50 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



In 1871, Representative Boles of Arkansas tried to secure the 

 repeal of the act of 1866, but failed. In 1875, Senator Clayton of the 

 same state brought in a similar bill, and after considerable debate, 

 succeeded in getting it through Congress. ^^ Since the Clayton bill was 

 to determine the fate of some of the finest timber in the United States, 

 it is pertinent to note some of the points urged in the debates. 



Several reasons were advanced why the southern timber lands 

 should be offered for sale. In the first place, the southern men felt 

 that the South should be treated like the rest of the country, should 

 be opened up to exploitation or "development," like the other tim- 

 bered sections in the North and West. "What we ask, Mr. President," 

 said Clayton, "is that the people of Arkansas, of Alabama, of Missis- 

 sippi, of Louisiana, and of Florida may have the privilege of develop- 

 ing the timber resources of their states the same as the other Western 

 States have. . . . The passage of this bill will add to the wealth of 

 the citizens of the states, furnish productive labor to their citizens, 

 bring immigration to these states, open up a means of supplying the 

 vast prairie land west of us with lumber, and allow the states the 

 privilege of levying a tax on these lands, which are now of no benefit 

 to them, but rather an obstacle in the way of their development." 



It was argued by several men in the Senate that these lands would 

 be better protected from fire and from trespass if they were sold and 

 taken up by private owners. "Let the lands go into the hands of indi- 

 viduals," said Clayton, "and they will have an interest to prevent the 

 destruction of the timber by fire and otherwise." Senator Windom of 

 Minnesota likewise thought that only private ownership would ever 

 secure protection for the forests. Senator Clayton showed how the 

 Homestead Act was used fraudulently, how entrymen would go to the 

 land office and upon payment of a five dollar fee would enter the land 

 and despoil the timber, with no intention of proving up for a home- 

 stead. "Our criminal legislation is for rogues and criminals," he 

 declared. Senator Jones of Florida likewise pointed out how the sys- 

 tem prevailing favored the "trespasser, and the trespasser alone." 



Even as early as this, Alabama was developing the manufacture of 

 iron and steel, and Representative Hewitt favored the sale of lands 

 because he thought it would stimulate the development of this indus- 



»sCong. Globe, Feb. 11, 1871, 1157: S. 3; 44 Cong. 1 sess. 



