320 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



fought openly and secretly by the lumber interests of Texas. Of 

 peculiar interest at the present time is the fact that the leading lumber- 

 men of Texas are also of leading influence in the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association, an organization which is now supporting 

 the Snell Bill in Congress. The forest bill in Texas aims at State con- 

 trol over forest devastation along the lines of the Snell Bill. Are both 

 ends being played for the middle ? 



Here is a bill calling for the moderate tax of 12 cents per thousand 

 feet of lumber. This, according to the lumbermen, would be a heavy 

 burden upon the already over-taxed consumer. As a matter of fact, 

 in the average man's house the total increased cost due to the severance 

 tax would be about $2.50. Here is a bill which provides for the leaving 

 of one small and forlorn seed tree on each acre, a provision which is 

 further so qualified as to mean little or nothing. Here is a bill aimed 

 at the establishment of systematic protection against fire, a measure of 

 great value to lumbermen, as well as to the State as a whole. Here is 

 a bill intended to create and maintain a non-partisan, business-like 

 administration of forest affairs in the State of Texas, a thing to be 

 greatly desired in the public interest. And still this bill is being done 

 to death by the lumber industry. 



The advocates of State control over forest devastation have believed 

 this policy to be a wise one on the grounds that it was democratic and 

 expedient, and promised the quickest results. The advocates of Fed- 

 eral control have charged that the States were powerless to cope with 

 a nation-wide problem of this character, and that the legislatures of 

 the forested States would be dominated by lumber lobbies which would 

 effectually block any real accomplishment. Is Texas showing the way ? 



