132 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



should be subjected to the loss and the hardship and the privation 

 which must necessarily follow the continuation of that order, when- 

 ever Congress meets in extra session, so far as I am personally con- 

 cerned, so far as under the rules, the very liberal rules of this body, I 

 am able to prevent it, I shall do my utmost to prevent any important 

 legislation from being crystallized into law until this gross injustice 

 to the people of these states has been remedied and righted."^* 



President Cleveland did not approve of the Lacey amendment, and 

 pocket-vetoed the Sundry Civil Bill; so the western men secured no 

 relief during his administration, and the question of revoking or 

 suspending the new reserves was for a while a burning issue in certain 

 political circles. 



In the meantime, Charles D. Walcott of the Geological Survey, see- 

 ing that the forest reserves were in. danger, went to Senator Pettigrew 

 and convinced him that there was an opportunity to do a great ser- 

 vice for the country by securing the passage of legislation for the 

 protection and administration of the reserves. Walcott drew up a bill, 

 using the McRae bill (H. R. 119) as a basis, and after talking it over 

 with Secretary Bliss of the Department of the Interior, with the for- 

 estry commission of the National Academy of Sciences, and even with 

 President McKinley and his cabinet, asked Pettigrew to introduce it i 

 as an amendment to the Sundry Civil Bill. 



A special session of Congress was called by President McKinley on I 

 March 15, 1897, and early in the session, Pettigrew came forward] 

 with his amendment^^ — a slightly different measure from the one Wal- ! 

 cott had given him.^^ This amendment has played so important a part j 

 in the history of the forest reserves, that its provisions must be noted j 

 in detail. 



Among the concessions to the opponents of the reserves, was, first,;; 

 a clause providing that reserves might be set aside only for certain! 

 specified purposes — "to improve or protect the forest," or "for thej 

 purpose of securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to fur- 

 nish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities ofj 

 citizens of the United States." The inclusion of lands more valuable! 



34 H. R. 10356; 54 Cong. 2 sess.: Cong. Bee, Mar. 3, 1897, 2930. ^ 



35 Cong. Bee, Apr. 8, 1897, 655 ; May 5, 899. 



36 The writer is obliged to Dr. Charles Walcott for much of this information. 



