APPEALING TO THE SOUTH 



J N- THE Atlanta, Ga., Constitution 

 for Sunday, December i, Mr. 

 Ligon Johnson, President of the Ap- 

 palachian National Forest Association, 

 devotes a half page with illustrations 

 to a discussion of "the vast importance 

 to the South of forest reserves." 

 He states that the vast importance 

 and imperative necessity of these for- 

 ests are but dimly realized by people 

 most directly concerned. He empha- 

 sizes the importance of the water 

 question from the standpoint of power 

 and floods, shows that preservation of 

 the timber supply alone affords ample 

 reason for establishing National For- 

 ests, and points to the successful work 

 of Western National Forests under the 

 administration of Forester Pinchot. 

 He shows how foreign interests and 

 corporations not identified or con- 

 nected with the prosperity of the 

 South are acquiring the timber- 

 lands and exploiting them, purely in 

 the interest of dividends, points out 

 that Appalachian land more ap- 

 propriate for farms than for forests 

 can still be privately owned and 

 farmed, shows how, through lack of 

 knowledge permitting forest destruc- 

 tion, conditions have been created in 

 Northern Georgia whereby farm after 

 farm has been left abandoned and as 

 desolate as Goldsmith's "deserted vil- 

 lage ;" and how, through proper man- 

 agement, such conditions could be per- 

 manently prevented. He points to the 

 multiplication of fields eroded by floods 

 and calls attention to the change in cli- 

 matic conditions following deforesta- 

 tion. He next shows that the alleged 

 loss in taxation by the establishment 

 of National Forests is imaginary, 

 rather than real : that taxes from tim- 

 berlands are ordinarily but temporary 

 returns, the land being soon robbed, 

 laid waste, and rendered valueless, and 



the timber shipped away; whereas, 

 under the National Forest plan, not 

 only are local industries encouraged 

 and taxable property retained, but lO 

 per cent of the gross receipts from the 

 sales of timber and all other resources 

 is paid to the counties in which the 

 National Forests lie, affording an in- 

 come which quickly overshadows the 

 highest expectations under the most 

 liberal tax returns. He shows that the 

 Southern States have each and all ap- 

 proved the Appalachian forest plan, 

 ceded the necessary lands to the 

 United States, reserving only jurisdic- 

 tion for their civil and criminal pro- 

 cess, and pledged their aid and co- 

 operation to every effort seeking the 

 establishment of the National Forests. 

 He closes with this pointed paragraph : 

 "The establishing of a National 

 Forest, instead of taking the region 

 and its products from the public, con- 

 verts the territory into public domain 

 of such a character that the surround- 

 ing States directly or indirectly reap 

 every advantage. Timber suitable for 

 lumbering is annually disposed of ; 

 where the land is fitted for pasturage, 

 grazing permits are issued ; if there 

 be mineral wealth, the mines may be 

 developed by any citizen; hotels, re- 

 sorts, residences, stores, power plants 

 and mills may be built ; the streams 

 may be fished, the lands hunted, and 

 campers may take their holidays in the 

 forest solitude at will. In short, a 

 great national park, self-supporting, 

 fostering home industries, preserving 

 our highways of commerce, our water 

 power and supply, the fertility of our 

 soil, the salubriousness of cur climate 

 and the general welfare of our section 

 and giving to our mountain counties a 

 steady source of income, is the purpose 

 of the proposed Appalachian National 

 Forest." 



