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National Geographic : 1897 Jun
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GEORGE W. MELVILLE action on the part of Congress. This demand resulted in the insertion in the sundry civil bill that became a law June, 1897, of a number of paragraphs which put into effect at once many of the provisions of the McRae bill. The legislation thus secured, while open to criticism in many directions, marks a distinct progress and is undoubtedly the best that can be had under the circumstances, where such a large and influential body of citi zens are interested in preventing any measure which shall inter fere with their obtaining practically for nothing the great stores of public timber. The bill provides for the immediate survey of the boundaries and for the suspension until March 1, 1898, of the thirteen reser vations proclaimed on February 22, 1897. It is explicitly de clared that " no public forest reservations shall be established except to improve and protect the forest within the reservation, or for the purpose of securing favorable conditions of water flows, or to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States; but it is not the purpose or intent of these provisions . . to authorize the inclusion therein of lands more valuable for the mineral therein or for agricultural purposes than for forest purposes." Authority is given to the Secretary of the Interior to make suitable regulations for protection against fire and depredations and for the sale of dead, matured, or large growth of trees. On the other hand, the rights of prospectors and miners are care fully guarded by the statement that " nor shall anything herein prohibit any person from entering upon such forest reservations for all proper and lawful purposes, including that of prospecting, locating, and developing the mineral resources. Settlers, miners, residents, and prospectors may be permitted to use timber for firewood, fencing, buildings, mining, and domestic purposes." GEORGE W. MELVILLE ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF, U. S. NAVY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE presents to its readers with this number a portrait of one of the most distinguished members of the Society of whose proceedings it is the exponent. Born in the city of New York January 10, 1841, young Melville, after graduating in the Polytechnic School of Brooklyn, acquired
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