14 



THE. IRRIGATION AGE. 



It has also been stated that Mr. A. F. Potter, Chief 

 of Forest Grazing, is to be Mr. Pinchot's proxy at this 

 meeting. If so, I have a case for him one strictly in 

 his line. 



Early in 1907 there was an intimation that grazing 

 fees in Colorado forests were to be increased, and on 

 account of this there was general dissatisfaction and 

 disposition to refuse the payment of fees. In order to 

 allay this feeling and induce stockmen to submit to the 

 collection, the following letter was written by Mr. Potter 

 to the supervisor of the Gunnison forest, and given out 

 for publication : 



"No Change in Grazing Fees. 

 Board of Grazing, Dep't of Agriculture, 



Washington, D. C., July 1, 1907. 

 William P. Kreutzer, 



Gunnison, Colorado. 

 Dear Sir : 



In reply to your letter of June 11, you may inform 

 the patrons of the forest that the grazing fees as charged 

 at present will not be changed and will remain the same 

 during the reign of the present administration. 



A. F.- Potter, Chief." 



In the third edition of the "Use Book," issued July 

 1, 1908, and now in effect, the scale of grazing fees 

 is raised about 40 per cent by Regulation 55, and an 

 extra charge of from one to five cents per head in 

 excess of any former charge for extension of season per- 

 mits to yearly ones. 



It may be that grazing fees have not yet, in prac- 

 tical effect, been increased, but the new scale is in force 

 and, of course, this advance was not made without some 

 purpose, and no doubt the raise will come shortly. The 

 price of timber has also been increased. 



The foresight of Mr. Pinchot is here shown. The 

 last Congress increased the per cent of forest revenue to 

 be turned over to the states from 10 to 25 per cent, and, 

 no doubt, this increase in fees and the price of timber 

 was intended to make up, in part, for this loss to the 

 Forest Service by imposing the additional burden on 

 the users of the forest. 



Quite recently an officer, referring to the fact that 

 the forest states were soon to receive their per cent from 

 the Forest Service, said : 



"It is with great pleasure that I am able to inform 

 you of this direct contribution of the National forests 

 to the counties in which they are lying." 



He, however, omitted to state that this sum was 

 first extracted from the users of the forests, and retained 

 about a year after it was collected. As soon as this new 

 thumb screw on grazing fees and timber prices gets in 

 action, the people who are "pinchees" will be entitled 

 to still more fervent congratulations and grief. 



Mr. Potter hit the bull's eye when he called this 

 forest administration a "reign," as nothing like it was 

 ever before heard of in a republic. But who is "reign- 

 ing" now? If Mr. Pinchot is still enthroned, how 

 about this previous promise of no raise during his reign ? 



This violation of his promise further supports the 

 contention of opponents of the forest service as admin- 

 istered by Mr. Pinchot, that his promises and perform- 

 ances are different things. 



Finally, I do not want to be misquoted or misrepre- 

 sented as to my position. I recognize some good in the 

 Forest Service, even as administered by Mr. Pinchot 

 and blindly supported by many others, and I repeat that 



I am not criticizing forest reserves, nor forestry, nor the 

 Forest Service, except where it works injustice, and is a 

 sham and a false pretense, and endeavoring to deceive 

 the people. 



A prominent Republican said to me that the de- 

 livery of such an address as this at this time is not good 

 politics. That may be so. But it is just as good poli- 

 tics as some things that have been doing recently farther 

 east, and also as good politics as the cause the Pinchot 

 policy. The way to get this question out of politics is to 

 remove the cause. 



This ought to be, and can be speedily, done, and 

 when done the Forest Service will be wholly beneficial 

 and have universal support. 



I am not a politician. I have been a Republican, 

 not ever since I was born, but ever since that party was 

 born. I am a Republican now, but I am opposed to 

 oppression and slavery in Colorado, the same as in South 

 Carolina. I have a warm fellow feeling for the pioneers, 

 one of whom I was for the greater part of my life, and 

 I will stand for them as long as I stand at all. Especi- 

 ally do I stand for the pioneer living in or near a forest 

 reserve, where the winters are long and the summers 

 short, making his life a hard one at the best, and will 

 continue, to the best of my ability, to help him to get a 

 "square deal." 



A GROWING COUNTRY. 



Progress in the San Joaquin Valley of California 

 can not be better illustrated than by directing attention 

 to Stanislaus county. The development here can hardly 

 be appreciated by those who do not make a personal visit 

 and spend a few days upon the scene. It has been only 

 five years since the Turlock and Modesto irrigating 

 canals were opened, and the country has expanded in 

 population and improvements almost beyond contempla- 

 tion. What was formerly vast grain fields, farmed with 

 little permanent population and with very indifferent 

 success, especially in later years, has given way to beau- 

 tiful green alfalfa fields, fruit orchards and variegated 

 gardens, with comfortable country homes for a multi- 

 tude of people. The next five years will wholly trans- 

 form the country from a semi-wild state to a condition 

 of a modern civilized, happy, prosperous and contented 

 rural community, supplied with good schools, mail de- 

 livery and electric railroads. 



The unique campaign of promotion and develop- 

 ment that has been undertaken by all classes of Califor- 

 nia's citizens with marked vigor and publicity at all 

 times, but more especially during the last half decade, 

 has caused a large influx of homeseekers from all parts 

 of the country who desire small farms. The publicity 

 undertaken on behalf of .the state has borne excellent 

 results, for the reason that preparations have been made 

 so that settlers may purchase lands suited to their. re- 

 quirements. Country lands in California have, conse- 

 quently, risen enormously in value. 



In the old days the great interior valleys of Cali- 

 fornia, the San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento Val- 

 ley, of empire extent, were almost entirely owned by 

 large land owners, who cultivated, in vast tracts, enor- 

 mous crops of grain. These huge grants, some of which 

 ranked among the largest tracts tinder single ownership 

 in the United States, were held intact. It was impos- 

 sible for the small farmer to purchase lands. This con- 

 dition obtained throughout California. 



