THE FOREST RESERVES 



139 



motion for non-concurrence, which was adopted by a vote of 100 

 to 39." 



The conference committee to which the Sundry Civil Bill was 

 referred was fortunately composed mainly of men who w6re not hostile 

 to the reserves. At least two of the Senate conferees — Allison of Iowa 

 and Gorman of Maryland — had actively defended the forest reserves, 

 while, of the House conferees, only one — Sayers of Texas — ^had any- 

 thing of the western bias. Representative Stone of Pennsylvania had 

 never taken an active interest in the forestry question, and Cannon, 

 although not a conservationist, opposed legislation in this fashion, 

 on an appropriation bill. There was not an aggressive enemy of con- 

 servation on the committee. 



The conference report changed only one important clause of the 

 Pettigrew amendment — that relating to lieu selections by settlers in 

 the forest reserves. This clause later became so important that it 

 must be examined carefully .^^ 



THE FOREST LIEU SECTION 



Pettigrew's amendment, as originally introduced, provided as 

 follows : "Any person who may have initiated or acquired any lawful 

 claim or right to land within any forest reservation," might relin- 

 quish the land to the United States, and in lieu thereof "select and 

 have patented to him, free of charge, a tract of land of like area 

 wheresoever there are public lands open for settlement." This was an 

 exceedingly generous provision, for it would have allowed any settler 

 who had "initiated" a claim, no matter how far he had gone with it, 

 no matter whether he had ever lived on it at all or not, to relinquish 

 and have "patented" to him an equal area anywhere that there were 

 "public lands open to settlement." This provision would have per- 

 mitted any speculator to file claims or make entry on any land that 

 he thought likely to be included in a forest reserve, and then, if the 

 reserve were established, trade his claim off for a patent elsewhere. 



As soon as the Pettigrew amendment came up in the House, Lacey 

 objected to the lieu selection clause and oifered as a substitute a 

 clause giving "any settler or owner" of "an unperfected bona fide 



42 Cong. Bee, May 10, 966, 969, 1016, 1013. 



43 Cong. Bee, June 17, 1913, 2059. 



