In aa address before the thirty-eighth annual meeting of the 

 Minnesota State Forestry Association, J. Garvin Peters, who rep- 

 resented the work of state and national cooperation in forestry, out- 

 lined the field which state forestry ouglit to occupy in this country. 

 He insisted that four things should be considered in taking up for- 

 estry problems. First, the bulk of our forest lands are in private 

 ownership; second, these private lands are overcut; third, there is 

 a general lack of forestry practice on tlie areas cut over; and 

 fourth, it takes such a long time to produce a forest crop. 



The area of absolute or permanent forest land in the United 

 States, that is, land which will grow trees but is unsuited to agricul- 

 ture, is probably 450,000,000 acres. Of this area, private owners 

 hold approximately seventy-five per cent. It is clear, therefore, that 

 the bulk of our future timber supply must come from these privately 

 owned lands. It cannot continue to come from the countries now 

 exporting timber in large quantities because they will soon have no 

 more to spare. 



Mr. Peters stated that the annual cut per acre is forty cubic feet, 

 while the growth does not average more than twelve; but that with 

 scientific management the annual growth could be brought up to forty 

 or even fifty cubic feet per acre. "With few exceptions, no forestry 

 is now being practiced on cutover lands in this country, while fire is 

 reducing many areas to barrens. 



This is the land which states should own. The care of it is usually 

 too burdensome for the individual owner, and returns are too far in 

 the future to attract private capital. The speaker pointed out 

 some of the obstacles in the way of immediate public ownership of 

 large areas. Large sums of money to make the purchase are not 

 available, and public sentiment is not yet strongly demanding that 

 the purchase be made. Some states, however, have taken energetic 

 measures to protect forest land, even though the states do not own 

 it. Oregon, for example, has a compulsory fire-patrol law for private 

 land, and New York, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon have laws 

 regulating the piling of slash. Nevada regulates the size of trees 

 which shall not be cut, and Maine exercises certain supervision over 

 forest lands privately ouTied. Several other state legislatures have 

 bills pending which seek to regulate such lands for the public good. 



Some states, practically all in the West, already own large forest 

 areas of land grants, which they have not yet disposed of. The 

 establishment of public forests by these states is, therefore, a simple 

 problem as compared with that confronting the older states which 

 have long ago parted with their lands for a mere song and must 

 now go into the open market to buy them back, minus the timber, for 

 many times the original selling price. These older states furnish very 

 striking examples of a mistaken land policy, which it is not too late 

 for the newer ones to heed. 



Mr. Peters pointed out that between state and federal ownership 

 of forests there is this distinction, namely, that the former may be 

 managed entirely in the interest of the individual state; the latter, in 

 the interest of the nation as a whole. But there is every reason 

 for the closest cooperation between both agencies. State forests are 

 necessary to supplement national forests, and the efforts of both 

 state and nation will accomplish none too much. The demand in 

 some quarters for state control of the national forests is simply a 

 movement to turn their vast resources over to private interests. 



As a national remedy for a fast dwindling timber supply and for 

 lack of protection to the watersheds of navigable streams the states 

 should assist and supplement the government in acquiring ownership 

 of the forests. While these problems are of the greatest importance 

 to the whole country, they are none the less ones in which the indi- 

 vidual state is vitally concerned also. 



Public ownership will guarantee a stable administration of the 

 properties. They wUl be removed from the possibility of change of 

 ownership. The successful application of forestry methods can only 

 be secured in the long run under ownership which is permanent and 

 long-lived. 



A stable lumber industry will be assured giving steady employment 

 to the wage-earner. Areas now in waste and barren land will be 

 reforested, and the crop in time harvested on a basis of the annual 

 yield. The large mill which clears the land and moves on to other 

 fields, often into distant states, leaving behind deserted towns, will 

 be a thing of the past. Instead, there will be mills, perhaps not so 

 large, doing a permanent, steady business. 



Mr. Peters quoted items of cost and profit in a number of foreign 

 countries which have managed their forests a long time, and it was 

 shown that the operation can be made profitable to the state, in addi- 

 tion to the advantages which will come to the people by having a 

 necessary supply of timber. 



Traffic Matters Around Memphis 



The heariiit; in tlie ( :ise involving tlie proposed western rate 

 advance of one to three cents per hundred pounds on shipments of 

 hardwood lumber and products made therefrom, which was to have 

 been held in St. Louis April 1, has, at the request of the carriers, 

 been postponed until June 1. The date for the efliectiveness of the 

 proposed advances, which were suspended by the commission at the 

 request of the Southern Hardwood Trafliic Bureau, has been advanced 

 to December 1, so that there wUl be plenty of time in which to 

 prepare the necessary data to be used in combatting the higher rates. 

 There were only a few days intervening between the announcement 

 of the date for the hearing and the hearing itself, and the Southern 

 Hardwood Traffic Association is congratulating itself over the 

 jjostponement. Officials will at least be able to work on the subject 

 diligently and with some assurance of successful opposition, now 

 that they have a number of weeks to devote themselves to the issues 

 involved in this hearing. It is estimated that hardwood lumber 

 Interests in the southern territory will have to pay about $1,500,000 

 more for freight service if the higher rates are sustained and there 

 is no denying that everything that can be done in the way of 

 opposition will be vigorously pushed by the officials of an organiza- 

 tion that never does things by halves and that has a long record of 

 victories to its credit. It is realized that this is one of the "big 

 cases" before the commission and hardwood lumber interests are 

 preparing to make the fight of their lives when the hearing begins 

 June 1 next. 



In the meantime the bureau will have its hands quite full preparing 

 for the hearing in the case of the BeUgrade Lumber Company, which 

 has been set for April 27 at Memphis. This will be before J. T. 

 Hines, special examiner-attorney for the commission. It involves the 

 securing of rates of eleven and ten cents, respectively, on shipments 

 of hardwood lumber and lumber products from points above and 

 below the main line of the Southern Railway in Mississippi to New 

 Orleans. About a year ago rates of eleven and ten cents were made 

 applicable to gum and cottonwood from the localities already defined 

 to that destination and the Bellgrade Lumber Company is seeking 

 to obtain an order from the commission directing the defendant 

 roads, the Illinois Central and Yazoo & Mississippi Valley, to apply 

 the same rates to all hardwood lumber shipments. The hardwood 

 lumber interests of Memphis recently decided upon the filing of an 

 intervening petition, to be heard at the same time as the case of 

 the Bellgrade Lumber Company, through which a rate of eleven cents 

 is sought on all shipments of hardwood lumber and lumber products 

 from Memphis to New Orleans as against the present rate of twelve 

 cents. It is pointed out that, if the Bellgrade Lumber Company 

 is successful, Memphis, which lies only a few miles above the 

 Mississippi state line, is entitled to the rate of eleven cents which 

 will become applicable on shipments from that boundary to New 

 Orleans. The intervening petition is in the name of the Anderson- 

 Tully Company. The Southern Hardwood Traffic Association will have 

 charge of both of these cases. J. E. Walker, attorney of the bureau, 

 wiU come from Washington to assist J. H. Townshend, general 

 manager, when the hearings are called. 



