ANTI-CONSERVATION ACTIVITY 181 



The limitation of selections to surveyed lands would have eliminated 

 one of the worst features of the Forest Lieu Act, had it taken effect 

 immediately, but since it did not take effect for nearly four months, 

 there was still time for most of the selections to be made on unsur- 

 veyed lands as before. Just what interests in the conference committee 

 demanded this concession, it is impossible to say. McRae stated that 

 the House Committee on Public Lands wanted it, and that he thought 

 it was impossible to get any legislation without this extension of 

 time,*^ but the question remains as to what considerations or what 

 influences led that committee to demand such a concession. There was 

 no justification for such an extension of time, for it would have been 

 no hardship to restrict selections to surveyed lands immediately. That 

 had been the uniform practice of the government in dealing with scrip. 

 The conference committee which was responsible for this extension of 

 time was composed of Senators Allison of Iowa, Hale of Maine, and 

 Cockrell of Missouri, and Representatives Joe Cannon, Moody of 

 Massachusetts, and McRae of Arkansas. 



The amendment of June 6, 1900, having thus failed to provide 

 adequate relief, efforts were immediately resumed in Congress to 

 secure further modification of the Forest Lieu Act. Various proposals 

 were made. Representative Fordney of Michigan wished either to 

 repeal all lieu selection provisions, or to provide that the lands 

 selected should be approximately equal in value to those relinquished. 

 Fordney later claimed that he once called the attention of the Com- 

 missioner of the Land Office, Binger Hermann, and of the Secretary 

 of the Interior to the iniquitous effects of the Forest Lieu Act, and, 

 with their cooperation, brought a measure before the House Com- 

 mittee on Public Lands requiring that the lands should be of equal 

 value, but all of the committee except himself voted against it.*® 



Mondell would merely have prohibited the selection of timber 

 lands,*^ while Representative Tongue of Oregon, and later his suc- 

 cessor, Binger Hermann, advocated a limitation on the value of the 



*5 Cong. Rec, June 6, 1900, 6822. Senator Carter seemed to be opposed to the 

 repeal of the Forest Lieu Act, for reasons which do not sound the depths of sin- 

 cerity. {Cong. Rec, May 31, 6289.) 



46 H. R. 7456, H. R. 6523; 57 Cong. 1 sess.: Cong. Rec, Apr. 18, 1916, 6395. 



47 H. R. 4866; 58 Cong. 1 sess.: H. R. 14052; 58 Cong. 2 sess. 



