AMERICAN FOREST CONGRESS 4 11 



all parts of the nation, adopted resolutions asking that 

 our present land laws be repealed and a system of laws 

 substituted providing for the sale of the stumpage of 

 our timber, and now, this great convention of repre- 

 sentative men and women express themselves so ear- 

 nestly in the same manner, that I ask myself why is 

 it so small a number of people, the speculators in our 

 timber land, can control in these matters against the 

 great mass of our influential citizens? I fear you are 

 not practical enough. Your are not fighting at the right 

 place. The Congress of the United States has control 

 in these matters. The men who appeared before the 

 Committee on Public Lands last year, and argued in 

 favor of retaining the land laws as they are, are not 

 holding meetings ; are not passing resolutions ; are 

 showing no particular enthusiasm ; but they are doing 

 the business. I say this with the utmost respect and 

 regard for the chairman of the Public Lands Com- 

 mittee, Congressman Lacey, who is on the platform. 

 In my judgment, our timber law should have been 

 changed long ere this. I wish every member of this 

 organization would read the hearings before the Public 

 Lands Committee of the House last year. I wish you 

 could, in some way, induce this Public Lands Commit- 

 tee of the House, who are solely responsible, to permit 

 the question of the repeal of these very harmful laws 

 to come before the House for consideration. This is 

 the only practical method of reaching this important 

 question. I further wish to assure you that resolutions 

 will not accomplish this result. A bill for the repeal 

 of the Timber and Stone Act has passed the Senate, 

 and the Committee on Public Lands of the House have 

 already decided the House shall not be permitted to 

 consider it for one year more at least. All your in- 

 fluence should be used with the members of this com- 



