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Show 474. of huge t r a c t s of wild country, forever. "The greatest good for the greatest number," looked at from the perspective of future generations, could be a t t a i n e d only at the sacrifice of present gaining, and the acceptance of being. This was what Muir hoped the c r e a t i o n of Forest Reserves meant. Of course they were important as watersheds, but primarily as spiritual watersheds. Muir was engaged in what Robert Underwood Johnson called "Spiritual lobbying." He was t r y i n g to a r t i c u l a t e a national policy on f o r e s t s , before one had been enacted. He was defending a policy of preservation when no policy l i k e i t existed. While Roderick Nash thinks that "Muir, Johnson, and their colleagues were able to c r e a t e a p r o t e s t [over Hetch Hetchy] in 1913 because the American people were ready to be aroused," in point of fact, Muir, Johnson, Sargent, and t h e i r colleagues were preparing the p r o t e s t , were creating the t a s t e for wilderness, in the n i n e t i e s . It began with Muir's argument - that people wanted wild Forest Reserves, but t h a t t h e i r crooked Representatives had been bought by special i n t e r e s t s - and t h i s deep suspicion took root in the public consciousness. Though the movement for wild Forest Reserves f a i l e d in 1897, there were s t i l l Reserves, and Muir t r i e d to plant in the public a growing suspicion t h a t the groups who wanted to use resources contained in Reserves were motivated by greed, not national i n t e r e s t. Much as l i t e r a t u r e l i k e The Virginian would t r y to hide the fact, the war in the West, l i k e the Johnson County War of |