THE PERIOD OF CONSERVATION 163 



bills were introduced by Representative Lacey of Iowa and Senator 

 Hansbrough of North Dakota, but both measures were smothered in 

 committee.*'^ Two years later a bill passed the Senate,^" and was favor- 

 ably reported in the House/" but never came to a vote there. In 1904, 

 a bill introduced by Representative Wallace of Arkansas passed the 

 House,^^ and was brought up in the Senate by Depew of New York, 

 but Senator Teller saw a "very important constitutional question" as 

 to whether the United States had criminal jurisdiction over some of 

 the reserves, and his objections sent the bill back to the calendar/^ It 

 was, of course, true that such a power as this might sometimes be 

 abused, or, as one western writer expressed it, "might give addi- 

 tional means of annoyance and intimidation" to the rangers ; but, in 

 the next session of Congress, five days after the transfer of the reserve 

 to the Department of Agriculture, the power was finally granted/* 



68 H. R. 8912, S. 3947; 56 Cong. 1 sess. 



69 Cong. Bee, Feb. 7, 1903, 1889. 



70 H. Report 3860; 57 Cong. 2 sess. 



71 Cong. Rec, Apr. 23, 1904, 5449. 



72 Cong. Rec, Apr. 27, 5672. 



73 Stat. 33, 700. 



