68 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



leges given by the Free Timber Act, and even that it might extend 

 these privileges somewhat, there was scarcely reason to expect such 

 an extension of free timber privileges as came in the Permit Act of 

 1891. In 1890, in connection with the debates on the "annual" bill, 

 "To repeal the Timber Culture and Preemption laws," Senator San- 

 ders of Montana offered an amendment providing free timber in 

 Colorado, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and 

 the gold and silver regions of Nevada, "for agricultural, mining, 

 manufacturing or domestic purposes. "^^ This amendment, it will be 

 noted, not only provided for free timber in the entire public domain 

 of the states and territories named, without regard to its mineral 

 character, but it included manufacturing among the purposes for 

 which timber ijiight be taken, being thus a practical legalization of 

 timber cutting for almost any purpose whatever, provided only that 

 the timber was not taken out of the state. Senator Edmunds of Ver- 

 mont declared that the amendment turned "all the timber on all the 

 public lands of the United States in these States described, as open 

 and common loot for every miner, for every railroad, for every saw- 

 mill, for everybody who thinks that he can make money out of cutting 

 down the forests and selling their products."^^ Senator Reagan of 

 Texas suggested that Sanders' amendment be changed, so that it 

 should apply only to timber cut for domestic use and not for sale or 

 speculation, but Sanders objected even to this limitation, and it was 

 not pressed. 



There can be no doubt that Sanders, and most of the other western 

 men, felt perfectly justified in asking for free timber for manufactur- 

 ing purposes. As Sanders explained: "If I understand the Senator 

 from Vermont [Edmunds], he objects to permitting the citizens liv- 

 ing in those States, and to whom we thus deny the privilege of buying 

 timber lands, the right to manufacture timber at all. I should think 

 it would not be undesirable to permit manufacturing on the limited 

 scale on which it is carried on in such States and Territories to be so 



22 S. Journal, Sept. 16, 1890, 524: Cong. Rec, Sept. 16, 1890, 10087 et seq. Some 

 of the western men not unnaturally felt that since the timber was in their vicinity, 

 it was theirs to use for any purpose whatever. 



23 It will be remembered that Edmunds had shown his interest in timber con- 

 servation fourteen years before, in the debates on the bill for the sale of southern 

 lands. 



