348 Conservation of Lumber Supply 



capital and energy devoted to it. The farmers have always 

 had the good v^ill of the people, but for some remote and 

 contingent reasons, a strong prejudice has existed against the 

 lumbermen. 



The policy of distributing the pine timberlands as a gift 

 or at a nominal price to the multitude of peoplie or citizens 

 who chose to secure a tract for the advantages of the specu- 

 lative value, was not a wise or justifiable policy. 



But as the present timber and stone act has been pre- 

 ceded by yet more liberal laws, by which distribution of the 

 timberlands was made from the earliest times and applied to 

 all the forests from the eastern states all across to the re- 

 m^aining western states, the western people naturally con- 

 sider that the same right and privilege should be continued 

 with them, and there is so little left unreserved or not dis- 

 posed of that it makes but little difference at this late day. 



The timber land should not have been sold in this way. 

 The timber should have gone direct in suitably large tracts, 

 to those who intended to hold and use it in supplying the 

 public demand for lumber. This would have been more 

 appropriate and served better purpose for the public. It 

 was the intention that this method of disposing of the timber 

 should be only an indirect way of furnishing the lumberman 

 with timber from which to supply the public with the neces- 

 sary commodity of lumber. 



This roundabout method made higher costs of stumpage 

 and heavier carrying charges of interest and taxes, and also 

 prohibited securing consolidated holdings and cheaper log- 

 ging and driving. 



It originated more from a prejudice against a presumed 

 monopoly which was anticipated if the timber was placed 

 directly in the ownership of lumber manufacturers at a mini- 

 mum price and in large consolidated holdings. These facts 

 have also been emphasized by the refusal to give to lumber 

 a tariff approximating that given to other products, although, 

 in this case, the foreign competitors had greater advantages 

 in supplying our market at much lower prices than other 

 manufacturers had to contend with. 



