COMMENTS ON THE SNELL BILL 481 



Let us glance at the problem of forest restoration. Our timber 

 supply under present conditions will last about fifty years. A rough 

 estimate of our forest producing lands is 463,000,000 acres of which 

 something over 160,000,000 acres is now publicly owned. At least 

 three-fifths of our forest producing land should be in public owner- 

 ship — Federal, State and municipal — to insure perpetual management 

 and maximum production. The country cannot afford to leave the 

 production of one of its basic industrial materials to private initiative 

 where the period of production is so long as to generally necessitate a 

 change of ownership during the growth of the crop. Therefore, within 

 the next twenty-five years at least 100,000,000 acres should be pur- 

 chased and reforested by the Federal, State and municipal govern- 

 ments. To buy this land, reforest it. and protect the growth from fire, 

 insects, and fungi, will probably cost over $2,000,000,000. We cannot 

 expect to secure that amount of money by direct appropriations within 

 the next twenty-five years. When we consider that the taxpayer is, 

 and will be for many years, burdened to the limit with war debts it is 

 not only doubtful whether we can persuade him to make the necessary 

 appropriations to carry out this program, but it is unfair to expect him 

 to assume all of this burden. We owe something to future generations,, 

 but the expense of this proposition is so great, and the financial return 

 to the present generation so small, that those who are to reap the 

 profits should be required to meet a part of the cost. 



It is customary in the development of public works of unusual 

 magnitude, such as the building of water-supply systems, sewage dis- 

 posal plants, subways, bridges, school houses, and the like to sell bonds 

 maturing at some distant date depending upon the character of the 

 project in hand, so as to distribute the cost on an equitable basis among 

 those who are to benefit by such improvements. Is this system not 

 applicable to the reforestation of our idle lands? A growing forest is 

 an investment which constantly increases in value from the day it is 

 planted until it is ready for the axe. There is no depreciation such 

 as we find in buildings, roads, bridges, and water-supply systems for 

 which we regularly sell bonds. Instead of passing a burden on to 

 future generations we will really be giving them a heritage. Unlike 

 an industry which depends for success of production upon human 

 agencies, nature, which produces the trees, is not afifected by strikes, 

 over-production, death of managers, or the inflation of the currency. 



