This law throws open to settlement all land in the National Forests that is found, on examination, to be chiefly valuable for agriculture.

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.