COMMUNICATIONS 



Varying Views 



ILLUSTRATING the varying views 

 1 entertained by individuals and corpor- 

 ations in regard to the question of for- 

 est conservation, etc., the accompany- 

 ing letters recently received are inter- 

 esting. They were written in reply to 

 letters soliciting memberships in the 

 American Forestry Association : 



Little Rock, Ark. 

 Gentlemen : Yours asking me to con- 

 tribute a certain amount of money for 

 the preservation of the forests, etc., at 

 hand. In response will say it seems to 

 me that the large concerns that are de- 

 pleting the forests and are receiving 

 large revenues from the same should be 

 the ones to meet this expense. In other 

 words, millions of dollars have been 

 made in this manner by wealthy con- 

 cerns, and they are the ones who should 

 be burdened with the taxation." 

 Respectfully yours, 



Until this tariff question is settled we 

 do not care to consider anything in the 

 way of forestry. If the tariff is removed 

 we propose absolutely to denude every 

 acre of forest we own. 

 Yours very truly. 



Watertown, N. Y. 



Gentlemen : I am in receipt of your 

 circular letter. Our concern is very 

 much interested in forestry and in for- 

 est reproduction, but in the face of all 

 the agitation now going on and the very 

 strenuous efforts being made by the 

 American Publishers" Association to 

 force through Congress the immediate 

 removal of the tariff on paper and pulp 

 without any investigation or hearing 

 granted the paper manufacturers, we 

 do not care to invest in forestry or any- 

 thing else pertaining to paper manu- 

 facture. 



Should the tariff on paper and pulp 

 be removed we will be forced to cut 

 off our own forests, without any regard 

 to forest reproduction or anything else 

 — cut off every stick that can possibly 

 be used in making pulp and paper. 

 After having exhausted our own forest, 

 if we continue the manufacture of pa- 

 per, we must move to Canada. 



In neither case does it seem advis- 

 able to use the name of the writer ; but 

 the expressions, we believe, will be in- 

 teresting to our readers. 



Unfortunately, there are too many 

 concerns — as well as individuals — who 

 hold the same opinions as those ex- 

 pressed in the second of these letters. 

 On the other hand, there are similar 

 concerns who take a different stand. 

 Another big paper company takes the 

 view that the laest way in which to 

 utilize forest properties is to cut timber 

 according to forestry rules and regula- 

 tions. In consequence, it is maintaining 

 and will maintain a permanently valu- 

 able property, which will yield a steady 

 income. This is in accordance with 

 German experience. To our corre- 

 spondents we would say. read the For- 

 est Service Bulletin on "What Forestry 

 Means ;" also read another Forest 

 Service publication, "Experience of the 

 German Government." Both will prove 

 enlightening. 



^ ^ ^M 

 Land Scheme 



MR. PERCY P. VYLE writes from 

 Gainesville, Fla. : "The question 

 of wood is becoming a serious problem 

 in the phosphate region. One of the 

 phosphate companies has had the For- 

 est Service examine a vast area of 

 their cut-over land, which may be con- 

 sidered feasible for reforestation. Be- 

 tween the turpentine, lumber and phos- 

 phate industries, the forests of Flor- 

 ida are rapidly disappearing. When 

 these industries get through with the 



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