9 



This permission lias in practice been construed by the railroad compa- 

 nies into a license to cut timber wlierever, whenever, and for wliatever 

 purpose they saw lit, before and after construction. 



That the timber on the public domain had a, special value, and also 

 that it needed, like all movable i^roperty, to be looked after and i)ro- 

 tected, was recognized by the act of March 2^ 1831, under which, for tlie 

 care and custody of the timber on the public domain, a system of 

 agencies under the supervision of the Solicitor of the Treasury was es- 

 tablished. When, in 1854, the management of the timber interest was 

 transferred to the General Land Office, and the registers and receivers 

 were expected to act as timber agents without additional pay, an ex- 

 ceedingly loose construction as to the right to take timber, and naturally 

 a lax enforcement of any laws, prevailed until 1877. In fact, until 187G 

 the collection of stumpage, when found out, was the only penalty for 

 timber stealing, and a regular revenue, payable quarterly at the discre- 

 tion of the receivers, was attempted to be collected from the saw-mill 

 men without any sanction of law. From the year 1872 until 1877 an- 

 nual appropriations were made for this service, amounting in the aggre. 

 gate to $48,000 ($45,624.70 expended). 



In 1877 the Commissioner of the Land Office instituted a service of 

 special agents, and in 1878 a special ai^propriation of $25,000 was made 

 ^' to meet the exi)enses of suppressing depredations upon timber on the 

 public lands.'^ The system of special agents was gradually enlarged 

 and the appropriations increased, with the results during the last seven 

 years as exhibited in the table below. 



Depredations on the public timher daring seven years. 



Tear. 



Estimated value of tim- 

 ber reported stolen. 



Amounts 

 actually re- 

 covered, 

 partly by 



com- 

 promise. 



Appropria- 

 tions lor 



protection 

 service. 



Agents employed. 



Market. 



Stumpage. 



Number. 



Months 



em- 

 ployed. 



1881 



1882 



1883 



1884 



1885 



1887 



Total 



$891, 888 

 2, 044, 278 

 8, 144, G58 



7, 289, 854 



2, 862, 530 



9, 339, 679 

 6, 146, 935 



$225, 472 

 511, 069 

 1, 709, 824 



1, 093, 178 



489, 255 



1, 726, 516 

 1, 138, 320 



$41, 680 

 77, 365 

 27, 741 



52, 108 



49, 451 



101, 086 

 128, 642 



$40, 000 

 40, 000 

 75, 000 



75, 000 



75, 000 



75, 000 

 75, 000 



17 



31 



26 



(?) 

 (?) 



12 



12 



8 



12 

 12 



36, 719, 852 



6, 893, 634 



478, 073 



455, 000 



27 





* Actual number of agents employed for shorter periods. 



With more and more urgency have the Commissioners of the Land 

 Office, the officers to whose care, under the Secretary of State, this prop- 



NOTE. — During the thirty-tbreo years from 1 855 to 1888 tlio sums recovered from trespassers amounted 

 in the aggregate to $491,172. 



