It is not, however, the policy of the forestry service to with- 

 hold lands from agricultural uses where the public service 

 would be promoted thereby. In 1906, he says, the forest 

 service recommended the so-called forest homestead bill, 

 which was passed. Under this act lands deemed by the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture to be valuable chiefly for agriculture 

 and not needed for public uses are open to entry; approx- 

 imately 1,400,000 acres have been opened to entry in accord- 

 ance with its terms for the benefit of upward of 12,000 set- 

 tlers. 



The trouble with the proposed amendment, as he describes 

 it, is not that land suitable for agriculture is to be opened for 

 entry, but that land more valuable for its timber than for 

 agricultural purposes is viewed as agricultural land, regard- 

 less of its value for the timber which it bears. The larger 

 interest is subordinated to the smaller, and the land grabber 

 seeks it because of that larger interest. 



