68 Condition of Forests on the Public Lands. [252 



As conclusive of the futility of the present system, 

 I need only to tell you that during the seven years 

 from 1881 to 1887, inclusive, the value of the timber 

 reported stolen from the government land was 

 $36,719,935, and the amount recovered was $478,073. 



The cost of this service for the special agents alone 

 was $455,000. To this expense must be added all of 

 the costs of the trial, such as the District Attorney's 

 and witnesses' fees. 



In the Annual Report of 1890, the Commissioner 

 of the General Land Office says: 



"A careful examination has been recently made of the annual 

 reports of this office, covering the years from July 1st, 1881, to June 

 30th, 1889, inclusive, for the purpose of ascertaining what has been 

 accomplished during that time, through legal proceedings, in the 

 way of enforcing the laws for the protection of public timber. The 

 result of that examination is conclusive upon two points: 



"First. That the most valuable timber on the public lands is 

 being rapidly exhausted. 



" Second. That the several laws relating to public timber now in 

 force are utterly inadequate to properly protect either the public 

 forests from unlawful appropriation or the interests of the settlers 

 engaged in developing the country, to whom the use, to a certain 

 extent, of public timber is essential." 



During the past year, in the protection of public 

 timber, fifty-five timber agents were employed, whose 

 services were of such irregular and brief periods as 

 to equal only the employment of twenty-nine agents 

 for one year. These special agents reported 310 cases 

 of timber trespass, involving public timber and its 

 products valued at something over $3,000,000. The 

 government recovered only, from settlements of suits, 

 through legal proceedings and by sales of timber and 

 lumber, $100,940.32. On July 1st, 1890, there were 

 282 civil suits pending for the recovery of approxi- 

 mately $14,800,000, for timber reported to have been 



