690 



CONSERVATION 



PUNISHMENT FOR CARELESS PERSONS 



"One of the things that the state 

 should not neglect in the next session 

 of the legislature is the passage of laws 

 for the safeguarding of the forests so 

 that they can be protected from fires, 

 and so that men who ruthlessly and 

 intentionally set fire to such forests can 

 be sufficiently punished. 



"It appears to be an accepted fact 

 that these fires are the result of care- 

 lessness, or spite, or ignited by men 

 who hope to make money by fighting 

 them. All of these causes are sufficient 

 to invite attention and severe punish- 

 ment. It is a subject that the state 

 must handle with a strong hand." — 

 The Republican , Scranton, Pa. 



LOSS NOT ONLY UPON FOREST COM- 

 MUNITIES 



"It takes one hundred to four hun- 

 dred years to grow such trees as have 

 made up the great forests of Michigan, 

 which have disappeared in large meas- 

 ure; but they can be destroyed in a 

 day. It is estimated that the great fires 

 which have swept over the remaining 

 forests of portions of the State in the 

 last twenty days have destroyed $40- 

 000,000 worth of timber. As we have 

 reached the point where the cost of 

 lumber must be measured by the cost of 

 replacing the forests with new growth, 

 it will be appreciated that this loss does 

 not fall upon Michigan alone." — Rock- 

 ford (111.) Gazette. 



LOSSES ARE IRREPARABLE 



"This is bad news from Maine which 

 tells of great fires in the forests. The 

 meaning will be better understood when 

 it is remembered that the great Maine 

 woods constitute the only reserve of 

 timber of any real consequence in this 

 part of the country. Every inroad upon 

 it is irreparable, so far as the present 

 generation is concerned. The case is 

 bad enough when the ax and saw are 

 wielded recklessly, but at least we have 

 the use of the timber. Fire simply de- 



stroys ; the great tracts burned over 

 are a total loss."' — The Providence 

 Bulletin. 



CANNOT AFFORD FOREST FIRES 



"Aside from the enormous amount of 

 property destroyed by forest fires, we 

 cannot afford to have such inroads upon 

 the timberlands. We need all the wood- 

 land we have, and more. Some means 

 will have to be devised to stop this 

 fearful and needless waste." — The 

 Schenectady (N. Y.) Gazette. 



LESSON FOR STATESMEN 



"The need for forestry patrol is be- 

 ing greatly emphasized by the fires that 

 are devastating the timber lands. Those 

 eminent statesmen who voted against 

 the President's measures probably now 

 realize how little wisdom and how 

 much selfishness there was in their 

 course." — The Omaha Bee. 



HOW MICHIGAN VIEWS ITS LOSSES 



"Millions of dollars' worth of timber 

 has been destroyed in the forest fires 

 and the damage in 1908 represents a 

 great deal more in dollars and cents 

 than did the memorable conflagrations 

 in 1 87 1, because lumber is much dearer 

 now than then. In 1871 practically the 

 only merchantable timber was pine ; the 

 era of the hardwoods had not arrived. 

 Now the forest fires inflict heavy pe- 

 cuniary damage when thev sweep oflf 

 acres of maple and oak as well as pine." 

 ■ — Saginazv (Mich.) Nezvs. 



REPLANTING WILL COST A FORTUNE 



"Estimates of the losses caused by 

 forest fires in the territory of the north- 

 ern boundary have been placed at $40.- 

 000,000 by Prof. Filibert Roth, of the 

 Forestry Department of the University 

 of Michigan, who has returned from a 

 visit to the burned regions. He said 

 that more than a million acres of good 

 timber lands have been devastated. It 

 will cost $5 an acre to replant this land." 

 — Detroit Free Press. 



