138 



ARBORICULTURE. 



DUTY ON TIMBER. 



The sticklers for high tariff in and 

 out of Congress seriously injure the fu- 

 ture prospects of this Nation by refusing 

 to reduce or abolish the excessive duty 

 on lumber and logs, as by this means 

 we are rapidly disposing of our forests 

 with no compensating advantage except 

 to the comparatively few speculators 

 who have secured titles to practically all 

 the timber lands on the Pacific coast, and 

 who have built up a combine which con- 

 trols legislation both in Congress and 

 the Pacific States. We are offering a 

 premium for the speedy removal of all 

 our timber, for which we shall pay very 

 dearly a score of years hence. 



The action of the San Francisco lum- 

 ber interests, recently, shows the slight 

 regard these speculators have for the 

 best interests of the Nation, and also 

 how little concern they have for their 

 suffering fellow citizens. 



Congress proposed to remove the duty 

 on all iron and lumber which would be 

 required in rebuilding the stricken city. 

 But not so: the lumbermen, all power- 

 ful in politics of the Pacific coast, indig- 

 nantly rejected this liberal offer of the 

 American people, preferring that all 

 other interests should suffer, than that 

 the poor should be aided by materials 

 for building on which the duty should 

 be removed. In other words, the lum- 

 bermen demand that every one who 

 erects a house in San Francisco, to re- 

 place those destroyed by fire and earth- 

 quake, shall contribute to the lumber- 

 man's fund by being compelled to buy 

 the lumber of these same lumber manu- 

 facturers. 



There is entirely too much selfishness 



and too little patriotism in the lumber 

 camps of the Pacific coast. 



Refusing to modify the excessive tariff 

 rates on certain necessary articles will 

 result in creating a whirlwind which will 

 sweep away the entire high tariff laws 

 of the country. 



CRITICISES THE FOREST SERV- 

 ICE. 



The following letter from John P. 

 Brown, editor of Arboriculture, Con- 

 nersville, Ind., contains several sugges- 

 tions of essential value to lumbermen, on 

 the subject of forest and mill economy 

 and the planting of timber for future sup- 

 ply. Mr. Brown is a confirmed advocate 

 of the planting of Catalpa speciosa, which 

 he regards as the ideal tree for quick 

 growth for a future supply of posts, poles, 

 ties, etc. His observations concerning the 

 real timber conditions existing in Eastern 

 Tennessee and Western North Carolina 

 are verified by the facts. It is with much 

 satisfaction that The Record prints this 

 letter from Mr. Brown, and it is hoped 

 that he will contribute much more infor- 

 mation on re-forestry and kindred topics, 

 with which he is so familiar. — Editor. 



"On Train en route South, June 5. 

 "Editor Hardzvood Record: 



"1 shall be very glad to give you, from 

 time to time, some suggestions in regard 

 to forest policy. I am perfectly independ- 

 ent ; do not fear to attack any policy which 

 seems vicious or unwise, and having no 

 aspirations politically, shall not hesitate to 

 criticise the government or State policies. 

 I consider the government forest policy as 

 extremeb/ dangerous and tending to the 

 speedy destruction of American forests. 

 "Two things are highly essential: 

 First, to warn manufacturers, lumbermen 



