REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 39 



the advancement of local community welfare and of no small im- 

 portance for the economic development of the Forests themselves. 

 An augmented volume of business, due to a larger number of timber 

 purchasers, and a net addition of nearly three- fourths of a million to 

 the number of stock grazed, together with a decided stimulus in 

 prospecting and mining activities and in the use of the Forests for 

 recreation and health, are further indications of broadening develop- 

 ment. 



PERMANENCE OF THE FORESTS. 



Thus year by year the National Forest enterprise gains stability. 

 In the long run the only means by which it can become stable is 

 successful administration. Laws alone can not make it so. For 

 a time the Forests were a great experiment. Whether the public 

 benefits which their establishment had in view could be realized 

 without accompanying intolerable drawbacks could be ascertained 

 only through demonstration. An essentially constructive task was 

 involved. The responsibility upon this department since it was 

 placed in charge of the Forests has not been merely the routine dis- 

 charge of definitely prescribed duties. It has been necessary to 

 devise and apply methods for attaining broad general purposes 

 embodied in laws by Congress. A vast land area was to be managed 

 with a view to the most general, varied, and harmonious use. If 

 these resources had not been made available to the public, a resist- 

 less demand for the abandonment of the project would have arisen. 

 Through successful administration the permanence of the National 

 Forests is becoming more and more assured. They are now a vital 

 part of the economic life of the regions which use their resources. 

 It is increasingly clear that National supervision and control of 

 them is necessary and that they could not be abandoned without 

 disastrous consequences to western industries and to local welfare. 



ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN FORESTS. 



In my reports of the last two years the need for more ample pro- 

 vision for road development in the National Forests was emphasized. 

 Many of the Forests are located in the more remote portions of 

 the western mountains. Roads are necessary for their protection, 

 administration, and development. They are essential also for the 

 upbuilding of the local communities. They are needed to open up 



