FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



January 



and Stone Act, under which enormous 

 land frauds are being practiced, and 

 leave upon the statute books only the 

 old Homestead law, allowing a man 160 

 acres and requiring a five years' resi- 

 dence from him before he can secure 

 title. Such legislation would effectually 

 cure the carnival of land speculation and 

 fraud now rife in the West. A bill in- 

 troduced by Senator Quarles, of Wis- 

 consin, repealing these acts, after strong 

 opposition from the western stock in-, 

 terests, was reported for passage from 

 the Public Lands Committee, but got no 

 further. Senator Quarles has again intro- 

 duced this bill, and a determined effort 

 will be made in this Congress to awaken 

 sufficient interest to secure its passage. 

 It is only a question of arousing indi- 

 vidual interest among our people; show- 

 ing every citizen of the United States 

 that he personally has some concern in 

 this question. He is one of our eighty 

 million people ; his share of the public 

 domain is perhaps seven acres. Is there 

 any reason why that seven-acre tract 

 and other seven-acre tracts belonging to 

 thousands of his neighbors should be 

 unscrupulously absorbed by selfish in- 

 terests, which care nothing for the de- 



velopment of the West, the building up 

 of its industries, and the equalization of 

 its population with that of the East ? 



The movement to secure the repeal of 

 these laws needs every assistance it can 

 get, for its opponents are loth to let go 

 of their opportunities. Their plan is 

 now to dela)' matters as much as possi- 

 ble, offer compromises, and to suggest 

 modifications of these laws instead of 

 their repeal, and in the meantime do an 

 additional work of land-grabbing during 

 the coming year to the extent of 25,- 

 000,000 or more acres. In their ranks 

 are able legislators, lawyers, and poli- 

 ticians. They are resourceful, wary, 

 alert, and their stake is a big one. They 

 have played with the people thus far 

 successfully, and they are not going to 

 let go now without exhausting every 

 expedient. 



On the other hand, the strength of the 

 repeal movement lies in the fact that it is 

 right. The foundation principle of the 

 whole national irrigation movement is 

 that not another acre of government land 

 in any state, East or West, should be 

 disposed of except to an actual settler, 

 who will go upon a small tract of that 

 land and found a home thereon. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION IN CONGRESS 



BULLETIN OF NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE MEASURES RE- 

 LATING TO FORESTRY, IRRIGATION, AND THE PUBLIC 

 LANDS, FIFTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION. 



December J, J903. 



In the Senate: Mr. Heyburn presented 

 a memorial of the governor and legisla- 

 ture of Idaho, remonstrating against the 

 establishment of the proposed Sawtooth 

 Forest Reserve in that state. 



Mr. Heyburn presented a memorial 

 of the governor and legislature of Idaho 

 urging legislation to determine the ques- 

 tion whether the owners of sheep or 

 other kinds of live stock shall be per- 

 mitted to range their stock upon the sev- 

 eral townships or other subdivisions of 

 the public ranges by giving the right so 

 to do according to the priority of the use 

 of the range in such township. 



Mr. Heyburn presented a petition of 

 sundry citizens of Latah county, Idaho, 

 remonstrating against the proposed re- 

 peal of the Timber and Stone Act. 



Mr. Foster, of Washington, introduced 

 a bill (S. 1964) providing for the con- 

 tinuance of the investigation relative to 

 the strength and durability of American 

 timbers, and making an appropriation 

 therefor. 



In the House: By Mr. Martin: A bill 

 (H. R. 5211) to extend the provisions 

 and benefits of an act entitled "An act 

 for the relief of bona fide settlers in for- 

 est reserves, and for other purposes. ' ' 



