BUSINESS METHODS TO DISTRIBUTE BURDEN OF 

 FOREST RESTORATION 



Comments ox the Snell Bill 



By Harris A. Reynolds 



Secretary, Massachusetts Forestry Association. 



The problem of conserving and restoring our forest resources is, 

 at this stage, primarily one of salesmanship. For more than twenty 

 years we have been trying to sell this proposition to the tax-payers but 

 the progress has been so slow that our forest capital has steadily de- 

 creased. This experience would indicate that something is funda- 

 mentally wrong with our analysis of the problem or method of attack. 

 Were we representing a commercial corporation, which had to pay 

 dividends, it is doubtful whether our services, as salesmen, would be 

 continued. 



There are certain principles which a salesman must follow if he 

 would succeed; namely, first, he must obtain the favorable attention 

 of his prospective customer ; second, awaken an interest in the article 

 in the mind of the customer; third, create a desire for it, and finally 

 he must get action. Applying these principles to our problem of forest 

 conservation, w-e find some States in which we have not yet got even 

 favorable attention to our proposition. In a greater number, w^e have 

 aroused a general interest only. In some there is a genuine desire that 

 something shall be done to conserve these resources, but effective action 

 has been taken in very few cases. There are various methods of se- 

 curing the favorable attention of the public, of arousing its interest, 

 and of creating a desire on its part for a given ptiblic project, but we 

 will not discuss those phases of the salesman's art here, becatise we 

 are primarily interested in the final step — action. 



It will require billions of dollars to bring back the forests of this 

 country and protect our remaining supplies of timber. That money 

 must come from the tax-payers and to get it and get it quickly is the 

 problem of today. We are proud of our National Forests, but with 

 the exception of some $r? ,000.000 spent for purchases in the White 

 and Southern Appalachian Mountains, Congress has simply changed 

 the name, and to a degree the status, of these great public areas. The 



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