328 



AMI'IRICAN FORESTRY 



to three dozen lamp wicks for each camp, 1 ]/^ dozen lamp 

 cliimneys, two six-quart bean pots, a couple of can openers, 

 half a dozen salt shakers and the almost countless domestic 

 articles that a camp must ha\-e. These things are men- 

 tioned as indicating the careful attention given the details 

 by some of the busiest men in New England. 



The man-power of the ten units amounts to close to 400. 

 For general supervision there is a general manager, a book- 

 keeper, an engineer and millwright, a storekeeper and pur- 

 chasing agent and a secretary' and stenographer, and for 

 each camp a timekeeper and bookkeeper. For the logging 



crew each unit has 25 men and for the mill crew nine men. 

 Horses to the number of 120 were taken, with harness and 

 stable equipment. 



Through the British Embassy arrangements were made 

 that the men should work as civilians, under contract for 

 one year, that their wages should be paid from the time of 

 sailing, that they are to be provided with board, lodging 

 and medical attendance, and transportation to and from 

 England, that they are to be employed only in the United 

 Kingdom and that they are to do logging and millwork 

 exclusively. 



WAR, FORESTS AND LUMBER 



THE national importance of America's forest resources 

 and the technical skill of her forestry experts have 

 never been so emphasized as by the emergenc>' 

 lirought about through this countr\-'s particijiation in the 

 Etuopean war. Every phase of the situaltion is in some 

 way closely interwoven with and dependent on our liunber 

 supply. Without this natural wealth of our forests and the 

 al:)ilit\- to make it quickly a\'ailable there would be paraly- 

 sis of our best effort. 



Whether it be the need for ships for the transportation 

 of foodstuffs and munitions, the need for the construction 

 of vast camps for the training and concentration of the 

 army or any one of the many acti\dties looking toward 

 armed, industrial and economic preparedness, American 

 Itmiber is one of the foundations of American participation 

 in the war. Hand in hand with this is the need for the 

 active assistance of men trained in forestry and lumber 

 operations for swiftly, surely and wisely handling the vast 

 supply of lumber that must be utilized. In the present situ- 

 ation this human resotu-ce is as vital as the lumber itself. 



Through the cooperation of the Federal Shipping Com- 

 mission and the Lumber Committee of the Council of Na- 

 tional Defense the grave problems involving the Govern- 

 ment's lumber supply for war-time needs are being reduced 

 to their simplest terms. That the solution will prove ade- 

 quate there appears to be no room for doubt. The work 

 already accomplished and the program prepared make it 

 clear to those familiar with the situation that the country 

 has been placed in position to meet, the emergency in the 

 quickest and most efficient manner. 



The Lumber Committee is made up of men representa- 

 tive of the best spirit of the American lumber industr)'. 

 They are men of vast private interests, who have dropped 

 their own work and submerged their own affairs into an 

 earnest effort to be of service to the nation. Efficiency is 

 the committee's central thought. As to business capacity, 

 thoroughness and expert knowledge, as well as to patriot- 

 ism, this committee affords exemplification of the extent to 

 which the Government is receiving constructive assistance 

 at the hands of the public-spirited business men of America. 

 In no branch of its work is the Council of Defense being 

 given help that is more vital or more valuable than in con- 

 nection with forestry and lumber. 



THE essence of this country's present helpfulness to- 

 ward its European Allies in the great war is in the 

 matter of food supply. We have the foodstuffs and 

 we are providing Europe with funds with which to pay 

 for them. To make this combination of merchandise and 

 buying power of definite value the fundamental need is 

 shipping facilities. Through the activities of enemy subma- 

 rines the available supply of ships has been greatly dimin- 

 ished, and as this destruction proceeds the need for added 

 tonnage becomes greatly emphasized. It is in the effort to 

 help supply this need as swiftly as possible and at the same 

 time provide for the adequate care of the internal needs of 

 our own Government and private enterprise that the Lum- 

 ber Committee is doing a big work and doing it well. 



Lumber is needed by the Government in tremendous 

 quantities. The building of a thousand wooden vessels 

 now being undertaken by the Federal Shipping Commis- 

 sion will require more than 1,000,000,000 feet. Con- 

 struction of barracks and other building operations of the 

 army and navy will greatly increase the volume needed for 

 public use. In the aggregate the official requirements are 

 creating a sudden and unusual demand for limiber to the 

 extent of approximately 2,000,000,000 feet. In the han- 

 dling of this tremendous order the expert counsel and 

 planning of Forestry experts and trained lumbermen are 

 essential. 



Without this cooperation the Government problem 

 would be intensified and the lumber trade would suffer 

 demoralization. To make such demand for material on an 

 industry normally unorganized, broken up into thousands 

 of unrelated units and widely scattered geographically, 

 would bring about a condition that would seriously hamper 

 the Government in its efforts to meet the emergence It 

 is to overcome this lack of organization and to bring 

 about coordination that the Lumber Committee has 

 concentrated its efforts. 



One of the fundamentals in handling the situation and 

 solving the problem was the application of expert knowl- 

 edge of forestry. First-hand knowledge of the country's 

 available supply of timber and its accessibiUty was the 

 thing upon which all the work of the committee must be 

 based. Obviously this intimate information could be fur- 

 nished by none others than men trained along technical 



