The Cure for the O. and C. Situation

After pointing out the difficulties of avoiding partisanship in issues involving the management of natural resources, the author reviews briefly the history of the revested lands in the Oregon and California Railroad grant, with special reference to payments in lieu of taxes. He believes that the present controversy over lands within the indemnity limits of this grant is due to the desire of the counties to obtain additional revenues from them, to the ambition of the Department of the Interior to enlarge its jurisdiction, and to an innate public distrust of any organization (in this case the Forest Service) with control over large bodies of land. His conclusion is that legislation should be enacted placing federal payments in lieu of taxes on the same basis throughout the entire nation.