180 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



next year, the commissioner called for changes in the law to prevent 

 the "improvident, reckless, and unjust selection of the public lands. "^® 

 Almost every annual report of the secretary, and of the commissioner, 

 for several years thereafter, called attention to abuses under the 

 law, and recommended its modification or repeal. In 1904, the Public 

 Lands Commission strongly recommended repeal of the law.*° 



Some men in Congress also quickly recognized the evils of the 

 Forest Lieu Act, and, the next year after its passage, in the act 

 extending the provisions of the Homestead Law to Alaska, specific 

 provision was made that no indemnity or lieu land selections should 

 be made in Alaska — a provision which was reaffirmed five years later. 

 Subsequent statutes regarding the selection of lieu lands were made 

 more and more strict and exacting.*^ 



EFFORTS TO REPEAL THE FOREST LIEU ACT 



Efforts were soon made in Congress to modify or repeal the Forest 

 Lieu Act itself, and in these efforts western men played the leading 

 part. In 1900, the Senate unanimously agreed to a resolution sub- 

 mitted by Stewart of Nevada, asking the Secretary of the Interior 

 what legislation was necessary to protect the government from the 

 evils of the lieu land selections.*^ In the same Congress, several bills 

 were introduced into the House, providing for the amendment or 

 repeal of the act, and one was reported favorably by the Committee 

 on Public Lands.*^ In May, 1900, Senator Pettigrew offered an amend- 

 ment to the Sundry Civil Bill, providing that no railroad lands within 

 a forest reserve should be exchanged until all such lands had been 

 examined. This amendment was agreed to in the Senate, but the con- 

 ference committee substituted another amendment, limiting lieu selec- 

 tions to surveyed lands, with a proviso that this should not take effect 

 until October 1, 1900. This amendment was accepted by both houses 

 and became law.** 



39 Report, Land Office, 1899, 114. 



40 S. Doc. 189; 58 Cong. 3 sess., XV. 



41 Stat. 30, 409; 32, 1028; 35, 626, 627; 36, 562, 563, 960, 961 ; 37, 201, 241, 333, 324. 



42 Cong. Rec, Feb. 5, 1900, 1490, 



43 H. R. 5267, H. R. 9668, H. R. 10739, H. R. 11841, H. Report 1700; 56 Cong. 

 1 sess. 



44 Cong. Bee, May 31, 1900, 6289, 6290; June 4, 6558; June 6, 6821: Stat. 31, 614. 



