cused because these men were still imbued with 

 the backwoodsman's notion of the early days, that 

 public property is the property of nobody. But 

 no such extenuation exists for the great corpora- 

 tions owned and managed by wealthy people of 

 the East, who deliberately engaged in this business ; 

 although perhaps this thievery is no more dis- 

 honest than other practices of people whose only 

 notion of commercial honesty is to keep one's 

 banker good-natured. 



For a long time the federal government made 

 no attempt to check these ravages in its forests. 

 The first step in the right direction was taken under 

 the presidency of Mr. Hayes, when Carl Schurz, 

 as Secretary of the Interior, vigorously prosecuted 

 some of the trespassers. For this display of in- 

 tegrity and energy he was bitterly attacked in Con- 

 gress, no less a person than James G. Elaine 

 leading the onslaught. That distinguished states- 

 man showed on this occasion a narrowness and 

 shortsightedness little to his credit by trying to 

 ridicule the Secretary as one unable to appreciate 

 the greatness of this country and attempting to 

 apply to its inexhaustible resources the methods 

 of little Prussia. Since that time the supervision 

 of the government has gradually been improved 

 until now comparatively little trespassing is com- 

 mitted. Those States also which are possessed 

 of timber-lands have mostly established a timber 

 police of greater or less efficiency ; but the agents 



