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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



tained in perpetuity in the western 

 mountains, that a supply of timber 

 might be assured for all time to the 

 people of these states, and that the nec- 

 essary flow of their streams might be 

 maintained. 



In the meanwhile, the crowding of 

 civilization, the insistent demands of 

 the market, the wasteful manner of 

 handling and the ravages of fire had 

 been devastating the southern and east- 

 ern mountains^ which had passed into 

 private ownership long before it was 

 realized that there could ever come a 

 time when the necessity of conserving 

 the natural resources of this rich coun- 

 try would become an issue of supreme 

 importance alike to the present and the 

 future. Not only was the timber sup- 

 ply threatened with exhaustion, but the 

 flow of numerous rivers, whose water- 

 powers furnish so much of wealth and 

 employment, was in jeopardy, and, 

 through erosion, silting, and irregular 

 flow, the navigability of many of them 

 was endangered. The plea of the peo- 

 ple of the northeast and southeast for 

 relief was brought to Congress more 

 than a decade ago, and is now before 

 Congress in this bill. 



Along with the national irrigation 

 work of the west, , the hundred 

 and ninety-odd million of acres of 

 national forests in that same sec- 

 tion, the gift to the world of the 

 Panama Canal, these people of the 

 south and east appeal for the expendi- 

 ture — more properly investment — of a 

 few million dollars conservatively ap- 

 plied to initiate in their mountains a 

 conservation enterprise which is in line 

 with the past policy of the nation in 

 other directions, and of every first-class 

 power in the world. It is a movement 

 which the states themselves are unable 

 to initiate. They have neither the power 

 nor the resources, nor is it a duty which 

 they alone can be asked to assume. 

 Every state of every section will bene- 

 fit by the conserving of the timber sup- 

 ply, water powers and navigable streams 

 of our southern and eastern mountains. 

 It is a national duty which neither in 

 equity nor wisdom this Congress can 

 longer shirk. 



Every year of delay increases the 

 loss of our resources in these regions. 

 Each year of postponement of action 

 adds to the loss and the ultimate ex- 

 penditure which shall have to be made 

 when necessity forces us ultimately 

 to acquire and control these forests. It 

 is a short-sighted policy which blinds 

 us to the lessons of history and the ex- 

 perience of other and older countries. 



OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN FORCED 

 TO THE CONTROL OF MOUNTAIN FORESTS 



In dealing with mountain watersheds, 

 European countries years ago faced 

 the problems which now confront the 

 United States. Almost without excep- 

 tion, they have passed through three 

 stages in their treatment of mountain 

 forests. Unrestricted individual own- 

 ership was the first stage, and this plan 

 uniformly failed. In France, following 

 the revolution, unrestricted private con- 

 trol prevailed until 1803. By that time, 

 fire, cutting, pasturage, and improper 

 tillage in the mountains had caused the 

 ruin or serious damage of eight hun- 

 dred thousand acres of valley farm 

 lands on account of debris carried down 

 by the mountain torrents. 



Individual ownership with govern- 

 ment regulation as to cutting and fire 

 protection, was the second stage. Italy 

 thoroughly tried this plan from 1877 to 

 1888, and abandoned it because of the 

 difiiculty of enforcement. Enforcement 

 of the laws was constantly vitiated by 

 political exigencies. The experience of 

 Italy was practically the experience of 

 all other European countries and gov- 

 ernment regulation of private forests is 

 now in effect only as an adjunct of 

 government ownership of the more im- 

 portant areas. 



Government ownership of a portion 

 of the protective forests of the moun- 

 tains and government supervision over 

 the balance is the third stage which has 

 been in effect for more than a quarter 

 of a century in all of the leading coun- 

 tries of Europe. Of all the plans, this 

 is the only one that has been entirely 

 successful. Erosion of mountain soils 

 has been reduced to the minimum, the 



