THE LESSON OF THE FOREST FIRES. 593 



enacted, both by the General Government and the States, very 

 little has yet been accomplished toward the restriction of waste, 

 the preservation of timber, protection from plunder, or preven- 

 tion of forest fires. 



Senator Dawes, in speaking of the invasion of the public 

 lands, declared that " the ingenuity of the lawmaker has not yet 

 equaled that of the spoliator," And even Mr. Fernow has pro- 

 nounced, as his private opinion, that the United States has not 

 yet reached the stage in the depletion of its forests when it is 

 possible to carry out a really protective forest policy, and that 

 this will not be accomplished until the country is reduced to the 

 same condition of deforestation that the countries of the Old 

 World had attained before remedial means were adopted. If 

 this be true, we can only sit with folded hands and pray that this 

 consummation may be speedily reached. Others, too, have joined 

 the pessimistic strain, and argued that, " so long as the present 

 conditions continue, the destruction of the forests is inevitable, 

 and any policy of forest preservation is impossible." 



I, for one, will not believe that our citizens are so blind to ex- 

 perience, or so indifl'erent or so powerless in this matter. 



It is true that no government can prevent wasteful methods 

 of lumbering so long as timbered lands are held as private prop- 

 erty, and virgin forests can be bought at a rate so cheap that 

 careless management will still leave a profit. But governments 

 can control the process on land owned by them, by withholding 

 the land from market, awaiting the time not far distant when 

 the timber can be sold under such regulations as will make the 

 most of its resources. If this were done, lumber owners would 

 soon find their interest to lie in more provident methods ; and 

 increased values would make them saving of their resources. As 

 to forest fires, since no plea of the public welfare avails to in- 

 duce lumbermen to burn their debris, or to get rid of it in any 

 way that is not directly repaid, and appeals to patriotism or a 

 regard for the interests of their neighbors are unheeded, the 

 strong arm of the law must be stretched out to compel. 



Why this has not been done it is hard to say : common if not 

 statute law gives redress, and holds the owner of land account- 

 able to his neighbor for negligence that endangers him. Is there 

 warrant, either in a court of law or of common sense, that the 

 owner of land may cut his timber and pile up the remnants 

 to dry and become combustible material, with danger to his 

 neighbor's timber or other property in case of fire, without being 

 held accountable to him for the damage ? Probaby the legal 

 aspect of the case is not well understood, and the results have 

 been so long submitted to perhaps because the injured are 

 themselves similarly situated toward others, and therefore can 



VOL. XLVI. 43 



