22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 



19'21 



"There is no practical way for the private individual to i>lant 

 seedlings and wait for theni to grow up, but the Government can 

 do this," he said. The Government should take back the cut over 

 lands not suitable for agriculture and reforest them. If the owner 

 of such lands will not sell them they should be seized through the 

 usual condemnation proceedings. 



Chairm.-m (Joiidwillie next called I'rof. Koth, dean of the Mich- 

 igan College of Forestry, whom lie described as the "Nestor of 

 forestrj'." Prof. Roth described the forestry practices of France 

 and Germany, where trees are grown under a hundred-year rota- 

 tion system. "We are coming to the European methods in this 

 country," he said. He expressed the opinion that what this coun- 

 try needs is a forestry constitutional ;iniendmoiit. 



The "Four Cornerstones" 



The leading witness on .luly !!• was Major William L. Hail of 

 Chicago, former assistant chief forester of the United States. 

 Major Hall laid down the "four cornerstones" of a successful 

 forestry policy. 1. Increase the public forests. Should add 

 2,000,000 acres a year for at least 75 years. 2. Protection of all 

 timbered and cut over lands not only from fire, but from insects 

 and fungi. 3. Measures necessary to more completely utilize the 

 wood nature has placed in our hands. This, he said, is of extreme 

 importance to the public and any system will be out of balance 

 which provides for the spending of large sums of money for refor- 

 estation and does not at the same time strive to economize in the 

 utilization of wood. 4. Reforestation — Timber planting is the big- 

 gest end of the problem. It is inevitable that the public must lead 

 in this; that the Federal Government must assume a large responsi- 

 bility in this, and the state an even larger responsibility. We 

 should plant 1,000,000 acres a year from now on. At the cost of 

 $10 an acre this will be $10,000,000 annually. 



Some of the forestry policy legislation pending in Congress does 

 not cover these four paramount considerations, Major Hall said. 

 The Capper Bill covers only fire protection and does not provide 

 for reforestation, for research to ])revent waste of wood nor for 

 increase in the public forests. ' ' The Capper Bill is not a com- 

 plete forestry policy and is not proposed as such by its advocates," 

 he said. 



But the Suell Bill does cover, or attempt to cover, the essentials 

 of a complete forestry policy. "We might consider the Snell Bill 

 as a start toward a complete forestry policy," he said. 



The interest of the wood user in reforestation was evidenced 

 by the testimony of Wm. B. Baker of Chicago, representing the 

 Association of Wood Using Industries, of which he is secretary. 

 Mr. Baker said that he believed the tacts brought out at this hear- 

 ing would enliven the interest of the wood user in reforestation, 

 because it would make him realize the urgency of the problem. 

 Previously this interest has been comparatively slight, because the 

 wood user depended upon some one else frfr his raw material and 

 therefore has not come in direct contact with the problem. ' ' The 

 interest of the wood user in reforestation has been lacking, but 

 will be thoroughly aroused as the wood user is made to realize that 

 at the present rate of depletion our standing hardwood timber will 

 be exhausted in twenty-nine years," he said. "In most cases the 

 wood user does not control his raw material, hence is dependent 

 upon the supply of the saw mill interests. 



The cost of transport.ition is hpcomins ever one of greater Importance 

 to the wood user as affecting his raw material supply. 



Miinufacturlns methods with the wood user have been subject to little 

 change until very recent years, and today practices of conservation are 

 lieing developed by the wood user tlu-ougli such energies as improved kiln 

 drying, stuudardization of products and Increased use of dimension stock. 



lu co-operatlou with the Forest Products Laboratory the wood using 

 Industries are conducting a survey of the present use of dimension stock. 

 the possibility of the further expansion of its use, and when the sum- 

 maries have been made it Is hoped that through co-operation with the 

 saw mill interests dimension stock can be manufactured more extensively 

 anil a wider market established for its use. 



The subject of reforestation is so vital to the users of wood that in my 

 opinlcin a cnurse ut lectures should be arranged in public schools so that 

 till' importame of tree planting niid wood conservation shall have the 

 broadest possible application. 



lu ccu^ilcsliin. the wood usiii-.; indu'*trii-s nrr and should be committed 



tci a program of reforestation, and rather than let valuable time elapse 

 prefer to see some bill enacted by Congress, which, while It may not be 

 Ideal in all particulars, will educate the people to the importance of this 

 subject and pave the way tor such further steps as they may evolve. 



C. v. Winslow, director of the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory, 

 who followed Mr. Baker, made the interesting statement that "if 

 ways and means could be found to utilize all the wood lost, largely 

 through lack of knowledge of the proper utilization, the stumpage 

 of the country would go two or three times as far as it will under 

 the present conditions. Therefore, he called the question of the 

 effective utilization of wood one of the very foremost factors in 

 the reforestation problem. 



In conjunction with the subject of utilization Mr. Worcester 

 returned to the stand and expressed some opinions on the "eco- 

 nomic features of utilization." He asked the Chief Forester if it 

 were not a fact that if the consumers of lumber were willing to buy 

 all grades that only 60 per cent of the stumpage now being cut 

 would be necessary to meet the demand? In short, the lumber 

 industry is compelled to cut over 40 per cent more timber land than 

 really necessary in order to supply the clear cuttings the consumer 

 demands. Is it not true that the consumer's insistence on clear 

 lumber occasions a large part of the waste? 



Col, Greeley replied that it could not be expected that a full 

 program of waste saving could be put through quickly, but that 

 this must be a matter of slow growth. 



Mr. Worcester admitted that there is quite a field for expansion 

 of the manufacture and use of dimension stock, as one instance of 

 saving, but the stumbling block in the way of this saving was that 

 the consumer wants to buy dimension stock cheaper than lumber 

 .and insists on its delivery dry. He said that lumbermen who have 

 made dimension stock and lost by the experiment will not readily 

 undertake it again. 



Scarcity is the only thing that will bring about effective utiliza- 

 tion and elimination of waste, Mr. Worcester maintained. "As 

 long as lumber is cheap the American people are going to use the 

 best. The American public has been educated on cheap wood and 

 is therefore going to waste it." 



Col. Greeley conceded that to a certain extent it will require a 

 scarcity of timber to bring about economical utilization, but he 

 maintained that this process can be aided tremendously bj' intelli- 

 gent study of the problem, such as is being made by the Forest 

 Products Laboratory. 



Northern Wholesalers at Rhinelander 



The Northern Wholesale Hardwood Lumber Association con- 

 vened for its quarterly meeting at Rhinelander, Wis., on Friday, 

 July 15, at which President T. T. Jones, presided. The affair was 

 novel in that the session was an out-of.-doors gathering, a pavilion 

 having been selected for this purpose located on a high point 

 overlooking Lake Julia. 



President Jones invited everybody present who had any opti- 

 mistic thoughts to express them, stating that it was now time 

 for all to take a brighter outlook at conditions and unburden their 

 minds of the pessimistic viewpoint, as by so doing they would 

 favorably influence business. 



A. L. Ford, managing editor of the American Lumberman, was 

 the chief speaker of the day, discoursing on present conditions and 

 the future for the hardwood lumber business, stating that a recent 

 study of the furniture markets showed a good deal of activity 

 among furniture manufacturers and low stocks among the retailers, 

 and that the railroads will necessarilv have to come into the mar- 

 ket soon for very much needed equipment and repairs, and will do 

 so as soon as they have the required finances. 



Some of those present then gave an expression of their ideas on 

 these various subjects, and all agreed that although an improve- 

 ment is in sight, it behooves all to bestir themselves to even 

 harder effort to secure business, and that the one who does keep 

 after it constantly and indefatigably is the one who will gain the 

 most business. 



Secretary J. F. Haydeu "s report on the building situation, condi- 

 tion of lumber stocks and other statistical information was lis- 

 tened to with great interest. 



