174 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



House balked, and the conference committee, after considerable 

 wrangling, finally recommended that the Senate withdraw its proposal. 

 So this attempt to open the forest reserves to unrestricted grazing 

 ended in failure. 



Considerable attention has here been given to grazing matters, but 

 it must be remembered that, as previously stated, grazing played 

 about as important a part as forestry in the history of the reserves 

 during this period. The reserves had been extended to embrace vast 

 areas of grazing land;^® in fact, the receipts from grazing permits 

 often exceeded the receipts from the sale of timber. This inclusion of 

 grazing lands in the forest reserves brought the grazing interests into 

 frequent conflict with the Forest Service, aroused a hostility toward 

 the reserves, and in this way exercised a very important influence in 

 determining congressional action regarding the reserves. 



THE PUBLIC LANDS CONVENTION AT DENVER 



The attitude of some of the western grazing interests was indicated 

 pretty clearly in the Public Lands Convention, which met at Denver 

 in June, 1907. This convention, one of the most important ever held 

 in the West, was attended by hundreds of delegates from the grazing 

 states. Among those in attendance were Congressmen Bonynge of 

 Colorado, Mondell of Wyoming, and Taylor (Congressman- to-be) of 

 Colorado; and Senators Shafroth of Colorado, Carter of Montana, 

 and Clark of Wyoming, besides other western men, great and small. 

 On the nomination of Senator Teller and Congressman Bonynge, 

 Senator Carter was chosen temporary chairman, and Dr. Wilson, a 

 big sheepman of Wyoming, was elected permanent chairman. 



Not only were the grazing interests fully represented, but the 

 administration had men there — Secretary of the Interior Garfield, 

 Pinchot, Newell of the Reclamation Service, and several others. Pin- 

 chot had summoned a few of his experienced officers, in order that they 

 might be on hand to give information, if necessary. 



The convention was the scene of bitter debates, of attacks upon 

 President Roosevelt and his administration, of violent quarrels over 

 the credentials of the delegates. Charges were made on both sides that 

 the convention had been "packed." The charge was made, on the one 



26 "Lumber Industry," II, 16. 



