i8 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



August 2o, 



For Fire Prevention 



THE PHYSICIAN SERVES HUMANITY by reaching and cor- 

 recting tlie source rather than eradicating the perceptible evidence 

 of physical ailment. So the nostrums, salves and ointments handed 

 out so frequently by those selfishly interested in the spread of so-called 

 fireproof construction miss the main issue. One of the sorest spots 

 in our national life — the immense loss through preventable fires — is in 

 no wise corrected, but rather the issue is clouded and complications are 

 created by the often extravagant claims by those interested in the 

 sale of materials supposed to be helpful in eliminating- the fire hazard. 

 The one thing, though, vphich is so far the dominant cause of the awful 

 fire waste that all other causes are purely incidental, namely, negli- 

 gence, carelessness and lack of efficiency, is not gotten at in any way 

 whatsoever through the extensive propagandist work that the advo- 

 cates of so-called fireproofing have been carrying on. 



Sanity and common sense dictate that the matter shall be approached 

 from its source else there wiU be no solution. The National Board of 

 Fire Underwriters of New York City is behind one of the most promis- 

 ing movements in this direction. It has prepared for the Council of 

 National Defense and is mailing to a list of some 66,000 leading manu- 

 facturers, a booklet of directions for the prevention of fiLres under 

 the title ' ' Safeguarding Industry, ' ' together with a show card of fire 

 prevention rules for employes. The book is for free distribution and 

 the board is anxious for as wide a circulation as possible. 



The importance of this work coming at this particular moment is 

 emphasized by a statement made by President Wilson to be published 

 on the cover of the booklet. He says: 



' ' Preventable fire is more than a private misfortune. It is a public 

 dereliction. At a time like this, of emergency and manifest necessity 

 for the conservation of national resources, it is more than ever a mat- 

 ter of deep and pressing consequence that every means should be taken 

 to prevent this evil. ' ' 



Such fundamental work as this will, it is entirely safe to predict, do 

 far more in a given period to cut down the fire loss than all of the 

 artificial remedies that ever were or ever will be proposed towards 

 this end. 



The Stakes Are Driven 



WORK HAS BEEN STAKED OFF for the hardwood producers 

 of the United States in supplying material for tlie war. The 

 Southern Hardwood Emergency Bureau, with headquarters at Cin- 

 cinnati, has been created and authorized to buy hardwood supplies for 

 the government. It is intended that all such purchases shall be made 

 by the bureau, and the actual distribution of orders will be done by 

 one man. The government will pay at a maximum price fixed by the 

 bureau. The agreement of the government to pay the price thus fixed 

 is taken for granted. The matter of purchases is thus greatly simpli- 

 fied. Haggling over prices, wire pulling for orders, contending over 

 terms, and scandals growing out of contracts, will be largely eliminated 

 from the business of buying and selling hardwood lumber for govern- 

 ment use. It is believed that about 1,000,000,000 feet a year will be 

 needed. That is one-sixth of the total hardwood production of the 

 United States. Full details of the plan are printed on another page 

 of this number of Hardwood Becoed. 



So far as information at liand shows, the plan is satisfactory to the 

 hardwood producers. If it is fairly and squarely carried out — and 

 there is no reason to believe it mM not be — it will distribute the busi- 

 ness equitably among producers who wish to share, and are in a posi- 

 tion to do so. 



Of course, the price which the bureau will fix is an important matter, 

 and if too low, it will afford just grounds for complaint. But it is 

 not to be anticipated that the price will be too low to afford a fair 

 profit for the lumberman. The middlemen may not be so well pro- 

 vided for as they would like; but there is nothing in the published 

 plans to prevent any wholesaler or retailer from selling suitable ma- 

 terial that he may have on hand. 



There is no apparent disposition on the part of the government to 

 insist on prices too low. Extraordinary conditions are recognized. The 

 manufacturer must make money or he cannot meet his obligations in 



the form of high wages, increased taxes, and other unusual expenses. 

 President Wilson spoke plainly on this subject when he said: 



A just price must, of course, be paid for everything the government 

 bu.Ts. By a just price I mean a price wbich will sustain the industries 

 concerned in a high state of efficiency, provide a living for those who con- 

 duct them, enable them to pay good wages and make possible the expan- 

 sions of their enterprises, which will from time to time become necessary 

 as the stupendous undertakings of this great war develop. 



Hardwood lumbermen are receiving the same treatment and the same 

 consideration accorded all other producers of material needed in the 

 war. Purchases are being made through bureaus. This simplifies the 

 business of buying and selling, and will, in a measure, head off un- 

 scrupulous speculators, such as made fortunes during our Civil war 

 by simply manipulating the productions of others and cheating the 

 government on contracts. 



Back of it all, lies the government's power to commandeer, on a 

 moment's notice, all plants and resources which fail to respond to the 

 call made upon them for supplies. It should not be necessary to com- 

 mandeer a single lumber plant in this country. 



Results Becoming Apparent 



A DOZEN OR MORE YEARS AGO a heated controversy was going 

 on in this country concerning the effects of forests on soil and 

 stream flow. Foresters claimed that a tree cover on the mountains 

 regulates the flow of streams, lessens the damage by floods, and miti- 

 gates the periods of low water, besides constantly enriching the soil, 

 and probably modifying the climate. The opposite view was taken 

 by Willis Moore at that time chief of the Weather Bureau. He pub- 

 lished a report attacking the claims of the foresters and asserting 

 (without proof) that forests exercised no such influence as was claimed 

 for them. Had it not been apparent that the weather man's opposi- 

 tion to forestry was influenced by political consideration (He was a 

 candidate for Secretary of Agriculture) and that he was very poorly 

 informed on the subject which he discussed, his attack might have 

 had a disastrous effect upon appropriations for forestry, particularly 

 upon appropriations for the purchase of land by the government in 

 the Appalachian regions. His attack failed, and the forestry move- 

 ment went ahead. 



At the time of the controversy, the foresters based their predictions 

 largely upon theory, so far as this country was concerned, though their 

 claims were substantiated by facts in European forestry. Since then, 

 their claims have been proved by facts in this country. Burnt-over 

 and denuded lands which were bought by the government less than 

 ten years ago have been redeemed, and the predictions which were then 

 based on theory are now being verified by facts. The following extract 

 is to the point. It is from an address recently delivered at the Penn- 

 sylvania forestry conference at Pittsburgh by William L. Hall, who is 

 in charge of the government 's forestry work in the Appalachian region. 

 Speaking of the government purchases in the southern mountains he 

 said : 



Public ownership of these lands quickly justifies itself. Where we have 

 been able to buy fairly solid bodies of considerable size we have been able 

 practically to control fires. Young timber growth has sprung into quick 

 recovery, and the soil fertility Is being rapidly increased by leaves and 

 litter from the forest. Because of this increased mulch which keeps the 

 ground moist, better growth is taking place in the young timber so that 

 taller, straighter and more perfect trees will be secured in the next stand. 

 The streams arc running clearer ; their flow is more regular. Waterpowers 

 and all uses of water have been distinctly aided. While much of these 

 lands has been cutover for their best timber, we find that under the careful 

 methods employed by the government it is possible to make sale of much 

 dead and defective stuff hitherto considered unsalable. In this way we 

 arc cleaning up the ground and putting the land into far better condition 

 both for fire protection and for the production of a valuable forest. It 

 would do you good to go with me into one of these stands which was full 

 of the wreckage of former timber operations and see how it has been 

 cleaned up and regenerated under improvement cutting by the government. 

 Tlie returns from these purchased lands are already coming in. Beginning 

 with a few hundred dollars in 1914, they amounted to nearly $10,000 in 

 1916, and will double that during the present fiscal year. 



The war may stop further work for the present in that region by 

 cutting off the appropriations for carrying it on. Almost everything 

 must give way and furnish a clear track for the war. However, a 

 demonstration has proved the correctness of the foresters' predictions. 



