14 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



ways of this country to supplement railroad transportation is a ques- 

 tion of the greatest importance. 



It is to be hoped that the new Waterways Board will propose plans 

 for river development that will be practical, and that eventually this 

 nation may gain this very necessary system of transportation. 



Penalty of Forest Waste. 



It is pleasing to be able to compliment a Chicago daily newspaper 

 on a .logical and forceful editorial on the subject of forestry. Here- 

 with is reproduced an article from the Chicago Inter Ocean, referring 

 to the recent situation in the valley of the upper Ohio ; the tre- 

 mendous loss of life and money is attributable largely to reckless 

 forest management. These deplorable and oft-recurring floods are a 

 constant reminder that something must be done and done quickly 

 to prevent further forest denudation. This condition is a strong 

 argument in favor of the policy of President Roosevelt as handled 

 through the Forest Service, for constantly adding to the country's 

 forest reserves, and protecting the sources of supply of our streams: 



The present situation in the valley of the upper Ohio and its 

 affluents gives a striking demonstration of the costly tolly of 

 which the people of that part — and other parts of this country 

 have been guilty in their reckless exploitation of their forest 

 resources. 



In western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio fifty lives have heen 

 lost in the sudden Hoods which have lately descended the rivers 

 from the tree stripped hills. In Pittsburg and its environs alone 

 the property loss, through direct destruction, stoppage of industry, 

 and curtailment of output, is conservatively estimated at $10,- 

 ooo.OOO. 



When we remember that these Hoods also meau a great scouring 

 away of fertile soil, or its burial beneath barren sand and gravel, 

 and take into account the damage to scores of communities, it is 

 doubtful if live times $10,000,000 would fully measure the total 

 loss, much of it of a character that no human effort can make 



good. 



There is probably no part of the country where this sweeping 



away of 11 growth, with its consequent unloosing of the floods. 



has been more reckless and complete than in the area'for some 

 200 mib's around Pittsburg. Industrial circumstances tempted to 

 it. and the temptation was yielded to in spite of the many and 

 accumulating warnings that outraged nature has been giving to 

 ignorant man. 



And the foolish waste that went on unchecked there, and of 

 which the price is now paying, is being repeated in other pans 

 of the country with equal or greater recklessness and speed. How 

 long shall we permit this process to go on'.' How Ion- before 

 we will take hold of this question with the broad grasp that its 

 vital importance deserves, and. while giving due respect to rights 

 of private property, insist that they shall be so used that the 

 results shall not be the creation of destructive and dangerous 

 conditions 1 



There is yet time so to provide for the control and management 

 of the remnants of our forest inheritance that the use of those 

 forests for gain shall not be a devastation, and shall be a perma- 

 nent contribution to our prosperity. Their is no greater q 11 stion 

 of public policy before the American people today than the pro- 

 vision of adequate measures for the preservation of our forests 

 and the stopping of the increasing penalties of forest waste. 



The Annual Meeting at Atlantic City. 



For the first time in the history of hardwood association affairs, 

 the extreme East is to have a great gathering of hardwood men. At 

 Atlantic City, on Thursday and Friday, May 23 aid 24, will be 

 ■held the tenth annual convention of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association. Representative hardwood men of Boston, Providence, 

 New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg and other 

 points in the East, who are members of the National Association, are 

 enthusiastic over the proposed meeting and are arranging a most 

 elaborate entertainment for their guests. 



Arrangements for a fare and a third round trip from all the terri- 

 tory represented by the association to Atlantic City have been made 

 on the certificate plan, and these tickets will permit users to stop off 

 at Washington and Philadelphia; a sufficient time limit is provided so 

 that side trips can be made to New York and the Jamestown Exposi- 

 tion. 



The magnificent great steel pier at Atlantic City has been engaged 

 for the exclusive use of members of the association and guests for 

 two entire days. Hotel arrangements have been made at rates from 

 $3 to $4.50 a day, American plan, so that the cost of accommodations, 

 including meals,' will be only about the usual room rates in first 

 class hotels in large cities. It is especially desired that every mem- 

 ber of the association attending the convention be accompanied by 

 his wife or other ladies of his family, and the entertainment com- 

 mittee promises them a "good time" that will long be remembered. 

 Plans for the gathering are well advanced. A large fund has 

 already been secured for financing the undertaking, and it is espe- 



cially desired that every one who proposes to attend the convention 

 will, at his earliest convenience, advise C. E. Lloyd, Jr., chairman of 

 the Committee of Arrangements, whose office is in the Land Title 

 Building, Philadelphia, stating also the number of ladies that will 

 accompany him. 



The delights of Atlantic City in May need but little comment. At 

 any time of year it is one of the most charming of American resorts. 

 The hotels are exceptionally fine and have the reputation of catering 

 to their patrons in an eminently satisfactory manner. The rates 

 above named include the very best hotels of Atlantic City. 



Members of the association are again particularly enjoined to 

 communicate with Mr. Lloyd at the earliest possible moment. 



Congress and the Forest Service. 



The week previous to the adjournment of Congress our national 

 legislators had their inning with the Forest Service. Prominent in 

 this attack were Senators Fulton of Oregon, Clark of Montana, Pat- 

 terson of Colorado, Tillman of South Carolina, and Heyburn of 

 Idaho. The defendants of the bureau were few and far between. 

 Congress seems to have gained the impression that the Forest Service 

 is being endowed with altogether too much authority, and that there 

 are certain possibilities of graft in connection with it in which 

 individual senators and congressmen can by no possible chance 

 secure a share. 



Headed by Gifford Pinchot, the Forestry Division of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture is certainly coming into possession 

 of far more knowledge of practical applied forestry than have lum- 

 bermen themselves — as individuals or associations. While it is true 

 that the government propaganda is in an experimental stage, unde- 

 niably the bureau is doing considerable good work. Very likely it is 

 making some mistakes, but the agitation engendered by its literature 

 and operations is a good thing. I± is educating the public to the 

 fact, that there is extreme danger in sight from denudation of the 

 wooded areas of the I'nite.l Stales, nut ,,n\\ with regard to the actual 

 extinction of our forestry resources, but the ruination of the sources 

 of supply on which the water courses of the country depend, which 

 would doubtless induce radical and detrimental changes in climatic 

 conditions. There is no breath of suspicion attached to the sincerity 

 of purpose of the Chief of the. Forest Service, or to the conduct of 

 his department as a whole, aud so long as men of such integrity are 

 at the head of this service Uncle Sam can well afford to pay gener- 

 ously for a good deal of experimental work. It is one of the note- 

 worthy signs of the times that the American public is being awakened 

 to the importance of forest preservation and reforestation, and this 

 is largely due to the interest that President Roosevelt is taking in the 

 subject. The forestry question is not one of sentiment — it is a 

 sternly practical issue. No matter what the expense may be, let the 

 good work go on; it surely will be worth many times its cost. 



The Wisconsin Conference. 



The special spring meeting of the Wisconsin Hardwood Lumber- 

 men's Association, held at Grand Rapids, Wis., on March 19, 

 resolved itself largely into a discussion of the possibility and 

 extreme value of securing a universal hardwood inspection. The 

 sentiment of all members' present, as expressed in the addresses 

 delivered, was heartily in favor of this movement. A committee 

 representing the foremost men in the Wisconsin trade was 

 appointed to confer with the inspection committees of the National 

 Hardwood Lumber Association, the Hardwood Manufacturers' 

 Asso, iatum, and the Michigan Hardwood Manufacturers' Associ- 

 ation to secure if possible concessions from all these dominant 

 factors in the hardwood trade, looking toward the unification of 

 ius| tioii rules. 



Tli is subject of universal hardwood inspection is the most impor- 

 tant one that now confronts the industry of the country. Its 

 importance has been recognized not only by the leading associ- 

 ations, but by thousands of wholesale consumers of hardwoods, 

 a ml with even moderate concessions on the part of all, it can 

 surely be accomplished. Universal hardwood inspection is a 

 desideratum that should have the earnest, honest cooperation of 

 every man interested in any way in the hardwood industry. 



