Forest Reservation Policy. 485 



report was made with practically the same recom- 

 mendations which had been urged by the Forestry 

 Association. 



President Cleveland, heroically, proclaimed the 

 desired reserves all on one day, Washington's birth- 

 day, 1897, without the usual preliminary ascertain- 

 ment of local interests, and immediately a storm broke 

 loose in the United States Senate, which threatened 

 the overthrow of the entire, toilsomely achieved reser- 

 vation policy; and impeachment of the President was 

 strongly argued in a two-day (Sunday) session. Con- 

 gress, however, came to an end on March 4, before it 

 had taken any action, but, as it had also failed to pass 

 the annual Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, it was 

 immediately recalled in extra session. 



Then, again, by a clever trick and in an indirect 

 and surreptitious manner, instead of by open, direct 

 and straightforward consideration and deliberation 

 of a proper policy, most important legislation was 

 secured in the Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, which 

 provided for the temporary suspension of the reser- 

 vations lately set aside until they could be more de- 

 finitely delimited, private claims adjusted, and agri- 

 cultural lands excluded, by a survey, for which 

 $150,000 was appropriated to the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey. The agricultural lands were then to 

 be returned to the public domain for disposal. At 

 the same time, provisions for the administration of 

 the remaining reservations, much in the" sense of the 

 legislation advocated by the Division of Forestry and 

 by the Forestry Association, and especially for the sale 

 of timber, were hung on to this appropriation clause. 



