2 PUBLIC LANDS COMMISSION. 



permanent homes upon them, and to secure in permanence the fullest 

 and most effective use of the resources of the public lands, respectfully 

 submits the following partial report: 



MEETINGS OF COMMISSION. 



During the month of December, 1903, the Commission sat in the 

 office of the Commissioner of the General Land Office to receive 

 recommendations and hear the arguments of all who might appear 

 before it. Notice of these sittings was published through the press 

 and special invitations to be present were extended to the public lands 

 committees of the Congress. Senators and Representatives and others 

 appeared before the Commission. 



In January, 1904, Messrs. Pinchot and Newell, of the Commission, 

 attended the meetings of the National Livestock Association and of 

 the National Woolgrowers' Associatien in Portland, Oreg., and par- 

 ticipated in the sessions of those associations. Returning, they also 

 visited Sacramento, Cal. ; Reno, Nev.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, 

 Colo.; Cheyenne, Wyo., and conferred with governors. State land 

 boards, public officials, and citizens generally, and discussed the ques- 

 tions under consideration by the Commission. Upon the return "of 

 Messrs. Pinchot and Newell to Washington the meetings of the Com- 

 mission were resumed. 



MAGNITUDE OF PROBLEM, 



In approaching the question of attaining the largest practicable dis- 

 position of the public lands to actual settlers, and the equally impor- 

 tant question of securing the most effective use of these lands, we 

 appreciate that extremely difficult and far-reaching problems are 

 involved. The public lands embrace in area very nearly one-third of 

 the entire extent of the United States and are widely scattered, extend- 

 ing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico, 

 including every variety of topography and climate. Excluding Alaska 

 there are 23 States and 3 Territories containing public land. This 

 includes approximately from 5 to 96 per cent of the area of these 

 States. 



Often in any one State the conditions are so diverse that the man 

 who argues for certain points is usually found to base his argument 

 upon conditions which exist in his locality. If not limited by geo- 

 graphical environment the view point is almost always that of a special 

 industry such as sheep or cattle raising, irrigation, etc., and the argu- 

 ments are based upon a knowledge of conditions which affect that 

 industry. It is this condition which has led to the presentation before 

 the Commission of irreconcilable statements of exisiting conditions, 

 and the divergence of opinion as to the remedies to be adopted. 

 Certain able men insist that the public land laws are sufficient, and 

 that however the lands are disposed of they will ultimately be put to 

 the best use. 



Others go to the other extreme and assert that nearly all of the 

 public land laws should be repealed or modified, that they" ai'e incom- 

 patible with good administration, and that the lands now being dis- 

 posed of are held in such a way that they will never furnish homes to 

 people who might otherwise enjoy their use. 



