1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



555 



ization. Yet their administration is 

 already on a sound business basis. Not 

 only are they meeting from their re- 

 ceipts a very large part of the cost of 

 their maintenance ; they are even now 

 beginning to show a decided decrease 

 in net expense to the Government. My 

 estimate of the appropriation necessary 

 to meet the general expenses of the 

 Forest Service is less by $100,000 than 

 the appropriation of last year, notwith- 

 standing that the total area of the re- 

 serves has been substantially enlarged 

 by executive action ; that increasing 

 use necessitates greater expense of ad- 

 ministration, and that in general the 

 work of the Service is growing very 

 rapidly. Though the administration 

 of the reserves forms but a part of the 

 field of work, it may confidently be ex- 

 pected that within five years from the 

 transfer of the reserves to this depart- 

 ment the Forest Service will cost the 

 taxpayer nothing whatever. 



REVEXUE FROM PRIVILEGES. 



In reaching this result no unjust 

 burden will have been laid on any in- 

 terest. As public property the nation- 

 al forests should yield to the public a 

 reasonable return for whatever of 

 value private individuals secure from 

 them for their own profit. In accord- 

 ance with this principle, applicants for 

 special privileges as rights of way. 

 reservoir sites, powerhouse sites, and 

 similar concessions have been called 

 upon to pay for such privileges on the 

 basis of their commercial value. For 

 example, in the case of water powers 

 duly located under the state laws, but 

 which can not be developed without 

 the occupancy of reserve land, besides 

 a charge for the land occupied, based 

 on its value as forest land, a small 

 charge per unit of power developed is 

 made, not for the use of the water it- 

 self, which is clearly private property, 

 but for the conservation of the supply 

 which the preservation of the forests 

 furnishes, and which, were it not for 

 the existence of the reserve, the water- 

 power owner could secure only by 

 himself acuiring great bodies of forest 

 land. Such a charge is essentially 



similar to the charge for stock grazed 

 upon the reserves. It is a return for 

 actual value received, and throws upon 

 those who profit by public control of 

 the reserves a share of the cost of 

 maintaining that control. 



LOSS IX TAXES OFFSET. 



By wise and just provision of Con- 

 gress in encating at its last session that 

 10 per cent of the gross receipts from 

 the national reserves shall be made 

 over to the several states in which they 

 are situated, for the benefit of the 

 counties which would otherwise re- 

 ceive no revenue from a part of their 

 area, a real grievance was redressed. 

 Even with the present use of the re- 

 serves the benefits thus reaped from 

 them by the communities in their 

 neighborhood are of substantial im- 

 portance. As time goes on the impor- 

 tance of this provision will increase, 

 and eventually the counties will find 

 themselves far better off than they 

 would have been without the reserves, 

 for private ownership followed by ex- 

 ploitation would have destroyed the 

 sources of revenue by leaving little or 

 nothing of permanent taxable value, 

 whereas now every resource is con- 

 served and will be made to pay its just 

 share of income. Since the fundamen- 

 tal purpose for which reserves exist is 

 to secure the best permanent use of 

 all resources, their effect is to add to 

 property value, and by turning over 

 10 per cent of their gross receipts to 

 local use they will contribute far more 

 to the local public needs than the 

 taxes they would pay if they were pri- 

 vate property. 



PROTECTION FROM FIRE. 



Protection of the reserves from fire 

 has been the most important task laid 

 upon the Forest Service. It is cause 

 for congratulation that the loss by fire 

 during the year was so slight. In- 

 deed, the saving which resulted from 

 the organized care of the reserve force 

 was undoubtedly worth more than the 

 whole cost of administering the re- 

 serves. Only about eight fires of any 

 consequence occurred on the reserves 



