Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 77.djvu/325

Rh private persons and corporations. It is estimated that fire alone destroys fifty million dollars' worth of timber a year. The management of forests not on public land is beyond the jurisdiction of the federal government.

If anything can be done by law it must be done by the state legislatures. I believe that it is within their constitutional power to require the enforcement of regulations in the general public interest, as to fire and other causes of waste in the management of forests owned by private individuals and corporations. Exactly how far these regulations can go and remain consistent with the rights of private ownership, it is not necessary to discuss; but I call attention to the fact that a very important part of conservation must always fall upon the state legislatures, and that they would better be up and doing if they would save the waste and denudation and destruction through private greed or accidental fires that have made barren many square miles of the older states.

I have shown sufficiently the conditions as to federal forestry to indicate that no further legislation is needed at the moment except an increase in the fire protection to national forests, and an act vesting the executive with full power to make forest reservations in every state where government land is timber-covered, or where the land is needed for forestry purposes.

When President Roosevelt became fully advised of the necessity for the change in our disposition of public lands, especially those containing coal, oil, gas, phosphates, or water-power sites, he began the exercise of the power of withdrawal by executive order, of lands subject by law to homestead and the other methods of entering for agricultural lands. The precedent he set in this matter was followed by the present administration. Doubt had been expressed in some quarters as to the power in the executive to make such withdrawals. The confusion and injustice likely to arise if the courts were to deny the power led me to appeal to congress to give the president the express power. Congress has complied. The law as passed does not expressly validate or confirm previous withdrawals, and therefore as soon as the new law was passed, I myself confirmed all the withdrawals which had theretofore been made by both administrations by making them over again. This power of withdrawal is a most useful one, and I do not think it is likely to be abused.

The next subject, and one most important for our consideration, is the disposition of the coal lands in the United States and in Alaska. First, as to those in the United States. At the beginning of this ad