FOREST CONSERVATION 



Paper Read at the White House Conference 



By R. A, LONG 



PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT in address- 

 ing a body of business men in June, 

 1903, among- other things said : "The 

 forest problem is in many ways the most 

 vital internal problem before the American 

 public to-da}^," and that "the more closely this 

 statement is examined, the more evident its 

 truth becomes." 



I want thus early in my address to lend 

 emphasis to this statement, for coming from 

 such a source and from one so prolific of 

 good deeds pertaining to public matters, and 

 one who has given such careful study and 

 arrived at such wise conclusions concerning 

 so many of the live and vitally important sub- 

 jects before us in recent years, it should in- 

 duce our mmds to be in a most receptive 

 mood, and if what we have to say is true and 

 practicable, it is advisable that it shall find 

 such lodgment in the minds of our people as 

 will compel action and result in carrying out 

 the purposes for which this conference is 

 called. 



Since I was to be honored with a place on 

 this platform I am glad this subject was left 

 for me; for it has to do with a thrilling, 

 throbbing, and beautiful life, which is less 

 true of any of the other subjects to be dis- 

 cussed. 



'Tis true, some of our forests, as it were, 

 lay aside their beautiful gowns in the fall, 

 passing apparently into sleep, in which con- 

 dition they remain tmtil spring, when again 

 they don a garb even more beautiful — not of 

 silk or satin, trimmed with gorgeous orna- 

 mentation of man-made goods, but of a kind 

 fashioned by an artist who makes no mis- 

 takes, and never fails to please the most fas- 

 tidious and artistic. 



The remainder of our magnificent forests, 

 and much the larger part, continues to wear 

 its mantle of green, not only during the 

 springtime and in the summer days, but de- 

 fies the frostj' fall season and the zero weath- 

 er of the wintry days. The tree has ever been 

 the symbol of life, strength, beauty, and of 

 rest, and the eye of man cannot continue to 

 look, day after day, upon these stately God- 

 given queens of nature without their charm 

 iaeing reflected in his life, making him a 

 healthier, happier, and better man ; and their 

 destruction means not only the removal of 

 our most desirable natural resource, from a 

 practical and utilitarian standpoint, but from 

 the viewpoint of health, morality, spiritual- 

 410 



ity, and beauty, their loss would be irremed- 

 iable. 



There is much more that might be said 

 on the sentimental side of this subject, but 

 I refrain and pass to the practical side. 

 _ I want to lay down, first, the broad propo- 

 sition that, aside from the soil itself, no 

 other natural resource compares with our 

 forests. Can you think of one that comes 

 so nearly supplying every want of man? 

 From the tender, touching song we hear 

 "There is no place like home" — that place so 

 sacred to every one worthy to wear the title 

 of man — and we know that there is no other 

 resource under the sun that supplies so many 

 homes in every essential as does the tree, es- 

 pecially as applied to the large majority of 

 our people, those whose labors go hand in 

 hand with the prosperity of our nation. 



However crude the workman, with only an 

 ax for his tool, he may go into the forest and 

 build a comfortable home in which to live. 

 The leaves and bark of the tree may be con- 

 verted into clothing for his body, and the 

 luits and fruits give him sustenance. Look 

 within the house, be it shanty or mansion, 

 and the furniture will remind you of this 

 natural resource. 



The ties supporting the great railway sys- 

 tems of this country, and nearly all the 

 buildings connected therewith, are of its 

 product. 



The mines — coal, copper, gold, silver — j'ea, 

 all minerals, from the cheapest to the dearest, 

 require its use for their production and our 

 satisfaction. 



Data gathered tells us we are using not 

 less than one hundred sixty-five million cubic 

 feet annually in this direction. 



What of the millions and millions of tons 

 of paper on which is printed the news by our 

 great daily newspapers, making it possible for 

 even the poorest inhabitants of all the nations 

 of the earth to keep posted as to the daily 

 happenings of the world ? 



It is claimed, and I believe truthfully, that 

 at least ninety-nine per cent, of the products 

 of our forests are used for practical and use- 

 ful purposes; yet of the total quantity of 

 these products but a small fraction is actually 

 utilized, probably three-quarters going to 

 waste. 



It is conceded also that forests aid much 

 in the utilization of our rainfall, as the 

 leaves and branches of trees and the accumu- 



