HARDWOOD RECORD 



ilil lii»t nrty. or <•>.'» n 

 I iilt.r till- fm-l Ihnl 

 ultliiiiil ri'tiUiviiinit 



titloll •!( ilir protlurio 

 t.|. |irl.-.ii. ir ■ lliiilUil 

 ilii-Ki' iiii'ii |>rociH-<l |<> 

 |io»ll>ti-. ilirrr will W 



.< r I* lu luw |irlci'i<. 



' Ik' iHiwer iif Cnxillluii 



1-^ iinytliliiK to cut. 



iIk- irMlt\ itluiil ••ixr.itor U to bull priced anil 



proBt. 



Uii- pulillc require cutting of xtiinilliii; tluiltcr 



.; > utllliiMl, prutcotloii from (Ire of cut-over a« 



<• II M;i uiiiul litiitU. uiiU cutlliiK !^o an to Kecure ri'plHcenicDt ntid coottiiued 

 ' iiInT proOucllou nnil ninliilenniit'c of »tnhle Induntrleii. 



The broad iDterents of the lumber Industry are to this extoDt Identical 

 «Uh the broad Inlerestn of the public, altluiuch there must be rci-ognlied 

 the further fact that there must always remain a certain element of 

 untnc'inNni U-twevn the Interests of any Industry and the Interest of 

 the public In the matter of price. 



The ultimate significance of our whole Knvernmental activity In recu- 

 iitne Industry Is to reach cninmon footlnc for the peinuinent Interests 



■ ■'. Iioth priHiucer and consumer. There Is no reason why this can not 

 ' done In the lumber Industry as the final step In any process of In- 

 ' ^ligation or nguLitlon, for there is none In whose permanent welfare 



' .•■ public has greater concern. 



If It Is true, as I believe, that the public Is suffcrlD); a loss, It Is 

 ' rtslnly vital for the public to know the facts, to measure Its loss, and 

 lake jteps to n^cet the situation. In any public question the broad In- 

 t'-rests of the public as a whole mu.-'J l)e placed ahead of the Immediate 

 interests of consuir.ers as IndivlduaLs. In the same nay, in problems 

 r.ctlnc an Industry, the Interest of Individual operators should be 

 iiiordlnated to that of the Industry as a whole. The coullict of Interests 

 ' twcn the individual consumer and individual industrial agent is sharp. 

 I Ij" individual ••onsumer has insisted that his inti'rest should control, 

 fiiardless of the effect on the comniuuily. The individual im-mber of 

 th< industry has emphasized his peculiar situation, which may he the 

 result of his own lack of judgment, regardless of the relation to thu 

 industry us a whole. 



My poli.t i.s that If we look upon these problems In a large way wc 



■ i..>ll find, I believe, that any solution of the strictly puollc questions, 



■ T conservation questions, iD relation to our forest resources, will result 

 in stabilizing aiui placing on a permanent basis the lumber Industry, I 

 do not b«"lie>i- that there is any permanent solution for the conditions 

 of our lumber industry except through the participation of the public 

 and through an effective conservation program. 



(Jne hears a good deal about the antagonisiu on the part of the public 

 toward Industry, and among lumbermen there is the feel.ng that the 

 public Is antagonistic toward their Industry. This is, of course, a part 

 of the general readjustment of relations between the public and industry 

 in practically every brsinch. Underlying it all Is the lll-dellned feeling 

 on tlie part of the public that It has given away its birthright and that 

 this has been capitalized to the people's disadvantage. 



Regardless of the merits of any controversies, it is necessary for the 

 public to recognize the conditions of its third greatest industry, and it Is 

 necessary for men in this as well as other Industries to appreciate the 

 requirements and point of view of the general public which is affected 

 hy the operation:; of the industry. Frankly, I have been more than once 

 astonished that practical men have liecn so blind as to what It Is all 

 al>out anyhow. 



It is a sound principle that the cost of public benefits should be borne 

 by the public. This has been repeatedly recognized by Congress and 

 by state legislatures in forest matters. It is an equally sound principle 

 that the public should receive full value for what It pays. Trite as 

 these statements may seem, the principles are absolutely fundamental 

 to any solution of the forest resource and forest industry problems, and 

 the failure to recognize them seriously is at the basis of an immense 

 amount of the difficulties today betvieen the public and Industry, 



Let me Illustrate, The public Is now beginning to recognize that It has 

 a responsibility in Arc protection. It Is beginning to make direct con- 

 tribution to that phase of forestry because it can see the l)enerits and 

 hence value received. One of the obstacles of forestry is an unjust 

 -ystem of taxation of growing timber. Why, then, does not the public 

 ■ form its tax system? Because the public docs not believe that with 

 iioh reform much more forestry will be practiced than now. .\ con- 

 ■ . ssion to get forestry practiced will not be made unless the public has 

 -•line guarantee that it will be practiced. This is true also of general 



that prf«(>nt 



I- the Inherrul 



ll» iif reduclhR 



riiir\.i,^ .1.111^.. Ill .| ,ii. I. .i-iiij; profitt than 

 the public need, and that there will not be 

 In i.hort. the public will not, I brilevr, put 

 nun I) maki'it It iHixlhle f>ir Individual o» >. 



Ili.y 



llounl.t 



Ulaliiin 

 • renull 



on the 



til, hut « 

 iirkc-d yet 



•I mi 



thii 



ind, when the 



• ■- Hull H l~ -ilir<rlllK 

 • 1 that thin can 1h' avoided and n benefit MTured by ••"Uifii«l«n« 

 • live acluril COI.I, It Khiiuld liladly imi-t tliew provliied II can 

 '■lunre of ncelvlng value for value, 



Wlillt: I believe that through Incrensed outlet for our limber, eniieclally 

 abroad, and through vurlouit other way*, the prcM-nt lenite depremilon lu 

 the lumber market will ho rellcM-d, I Jo not believe that a real atable 

 condition of the Industry will Ih- reached and the Industry placed on n 

 permiiiient liasls If the Infiuences continue which fnrre ownern to cut 

 their timber Just as fast as they can. I have heard people argue tliot 

 so far as our limber resources are concerned liut little rnii be expected 

 In tlie nay of conservative handling, eltliir from the utandpolnt of 

 haste In cutting or from the standpoint of forest production, until the 

 present supply of first growth timber is pnictlcnily exhausted. It U 

 argued that so far as there Is injury to the puhllc from an unwise hand- 

 ling of timber resourcis, little will he done until the public iH'glDS to 

 suffer Injury which will Ik> felt much more severely than heretofore. Just 

 as It is argued that much greater damage must Ik' done hy floods before 

 right measures arc taken to prevent them through forest protection and 

 an adequate plan of engineering works. In the same way it is argued 

 that lumbermen will continue to he unwilling to accept the point of 

 view of the general public In conservation iJialters until conditions In the 

 Industry lieiome even worse than today. I must say that I am Im- 

 patient of sucli arguments, and I am unwilling to see our timber re- 

 sources destroyed by fire through lack of protection or Ineffective methods 

 of protection, and dissipated through wasteful methods of cutting : or to 

 see a great Industry remain In a demoralized condition without at least 

 having the general public consider fully all the facts and decide whether 

 It desires these conditions to continue. 



.\s a matter of fact, a complete survey of the conditions in this country 

 relative to our forest resources, their quantit.v, continuance, relation to 

 the public welfare, and problems of the Industries handling them, has 

 never been made in any adequate way. My definite proposal is that such 

 a survey should be made hy some puhllc agency In whicli the people 

 of the country have full confidence. looking to a presentation of the facta 

 lieforc the public, showing wherein the public Is suffering a loss at the 

 present time and developing through Its Investigations, If this Is pos- 

 sible, a constructive program through which the public Itself will partici- 

 pate In establishing conditions required for its own protection, 



I appreciate bow easy it Is to make such suggestions and that doubt- 

 less a good many would think that the proposed study would not amount 

 to anything. On the other hand, if my premises are correct that there Is 

 such a serious situation in the forest resource problem and that It is of 

 vital public Interest to correct It, this seems to me the first step to take. 



Personally, I believe that the present situation in the lumber Industry 

 itself as well as the situation with reference to conservation of the 

 forests, Is a very definite demonstration that a great deal of tlmberland 

 which has passed into private ownership should have been retained by the 

 public Itself, with, of course, provisions for the disposal of the stumpage. 

 I believe that the present evils of the Industry would not have existed 

 it the public had retained three-fifths, or even two-fifths, of tlie stand- 

 ing timber Instead of only one-fifth. In other words, I believe that the 

 country Itself would have been better off If control of the timber situa- 

 tion had been left In the hands of the government. In a way It Is idle 

 to discuss what the situation would have been under such conditions, 

 but the consideration of n mistake In policy on the part of the public 

 itself is sometimes ilUiinlnatlng in searching for a remedy for a situation. 

 Now I am not proposing that the government Mequire two or three times 

 as much timber as it owns today. That, of course, would be Impractical, 

 I do believe, however, that it there were some way to secure conservative 

 handling of our forests from the standpoint of economic utilization, meet- 

 ing the legitimate demand of the market, maintaining stable local In- 

 dustries and providing for continued forest protection, protection of 

 streamflow, and all the other benefits of permanently sustained forests 

 ^If, as I say, the lufiuencc In this direction were even partially as 

 effective as would have been the case If the government had retained 

 control of a larger amount of timber, the desired result could be secured. 

 My own belief Is that If the puhllc appreciates the loss it Is suffering 

 now or the gains which it might have. It would look with favor on meet- 

 ing Its fair share of the cost of forest conservation. On the other hand, 

 I do not believe that there Is any adequate solution of the problem un- 

 less the public itself participates In it, with the understanding that 

 there is going to be necessarily some cost for whatever benciits result : but 

 that through piil>lic participation. In whatever form It may take, there 

 will be a guarantee that the results will be secured. 



