December 25, 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



News from the National Capital 



The Vanishing Timber Supply 



"The outstanding points in our present serious situation as to tim- 

 ber supply are the disappearance of three-fifths of the virgin forests 

 of the country, a present drain upon our remaining forests over 

 four times their yearly production of wood, and the accumulation 

 of enormous areas of denuded and idle forest lands," says Chief 

 Forester W. B. Greeley in his annual report to the Secretary of 

 Agriculture, made public December 13. 



"The past year," according to the report, "has been notable for 

 general discussion of the forestry situation in both its national and 

 local aspects and the consideration of remedies. To a considerable 

 degree this discussion has centered around proposed measures of 

 Federal legislation. 



"It is increasingly evident," says Colonel Greeley, "that what- 

 ever legislation may be enacted and whatever governmental 

 agencies may be invoked, two principles must be recognized in 

 putting the United States upon a self-sustaining basis in timber 

 production. The first is that, because of the long-term nature of 

 timber crops and the foresight necessary to meet future national 

 needs, the public has an interest in forest lands not common to 

 most forms of private property and most comparable to its interest 

 in the operation of recognized public utilities. This public interest 

 must be satisfied in the manner of handling forest lands. The 

 second principle is that the production of timber is an economic 

 process, governed by economic laws. Hence the requirements 

 imposed upon forest owners by the public must be equitable and 

 practicable from a business standpoint, or must be accompanied 

 by compensating features which make compliance a reasonable 

 undertaking for the owner of the property. 



"The state or the nation may insist that forest lands be pro- 

 ductive rather than idle; but in so doing it can not avoid its own 

 responsibility for reducing the general risks and losses attendant 

 upon timber production, which have often made it a hazardous 

 or unprofitable undertaking. The two outstanding respects in 

 ■which public co-operation with the land owner is necessary, as a 

 corollary to regulating the use of his property, are organized pro- 

 tection against forest fires and the adjustment of taxes on timber 

 lands so as to encourage their employment for growing successive 

 crops. 



"The Forest service has initiated this year an important step 

 toward the restoration of America's forests," declares the forester. 

 "'This is a comprehensive study of .the requirements in protection 

 and reforestation necessary to keep forest lands productive in each 

 important region of the United States. This study has been under- 

 taken in co-operation with state foresters, timberland owners, 

 representatives of forest industry organization and forest schools. 

 Its purpose is to put in concrete terms just what 'forestry regu- 

 lations' mean, in the southern pine belt, Appalachian hardwoods, 

 or the Lake States. Instead of dealing in general terms, it will 

 bring the forestry movement down to specific things which are to 

 be done in the woods, as minimum standards. It will thus serve 

 as the basis for any plan of public regulation of forest lands and 

 also aid th'e landowner who undertakes the growing of timber 

 crops on his own initiative." 



The subject for Federal legislation now most urgent, according 

 to the Chief Forester, are: 



(1) The extension of Federal co-operation in the protection 

 of all classes of forest land from fire; such co-operation not to be 

 limited to the watersheds of navigable streams, as at present, but 

 to be available on all forest lands within states prepared to join in 

 co-operative efforts. (2) The extension of public forest owner- 

 ship by incorporating within National Forests public lands not 

 under Federal ownership or control which are adapted primarily 

 to growing timber or the protection of watersheds; by acquiring 

 cut-over forest lands within or adjoining National Forests through 



exchanges; and by purchasing fore.st lands with a view both to the 

 protection of navigable watersheds and to the restoration of forests 

 on areas now denuded and idle. 



Hoover Will Plead for Rate Reductions 



Secretary of Commerce Hoover will appear as a witness be- 

 fore the Interstate Commerce Commission and will tell that body 

 that unless railroad rates are lowered in harmony with the decline 

 in the prices of commodities generally, economic readjustment 

 will be delayed. The Secretary of Commerce has devoted much 

 study to the railroad rate situation and has reached the conclu- 

 sion that high rates are one of the key obstacles in the pathway 

 to readjustment of industry. 



In line with the secretary's observations is the situation in 

 respect to coal rates. British coal, for the first time in forty 

 years, is coming to the American Atlantic seaboard in competi- 

 tion with domestic coal. Our foreign coal trade is practically 

 wiped out; the British now have the invasion of the home market 

 and the bunkering trade. 



On December 14 a special conference was held at the Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission attended by Secretarj- Hoover, J. B. 

 Smull, representing the United States Shipping Board; F. K. Wad- 

 leigh, of the Department of Commerce; Director of Traffic Hardie, 

 the Interstate Commerce Commission, W. M. Whitaker, vice-presi- 

 dent of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, the carriers, and T. F. 

 Farrell, vice-president of the Pocahontas Coal Company, the ship- 

 pers, at which the situation was discussed. 



The coal rate is regarded by Secretary Hoover as but one 

 angle of the rate situation. He believes that a drastic step must 

 be taken to reduce transportation costs, if American industry is 

 to regain a measure of prosperity adequate to insure full employ- 

 ment and commercial activity. 



The condition of the railroads, as pictured by an accounting 

 officer, including all of Class 1 and several important switching 

 and terminal carriers, was presented before the Interstate Com- 

 merce Commission a few days ago when George Shriver, vice- 

 president of the Baltimore & Ohio Eailroad testified. Extensive 

 statistical data was brought forward to support the declarations 

 of the railroads that a sweeping reduction in freight rates is 

 extremely inadvisable. 



The most significant point perhaps in this mass of statistics was 

 revealed when Mr. Shriver, in comparing 1916 and 1920, the best 

 and worst years of the railroads, showed that apparently there 

 was a 71.77 per cent increase in gross revenue, while expenses in- 

 creased 147.37 per cent. The railroads in 1916 had a net; railway 

 operating income of $1,040,085,517, while in 1920 the net was only 

 $21,661,782. That net income was made possible only by the de- 

 cision of the Interstate Commerce Commission that the Govern- 

 ment was not compensating the railroads adequately for trans- 

 portation of the mails. If it were not for that decision, declared 

 Mr. Shriver, the carriers that year would have had an actual 

 operating deficit of more than $40,000,000. 



Mr. Shriver stated that since 1916 the gross revenue of the 

 carriers increased $2,581,522,280, while in the same period the in- 

 crease in wages totaled $2,193,967,278, thus practically absorb- 

 ing all additional money paid by the public for transportation 

 services, not including the increased cost of fuel of $452,229,229. 

 Materials, supplies and other items of operating expenses increased 

 $827,870,197. Consequently, in making a comparison of the best 

 year with the worst, the two important facts to be considered, 

 said Mr. Shriver, were that the amount of money paid b.v the 

 public increased so that in 1920, the public paid $2,581,522,280 for 

 transportation services, while the sum taken from the railroads 

 for wages, fuel and other items was $3,474,066,704. 



' ' The railroads are not in a condition to experiment by lower- 

 ing rates at this time," said Mr. Shriver. 



