I 



THE PERIOD FROM 1878 TO 1891 



91 



instance, although forest fires were unquestionably the cause of far 

 more timber destruction than all other depredations combined,**® yet 

 there was no Federal law against setting fires on the public domain. 

 Fires were started by hunters, prospectors, tourists, grazers, and 

 others, and the only remedy available to the government agents was 

 to prosecute the offenders in the local courts under state laws. This 

 remedy was practically valueless, because of the difficulty of appre- 

 hending offenders, the lack of effective state laws, and, in many 

 regions, the impossibility of securing any sentiment favorable to law 

 enforcement.®^ 



As early as 1880, Secretary Carl Schurz called the attention of 

 Congress to the need for legislation, but, although several bills were 



95 Perhaps the final vote on this bill indicates more clearly than any other vote 

 yet cast where conservation had its strongest support. 



VOTES IN THE HOUSE AGAINST THE 

 BILL OF 1880 



Cong. Rec, June 14, 1880, 4538 



96 In 1887, the Secretary of the Interior estimated the annual loss from fire 

 alone at over $7,000,000. In 1909, the National Conservation Commission estimated 

 the loss from forest fires since 1870 at $50,000,000 annually. {Report, Sec. of Int., 

 1887, 22: S. Doc. 676; 60 Cong. 2 sess., Vol. I, 20.) 



9T Fountain, "The Eleven Eaglets," 75: Proceedings, Am. Forestry Assoc, 1891- 

 92-93, 123-126; 1894-95-96, 149, 150: Proceedings, Am. Forestry Congress, 1885, 59, 

 60: Forestry and Irrigation, Feb., 1906, 93. For state laws regarding forest fires, 

 see Hough, "Report on Forestry," II, 30 et seq. 



