1908 



EDITORIAL 



123 



ous to leave the system of taxation in 

 such condition that trees which are 

 already growing must be cut. 



The Chicago Journal, in an editor- 

 ial quoted in Forestry and Irrigation 

 for January, urged that all available 

 forest land everywhere should be 

 taken in hand by the United States 

 Government. While constitutional 

 reasons may perhaps prevent the 

 widest application of this policy, there 

 is nothing to hinder State Govern- 

 ments from establishing State for- 

 ests, or from changing their tax laws. 



In the present critical condition of 

 the country bounties for the plant- 

 ing of forests might not be out of 

 place. These, of course, should be 

 on such terms that the young plant- 

 ings will be properly cared for until 

 they are well grown. The bounty 

 from increased value, however, may 

 be ample inducement, if protection and 

 technical advice are given by the 

 State. 



Lands sold for taxes ought to be 

 bought up by the State, as in Wis- 

 consin, and planted to woods ; or ex- 

 changed for other lands to be plant- 

 ed ; or sold, and the proceeds used 

 to buy compact bodies of land for 

 forest planting. Here is a course 

 that is open to every State. Constitu- 

 tional limitation upon tax reductions 

 will not apply here, because the State 

 forests will not be subject to taxa- 

 tion. Citizens should besiege their 

 legislatures for this. 



A T» ^-1-1 The Western World has 

 A Practicable r . ■, . . 



Reform Press ^ forestry department 



conducted by Mr. W. G. 

 M. Stone, president of the Colorado 

 State Forestry Association. Here is 

 a good suggestion for State societies 

 devoted to various kinds of public 

 improvement work. Instead of start- 

 ing a paper of its own, such a society 

 may often with advantage select a 

 suitable and favorably disposed paper 

 of general circulation, already in ex- 

 istence, and arrange for a special de- 

 partment in it representinsf the move- 

 ment for which the society is work- 

 ing. The society might obtain the 



privilege of naming the editor of the 

 department, and would give support 

 to the paper in return. A general 

 paper has the vast advantage that it 

 circulates amongst many people who 

 are outside of the movement ; yet at 

 the same time this arrangement will 

 cost less than the maintenance of a 

 separate periodical. It would be de- 

 sirable to make this arrangement with 

 a moderately low-priced paper, so that 

 the society could get its friends to 

 promote the circulation of the paper. 



Mexico's ^ correspondent and 



Opportunity subscriber of Forestry 

 AND Irrigation living 

 in the State of Chihuahua, in Mexico, 

 writes : 



"There is much timber land in this 

 State and there are no restrictions as 

 to cutting down trees, so that the same 

 mistake is being made of promiscu- 

 ously cutting down forests that was 

 made in our own country some years 

 ago, before there were regulations in 

 this matter." 



This is a great pity. If the States 

 of Mexico would see their opportunity 

 they would regulate the cutting of 

 their forests so that they would have, 

 for years to come, the opportunity of 

 supplying the markets of the United 

 States ; and most certainly would this 

 be true if the States and the Mexican 

 Federal Government would take the 

 forests in hand as public property ; 

 whereas, if lumber companies are al- 

 lowed to cut without restrictions, the 

 timber crop will last but a few years 

 and most of the profits will go into 

 the hands of foreign investors. 



Financial and lumber papers in this 

 country constantly report fresh move- 

 ments in the way of building railroads 

 and saw mills for the purpose of de- 

 veloping the lumbering resources of 

 Mexico. The financial stringency in 

 the LInited States, however, has 

 caused temporary suspension of a 

 number of deals pending for the pur- 

 chfise of large tracts of timber lands 

 by Americans in different parts of 

 Mexico. 



