HARDWOOD RECORD 



no more think of using the raw material out of 

 which he could not obtain cost than the farmer 

 would harvest a crop of faulty corn out of which 

 he could not obtain the cost of gathering. 



On account of the varying and unstable condi- 

 tion of supply and demand it will be found diffi- 

 cult, if not impossible, to get the timber owner 

 to enter actively into the methods required for 

 the perpetuation of the forests by spending even 

 the minimum required, which I understand to be 

 about 50 cents a thousand. While this does not 

 .^eem a large amount, there are concerns making 

 as much as 25U, 000,000 feet of lumber per an- 

 num, and hence to these the cost of this Item 

 would be .$125,000 per annum. If his, or its, com- 

 petitor was pursuing the same practice all would 

 be well ; if not he would, for the immediate pres- 

 ent, be out that much more money than his com- 

 petitor, and during dull periods, such as now, 

 when prices were close to the cost line, even for 

 the better grades of lumber, he would hardly feel 

 disposed to contract for such an outlay. 



The government, owning only about 22 per cent 

 of our forest areas, cannot alone, to any great 

 degree, effect what we are seeking in this con- 

 ference so far as forests are concerned. It might, 

 however, accomplish the purpose in one of the 

 following ways : 



First — The government could, by a contractural 

 relation with the owners of the forests where lum- 

 bering operations are now being carried on (who 

 constitute at least 80 per cent of the timber hold- 

 ers of the United States), provide that conserva- 

 tion and reforestation should be practiced under 

 rules prescribed by the Forestry Department and 

 assess the cost thereof against the timber lands 

 proportionately. 



These rules should provide that the lumbering 

 operations, so far as conservation and reforesta- 

 tion were concerned, should be conducted under 

 governmental control ; that no more timber should 

 be cut than was necessary to supply the current 

 demands, thus maintaining such uniformity of 

 prices as would justify the operator to utilize 

 every log the tree would produce ; that only trees 

 of a certain size should be cut ; that seed trees, 

 properly distributed, should be left ; that the 

 young growth should be protected from fires and 

 other elements of destruction, and It would seem 

 clear that the establishment of such a rela- 

 tionship would certainly accomplish this highly 

 desired object. 



Second — A plan might be worked out jointly 

 between the owners of the timber lauds and the 

 government by which conservation and reforesta- 

 tion would be practiced along such lines as the 

 government might lay down, as outlined above, 

 and the timber owners be protected in the prices 

 of all lands cut over and handled under the con- 

 ditions prescribed. 



Whatever plan is iil- i i. 1 n. i t furnish an In- 

 centive, a substnni,:. to the timber 

 owners to forejio ■' i^ - ■■ i"i" the public 

 good, and in this mnir n ui l-i- accomplished 

 only by governmental colipcralion. And what Is 

 done should l>e done quickly, for the time Is fast 

 approaching when our forests will be so nearly 

 gone, when the destruction will be so nearly com- 

 pleted, that it will l>e too late. 



Disclaiming all partisan or political references 

 and siMTikluR onlj- nt economic conditions as we 

 "ii,] " I: T : , .■ :: ■' K I should neglect to say 

 , iig conditions existing 



inufacturing life, and 

 i! I i I'lss incident thereto, 



:\[", in iii.v iiiilmiii 111, '111' i.ir^.iy lo the pernicious 



effects of that class -i I -i I i i which, by Its 



application, has pin- 1 m. :ii-"liite prohibition 

 on every form of a.^iV'iiKiil I'i'king to conserva- 

 tion; has placed a ban upun all meetings and 

 discussions having for their object the adoption 

 of the most salutary measures for the preserva- 

 tion of this natural resource, and the Instant 

 and unfair denunciation of every meeting of the 

 so-called "lumber trust," which does not and 

 never did exist ; has produced such a condition 

 of mind among lumbermen that they feel that 

 they can no longer meet together for the gen- 



eral discussion of matters so vitally affecting 

 their interests and the welfare of this nation 

 without subjecting themselves to the humiliation 

 of a prosecution. This condition in the lumber 

 business has led to the reduction of the wage 

 scale of hundreds of thousands of men, affecting 

 many millions of people ; has left 20 per cent of 

 the timber In the forest to waste, and unless we 

 have relief these evils will increase and others 

 will follow in their wake. 



And In this connection it may be well to say 

 that a reduction of our tariff on lumber would at 

 once bring us Into direct and disastrous compe- 

 tition with lumber from Canada, where stumpage 

 Is cheaper and wages lower and where the con- 

 sequent tendency toward wastefulness necessi- 

 tates corresponding disregard on our part. Waste 

 is loss and adds nothing to consumption. We 

 want greater consumption, but we should eon- 

 serve and reproduce, not waste. 



Other addresses of the afternoon session were 

 those of ex-Governor Pardee of California on 

 "Irrlgatloa," and President Jastro of the Ameri- 

 can °Uve Stock Association on "Grazing and 

 Stock Raising," a topic which overlaps the for- 

 estry question to considerable extent. 



In the evening Hon. Gilford Plnchot gave a 

 reception to the governors and members of the 

 Inland Waterways Commission. 



The session of May 15, the last one of the 

 conference, was marked by the adoption of a 

 set of broad resolutions, bvit no permanent form 

 of organization nor specific recommendations for 

 legislation either by the federal or state govern- 

 ments were made. William Jennings Bryan de- 

 livered an able address, which was heartily re- 

 ceived by the convention and Inspired President 

 Koosevelt to state his stand on several points 

 most emphatically. Mr. Bryan declared that 

 Congress should appropriate sufliclent money to 

 carry on necessary Investigations, and the people 

 should see to It that our resources are not 

 monopolized by a few, and that future genera- 

 tions are not fettered with perpetual franchises. 

 "There Is no twilight zone between the nation 

 and the state," continued Mr. Bryan, "In which 

 exploiting Interests can take refuge from both, 

 and my observation Is that most— not all, but 

 most — of the contentions over the line between 

 nation and state are traceable to predatory cor- 

 porations which are trying to shield themselves 

 from deserved punishment, or endeavoring to 

 prevent needed restraining legislation." 



President Koosevelt, before adjourning the 

 conference, explained his attitude on the per- 

 petual franchise question In a speech which met 

 with perhaps the most hearty applause of any 

 delivered at the convention ; and on the question 

 of state rights he said: "I want to say one 

 word about the twilight land— the power be- 

 tween the federal and state governments. Jly 

 aim in the legislation I have advocated for the 

 regulation of the great corporations has been to 

 provide sound, effective, popular control for each 

 corporation. What I am trying to And out — 

 not negatively, not by decisions that a state can- 

 not act or federal decisions that the nation can- 

 not act— Is where one or the other can act so 

 that there shall always lie some sovereign power 

 on behalf of the people that they may hold over 

 the big corporations, over the big Individuals, 

 too, that an accountability regarding their acts 

 shall be had for the benefit of the people. In 

 matters that relate only to the people within 

 the state, of course, the state Is to be sovereign, 

 and It should have the power to act. If the 

 matter Is such that the state Itself cannot act, 

 then I wish on behalf of the state that the 

 national government should act. 



"Where the policy I advocate can be carried 

 out best by the state, let It be carried out by the 

 state : where it can be carried out best by the 

 nation, let It be carried out by the nation. My 

 concern Is not with the academic side of the 

 question : I deal with the matter from the stand- 

 point of true popular Interest, and therefore my 

 desire Is to employ Indifferently either the prin- 

 ciple of states' rights or the principle of na- 



tional sovereignty, whichever in a given case 

 will best conserve the needs of the people." 



A committee of five was appointed to arrange 

 for another conference of governors next year, 

 at which time it will be decided whether or not 

 to effect a permanent organization. 



The resolutions adopted by the conference 

 commended the action of Mr. Roosevelt In calling 

 it together, and recommended that future gather- 

 ings of like nature be called by the President 

 whenever conditions warrant. Legislation by 

 both Congress and the states was suggested to 

 further the ends sought ; also that the states 

 put these matters in the bands of competent 

 commissions. The resolutions were In part as 

 follows : 



"We agree that the nation's natural resources 

 are threatened with exhaustion. 



"We agree that the lands should be so used 

 that erosion and soil wash should cease ; and 

 there should be reclamation of arid and seml- 

 arld regions by means of Irrigation, and of 

 swamp and overflowed regions by means of 

 drainage ; that the waters should be so con- 

 served and used as to promote navigation, to 

 enable the arid ri'u'iuns to be reclaimed by irri- 

 gation, and ti .)[ V. I.1J. i.>)\vcr In the interests of 

 the peopl'' ' " sis, which regulate our 



rivers, sui i i iiies and promote the 



fertility ;ii i i -s of the soil, should 



be preservicl iihi !>. i p. i uaicd ; that the minerals 

 found so abuiiclamiy lieneath the surface should 

 be used so as tu prolong their utility ; that the 

 beauty, healthfulness and habltabillty of our 

 country should be preserved and Increased ; that 

 the sources of national wealth exist for the ben- 

 efit .of all the people, and that the monopoly 

 thereof should not be tolerated. 



"We declare the conviction that In the use 

 of the natural resources our independent states 

 are Interdependent and bound together by ties of 

 mutual benefits, responsibilities and duties. 



"We agree that further action Is advisable to 

 ascertain the present condition of our natural 

 resources and to promote the conservation of 

 the same: and to that end we recommend the 

 appointment by each state of a commission on 

 the conservation of natural resources, to co- 

 operate with each other and with any similar 

 commission on behalf of the federal govern- 



Cypress for Barrels. 



During the summer of 1907 the National 

 Irrigation Congress, In convention at Sacra- 

 mento, Cal., appointed a committee to make an 

 award, consisting of a handsome white oak cask 

 artistically carved and decorated with silver, to 

 any association or Individual who should offer 

 the most acceptable substitute for white oak In 

 the manufacture of wine barrels. The Southern 

 Cypress Manufacturers' Association entered the 

 contest and captured the prize by Its practical 

 demonstration that cypress Is the best substitute 

 lor the purpose. They proved conclusively that 

 the wood Is strong enough to withstand rough 

 usage In Shipment, that It imparts no taste nor 

 color to the wine contained within the barrel, 

 that It Is of sufficient density to retain the fluid 

 without leakage, that It will hold Its shape, and 

 that It can be manufactured as cheaply as the 

 oak barrel now In use. 



Cypress has long been considered the best sort 

 of timber for the manufacture of tanks for com- 

 mercial purposes, from the huge water tank down 

 through the entire list of receptacles for brewers' 

 products, molasses, vinegar and oil. A large 

 number of woods competed for the distinction of 

 becoming a substitute for white oak. Including 

 redwood, several of the cedars, western spruce, 

 and others ; but It was discovered that all, with 

 I he exception of cypress, either gave a decided 

 color to the wine, or a disagreeable taste, or 

 both. After being encased for several weeks In 

 barrels made of these different products, the 

 liquids were bottled and shipped to the commit- 

 tee, with samples of the wood employed, with 

 the result that cypress "won out." 



The association Is to be congratulated upon 

 Its success, for, although It would undoubtedly 

 tost about as much to manufacture cypress as 

 white oak barrels — and consequently they will 

 not soon Income an active competitor of the 

 latter — producers have the satisfaction of know- 

 ing that they have broadened the use of cypress 

 and the appreciation In which It Is already held, 

 and that they have made their Investments In 

 stumpage more solid by demonstrations which 

 increase the value of the wood. 



