PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE OF FOREST ECONOMICS* 



By E. T. Allen 

 Forester for Western forestry and Conservation Association 



DID you ever go into any project 

 requiring your money and ef- 

 fort, together with considera- 

 ble responsibility, without real- 

 ly understanding it? I suppose every 

 one of us has. Most of us have in- 

 vested hard-earned money in some 

 enterprise because we couldn't find a 

 single flaw in the argument of the pro- 

 motor and consequently didn't have 

 strength of mind to resist. We didn't 

 really want to invest, even if it were 

 a good thing. We hadn't the money 

 to spare or, even if we had, we knew 

 some other business better and would 

 feel safer in it. We succumbed to per- 

 suasion and logic just because we were 

 off our own ground and couldn't es- 

 cape decently, but our hearts weren't 

 in it. And however good that project 

 was, it didn't succeed as well as it 

 would have if we had understood it, 

 known it good because we did under- 

 stand, followed every development with 

 intelligent interest, and put our money 

 and enthusiasm behind it every minute 

 accordingly. 



Maybe we never actually distrusted 

 the promoter, but we watched affairs 

 mighty ready to criticise or sell out. 

 We could even fail like martyrs if nec- 

 essary, but v/e didn't help as though 

 our own honor and judgment were at 

 stake. 



Now that's just what is wrong with 

 forestry in America. We have propa- 

 gandists with a perfectly irrefutable 

 assertion that forest preservation is a 

 good investment. The public either 

 says "too busy today," and while not de- 

 nying does nothing, or it says "here's 

 your law for appropriation or what- 

 ever is asked for) ; now make good 

 and save the forests." But it doesn't 

 know the business factors that govern 

 the enterprise and cannot criticise or 



help intelligently. Sometimes the prop- 

 agandist doesn't know either. And 

 forest preservation, unfortunately, can- 

 not be conducted wholly by a business 

 manager or board of directors. It is a 

 mutual co-operative enterprise, requir- 

 ing daily participation and ratification 

 by all concerned. There must be an 

 American forest policy which exists, 

 not because a few of us say it should, 

 but because a majority of citizens un- 

 derstand what is needed and why and 

 proceed to put it into effect. 



True, we are making rapid progress 

 toward such a situation. Twenty years 

 ago we had practically nothing. Now 

 we have a great and efficient national 

 forestry administration. Most States 

 have some forest laws, some have good 

 ones, a few are fairly liberal with 

 funds. We have forestry associations 

 and congresses. Lumbermen, once re- 

 garded as the opposition, are now show- 

 ing the most rapid advance of all, for 

 in less than ten years their systematic 

 protection of private timber has grown 

 from practically nothing to cover about 

 100,000,000 acres, with an increase of 

 3,000 per cent in five years. 



But why does the Forest Service 

 still have to fight for existence in every 

 Congress, and at best be supplied with 

 funds much less than private owners 

 spend to protect adjoining lands ? Why 

 do many States have no forest legis- 

 lation and few legislation that is ade- 

 quate? Why are there sections where 

 lumbermen and public are so mutually 

 suspicious that neither supports any 

 real solution of a mutual problem? 

 Why do we have to have forestry as- 

 sociations and conventions? 



Evidently because the average citizen 

 does not know much about the problem 

 himself, in spite of all we have said 

 and done. Result depended upon 



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