State and Nathnial Governments and Forestry. 167 



gard to indnstrien ihe material of which is capable of yearly production and 

 ready adjustments of supply and demand, especially when a knowledge of 

 over or under production is easily obtained, the forestry industry is not to 

 be compared with any of these. 



Its essential difierences are, that the crop takes from twenty- live to one 

 hundred and fifty years to become useful ; that such long waiting for results 

 is not a feature inviting private investment; that during the long time of 

 probation accumulative risks to the investment are threating; that the pos- 

 sibility of utilizing the crop sooner or later will always tend to induce re- 

 alizition as early as possible and therefore keep the supply of heavier mate- 

 rial short. Lastly, a knowledge of the conditions of supply — or prop area if 

 you please — is more difficult, almost impossible, to obtain by private effort, 

 although the demand may be to a more definite extent determined. In 

 short, the scale which balances the supply and demand of forest products 

 adjusts itself so sluggishly that application of this economic law of adjust- 

 ment may be very beautiful in theory, but must in practice appear of prob- 

 lematical effect, and therefore a strong incentive for the community exists 

 to supply additional weights, which will hasten the adjustment of the balance. 



While then, as an industry, forestry stands in more need of government 

 care than any other, the strongest claim for such care comes from the fact 

 that forest areas in certain positions have an undeniable influence upon ag- 

 ricultural, and, before you I should add, horticultural conditions. So much 

 has been said under this head th.it I take it for granted that at least the in- 

 fluence which the mountain forest exercises on equalization of waterflow 

 and the forest of the plains on the severity and force of winds, is well un- 

 derstood. 



In this respect at least, if in no other, the fi^-ests are distinguished 

 broadly from any other form of natural wealth ; and in this respect even the 

 advocate of individual self-direction will not expect reliance to be placed on 

 private citizens to so use their forest property as to serve this special function 

 of it, in which his neighbors may have much more interest than the owner 

 himself. Indeed the history of all countries, not alone that of our own, has 

 shown that private interest can not be so relied upon ; that forest destruc- 

 tion and devastation is the only consequence of such reliance; that private and 

 financial interests alone can be expected to control the action of private 

 owners. 



Such considerations, while existing in the eastern states to some extent, 

 are most potent for the mountain forests of the western part of United 

 States, notably, the Rocky mountains and the Pacific slope. I can not stop 

 here to describe the present conditions of these, or to enlarge upon the folly 

 with which they are squandered, nor to outline the legislation which the 

 national government should enact in regard to them. This I have done in 

 a separate paper. Suffice it to say that until this valuable forest property 

 has received that attention on the part of the legislators which will insure 

 its rational use, it is preposterous to speak of any other national legislation 

 in behalf of forestry. 



