418 United States. 



timberlands, a preliminary report was submitted recom- 

 mending the creation of thirteen additional reservations, 

 with an area of over 20 million acres, and later a com- 

 plete report was made with practically the same recom- 

 mendations which had been urged by the Forestry As- 

 sociation. 



President Cleveland, heroically, proclaimed the desired 

 reserves all on one day, Washington's birthday, 1897, 

 without the usual preliminary ascertainment of local 

 interests, and immediately a storm broke loose in the 

 United States Senate, which threatened the overthrow 

 of the entire, toilsomely achieved reservation policy; 

 and impeachment of the President was strongly argued 

 in a two-day (Sunday) session. Congress, however, 

 came to an end on March 4, before it had taken any 

 action, but as it had also failed to pass the annual Sun- 

 dry 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 b}'- 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 reservations lately 

 set aside until they could be more definitely delimited, 

 private claims adjusted, and agricultural lands excluded, 

 by a survey, for which $150,000 was appropriated to the 

 United States Geological Survey. The agricultural 

 lands were then to be returned to the public domain for 

 disposal. At the same time, provisions for the adminis- 

 tration of the remaining reservations, much in the sense 

 of the legislation advocated by the Division of Forestry 



