FOKEST SERVICE. 469 



tamed an extravagantly large force of office employees instead of 

 doing field work; that its expenditures for travel, rent, and similar 

 purposes have been excessive; that it has subsidized newspapers, 

 magazines, or magazine and newspaper writers; and that it has main- 

 tained a lecture bureau or subsidized lecturers, are entirely disproved 

 by a complete showing which covers all disbursements of the entire 

 period. 



The report in full upon these matters was published as House 

 Document No. 681, Sixty-second Congress, second session. 



ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL. 



No important changes in organization were made during the year. 

 The task was rather to strengthen the efficiency of the existing organi- 

 zation in handling all branches of work. In this direction there was 

 a very definite accomplishment. The output of every unit in the 

 service was materially enhanced. In 1911 the supervisory force in 

 the national forest districts was very substantially reduced. The 

 object was to effect economy and to determine by actual test the mini- 

 mum force absolutely necessary for efficient supervision and inspec- 

 tion. The business of the service, however, is constantly increasing, 

 so that the supervisory force was during the year strained almost to 

 a breaking point. The result has been to show what is needed for 

 the best and most economical organization. In several places addi- 

 tional help must be provided for adequate field inspection. The 

 Forest Service is distinctly a field organization. Its work is very 

 diversiiied and scattered over an enormous country, requiring a large 

 number of men, with heavy responsibilities. The check on the work 

 must come from field inspection. This is the only way to maintain 

 adequate standards of individual efficiency. With a few changes and 

 added strength to the inspection force at certain points, the present 

 organization is able to handle the present volume of business. As the 

 business increases, the organization must naturally respond to the 

 new conditions. 



The greatest attention was paid to the organization of the fire- 

 protection work. The fundamental aim is to prevent fires from start- 

 ing, but in case of fire to be prepared to meet whatever situation may 

 arise. The present organization gives each supervisor a limited force 

 of permanent statutory roll rangers, each in cliarge of a division of 

 the forest. This force is increased during the dangerous fire season 

 by the employment of temporary help as the conditions require and 

 as far as tlie available money permits. The larger this force can be 

 made during the fire season the better the protection. Normally 

 there ought to be at least one patrolman to every 10.000 acres during 

 the danger season where any serious liazard exists. The service actu- 

 ally employs about one man to each G0,000 acres. The force is not 

 regularly distributed, the most men being placed where the hazard 

 and property exposure are greatest. 



The winter force has been reduced to the minimum necessary to 

 maintain the framework of a permanent organization. This enables 

 a greater expenditure during the season of fire danger. In working 

 out this adjustment the presence of statutory positions acts as a dis- 



