224 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ernment must pay for it, just as the coiuniercial organization must 

 pay for it. 



An experienced and trained personnel on the National Forests 

 is an absolute necessity. The j^reat opjwrtunity for public service 

 in the permanent and >Yell-ordered use of these national resources 

 Avill not be realized if there is a constant turnover of personnel, 

 such as is now taking place, due to meager compensation. For 

 the same cause it is often impossible to recruit the Service from 

 the best men of technical training or practical experience. No 

 organization can perform miracles; and the public P'orests of the 

 United States can not be effectively protected from fire, developed, 

 and administered to meet the tremendous demands being made upon 

 them without a field force whose comi3ensation is on a par witli the 

 work demanded. 



THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 



EXPENDITURES AND RECEIPTS, 



The receipts from the National Forests in the fiscal year 1920 were 

 greater by $435,067.42 than in tlie previous year, and totaled 

 $4,793,482. 



Receipts from timber sales alone increased $496,300.53, but re- 

 ceipts from grazing decreased $129,934.07, chiefly because of reduc- 

 tions in the herds of many permittees, owing to the exceptional con- 

 ditions iji the live-stock and forage markets. 



The increase in receipts from timber sales reflects the increasing 

 demands being made on the National Forests as privately owned 

 timber is exhausted and the forest industries move Avestward. With 

 the progressive depletion of privately owned timber in many sec- 

 tions, the National Forests will be called upon to contribute a rapidly 

 increasing proportion of the general timber supply. If funds are 

 provided for the examination and sale of National Forest timber, now 

 in demand, the receipts from timber sales may be expected to increase 

 still more rapidly until the cut reaches the limit that must be im- 

 posed in order to maintain a continuous yield from the Forests and 

 give stability to the industries and communities dependent upon 

 them. 



A'\Tiile receipts have been increasing year after year, the money ap- 

 propriated has remained practically stationary. From 1915 to 1920, 

 receipts increased 93 per cent. During the same period the total ap- 

 propriation for the Forest Service increased 8 per cent, exclusive of 

 deficiency appropriations for fire fighting. In 1920 receipts in- 

 creased 10 per cent over the previous year, while the total appropria- 

 tions, exclusive of deficiency items, increased 4 per cent. An equal 

 increase for the current fiscal jeav may be expected unless too much 

 new business has to be rejected on account of lack of funds and 

 trained employees, but the appropriations for the current year were 

 increased 3 per cent only. 



Every resource of ingenuity' in administration and public coopera- 

 tion has been called upon, with the result that the service rendered to 

 National Forest users and the efficiency of protection from fire have 

 suffered to a very small extent. It has been necessary, however, to 

 refuse new business in places, and it has not been possible to develop 



