Hitherto all such land had been closed
to the settler.
The principles thus formulated and applied may be summed up in the
statement that the rights of the public to the natural resources
outweigh private rights, and must be given its first consideration.
Until that time, in dealing with the National Forests, and the public
lands generally, private rights had almost uniformly been allowed to
overbalance public rights. The change we made was right, and was vitally
necessary; but, of course, it created bitter opposition from private
interests.
One of the principles whose application was the source of much hostility
was this: It is better for the Government to help a poor man to make a
living for his family than to help a rich man make more profit for his
company. This principle was too sound to be fought openly. It is the
kind of principle to which politicians delight to pay unctuous homage in
words. But we translated the words into deeds; and when they found that
this was the case, many rich men, especially sheep owners, were stirred
to hostility, and they used the Congressmen they controlled to assault
us--getting most aid from certain demagogues, who were equally glad
improperly to denounce rich men in public and improperly to serve them
in private.
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