alone had completely justified the new policy of forest
regulation. Eighty-six per cent of the fires that did occur in
the National Forests were held down to an area of five acres or
less. The new service not only made rapid progress in saving the
timber, but it began to make money for the nation by selling the
timber. In 1905 the sales of timber brought in $60,000; three
years later the return was $850,000.

The National Forests were trebled in size during the two
Roosevelt Administrations with the result that there were
194,000,000 acres of publicly owned and administered forest lands
when Roosevelt went out of office. The inclusion of these lands
in the National Forests, where they were safe from the selfish
exploitation of greedy private interests, was not accomplished
without the bitterest opposition. The wisdom of the serpent
sometimes had to be called into play to circumvent the adroit
maneuvering of these interests and their servants in Congress. In
1907, for example, Senator Charles W. Fulton of Oregon obtained
an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriation Bill forbidding
the President to set aside any additional National Forests in six
Northwestern States.. But the President and the Forest Service
were ready for this bold attempt to deprive the public of some
16,000,000 acres for the benefit of land grabbers and special
interests. They knew exactly what lands ought to be set aside in
those States. So the President first unostentatiously signed the
necessary proclamations to erect those lands into National
Forests, and then quietly approved the Agricultural Bill. "The
opponents of the Forest Service," said Roosevelt, "turned
handsprings in their wrath; and dire were their threats against
the Executive; but the threats could not be carried out, and were