760 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



the war some 600,000 men were employed annuall}' in building con- 

 struction, and the annual expenditure for buildings was approximately 

 $400,000,000. The Allied armies and the Germans consumed about 

 60,000,000 cubic meters of French lumber and 2,000,000 acres of timber 

 land have been destroyed. Approximately, the number of houses en- 

 tirely destroyed is 250,000 and the number of houses partl\' destroyed 

 is 200,000. It is estimated that reconstruction will take ten years and 

 will give employment to some 300,000 men. The cost of reconstruction 

 will probably be some $4,000,000,000. Germany is expected to pay 

 part of her indemnity in lumber, at the rate of 3,000,000 cubic meters a 

 year for several years. The immediate consumption of France is esti- 

 mated at 10,000,000 cubic meters for reconstruction purposes and 

 2,000,000 cubic meters for railroads. — Lumber, Alay 5, 1919. 



Demise; of Industrial Board Marks End of Price-stabilizing 



Program 



The failure of the Industrial Board may be attributed as much to 

 the attitude of business men toward its efforts as to the Attorney- 

 General's ruling. It was doomed to disaster even if the law had not 

 been in the way. The position of the lumbermen alone was sufficient 

 to cripple it. Lumber ranks second among the "basic materials" which 

 the board sought to control. Without an agreement as to lumber prices, 

 other agreements were scarcely worth while. The lumbermen put the 

 first stumbling block in the way of the board. It seemed to be easy 

 sailing with steel, but the lumber interests refused to be forced or 

 cajoled into an agreement. Their attitude put heart and courage into 

 other business, and mighty little was accomplished beyond the an- 

 nouncement that certain moderate reductions in steel prices had been 

 effected. Then Director-General Hines, of the Railroad Administra- 

 tion, put the finishing touches on the whole negotiations by refusing to 

 agree even to the steel schedule. After that it was a play for time on 

 the part of the board, with the hope that the President would come to 

 the rescue. He refused to espouse the cause of the Industrial Board 

 and its doom was sealed. — The Southern Luniherman, May 17, 1919-. 



Ontarioans May Create Forest Reserves 



An interesting act has been passed by the Ontario Government in 

 connection with the promotion of forestry practice in the province. It 

 is provided by the act that the lieutenant-governor in council may de- 

 clare any suitable land to be a "private forest reserve." The only things 



