248 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



of South Carolina was adopted, calling upon the President for infor- 

 mation in regard to the alleged violations, and asking what action the 

 Department of Justice had taken. ^^^ In accordance with this resolu- 

 tion, a representative of the Department of Justice was sent to Ore- 

 gon to make a complete investigation of the subject, and a report was 

 soon made to Congress, asserting the truth of the charges against the 

 railroad. 



At the same time that Tillman introduced the resolution call- 

 ing for information, he also introduced a joint resolution directing 

 the Attorney-General to enforce compliance with the conditions of the 

 grant, and restore the lands to the public domain. ^^* In the Senate, the 

 latter resolution was opposed by Gallinger of New Hampshire, Teller 

 of Colorado, and Foraker of Ohio, on the avowed grounds that con- 

 gressional action was unnecessary to give the Department of Justice 

 the right to forfeit,^^^ but the resolution was adopted without any 

 serious difficulty. ^^* In the House, Fordney of Michigan was much 

 concerned about the timbermen who had bought lands from the rail- 

 roads, and he offered an amendment providing that the resolution 

 should not apply to purchasers who had received patents. ^^^ The reso- 

 lution itself threatened no injustice to innocent purchasers, and Ford- 

 ney's amendment was merely an attempt to defeat the measure, for 

 any amendment would probably have been fatal; but in spite of the 

 efforts of Fordney and Denby of Michigan, Jenkins of Wisconsin, 

 Smith of Iowa, and Keifer of Ohio, Fordney's amendment failed, and 

 the resolution was adopted by a vote of 247 to 8. About forty-four 

 representatives had been voting with Fordney on his amendment, but 

 in the final vote on the original resolution all but eight of them ran 

 for cover.^^* 



The Tillman resolution directed the Attorney-General to institute 

 suits, and determine the rights of the United States in regard to the 



113 S. Doc. 2T9; 60 Cong. 1 sess.: Cong. Bee, Feb. 3, 1908, 1449. 



114 Cong. Bee, Jan. 31, 1908, 1367. 



115 Thid., Feb. 18, 1908, 2111-2114. 



116 Ibid., 2277. 



117 Cong. Bee, Apr. 22, 1908, 5093. Fordney was interested in the lumber busi- 

 ness in Washington, and this probably explains his attitude in this matter. {Cong. 

 Bee, Apr. 18, 1916, 6397.) For a reference to his work for a lumber tariif when 

 the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill was before Congress, see "Lumber Industry," IV, 65. 



118 Cong. Bee, Apr. 23, 5122-5139. 



