THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS . 289 



a good cause, a great public cause that will hand down large benefits to pos- 

 terity and tend to preserve the prosperity of our civilization. It is certainly a 

 good object for public-spirited givers. It is a cause that is suflBciently in the 

 public eye to satisfy those who like to have their giving known of men, and 

 it has the enduring quality of a monument. Forest lands, given to the nation 

 to preserve and maintain, will stand for all time as reminders of the good 

 will of the giver to his country and to those who come after him. 



Admitting, however, that those who may be able to be thus generous are 

 few, the attitude of those who sell the land to the government, as they com- 

 pose a far more numerous class, is much more important. If they meet the 

 officials half-way with good offers at fair or low prices, it will assist greatly in 

 the early and successful establishment of the forests. The appropriation will 

 not be sufficient to purchase half of the land that is needed for the purpose 

 of the act. Let us urge owners, then, not to try to speculate in the needs 

 of the people, but to help make this money go as far as possible. It is not a 

 gift from some invisible source that is going into the purchase of these lands. 

 It is our money that is being spent and it is for the interest of the seller of 

 the lands as it is of everyone else that it be used to the best advantage. To 

 make this new policy a success, the same full and interested cooperation that 

 secured the enactment of the law is necessary. No close-fisted policy, or 

 attempt to make money out of the government, or unload useless property at 

 high prices, will pay in the long run. In most cases cut-over lands stand 

 the lumber companies practically nothing. They bought the stumpage, and 

 having secured it they have no further interest in the land. Such tracts 

 the government should be able to obtain at a nominal figure, leaving larger 

 amounts to put into protective forests where the standing timber must be 

 purchased and largely retained. 



No hard and fast policy in regard to purchase can be laid down in 

 advance. For the beginning at least each case must be considered on its 

 individual merits. Perhaps when the nuclei of the necessary forests have 

 been developed, the policy of rounding out and completing may appear more 

 clearly. 



Mr. Hall believes that there are great possibilities in that section of the 

 bill which provides for national and state cooperation for fire protection. 

 Under the terms of this provision the government may expend for fire protec- 

 tion an amount, not exceeding the amount appropriated by the state for the 

 same purpose, in any state which has provided by law for a system of forest 

 fire protection. Three or four states, notably New Hampshire and Vermont, 

 are already planning to come in under this provision and the organization of 

 the forest service in these states is such as to entitle them to the benefit of 

 its provisions. Mr. Hall confidently believes that the passage of this law will 

 lead to the suppression of forest fires in the eastern United States within a 

 few years. 



Last month a summary was published of the announcement of the Forest 

 Service with reference to the purchase of land under the Weeks law in the 

 Southern Appalachian and White Mountains. This announcement has been 

 printed as a circular for general distribution and copies can be had by appli- 

 cation to the United States Forest Service. The circulars are accompanied 

 by blank forms for submitting proposals of land and include the text of the 

 Weeks law. The circular, issued under date of March 27, 1911, will be of 

 interest to readers of this magazine and is reprodiiced here: 



