10 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



has been called the "investment idea." Under it the price of future 

 forest produce will be based upon and will include the cost of raising 

 the timber.- (3) The third method, which may be called the "laisser 

 faire idea," is to leave things more or less to take care of themselves, 

 in the hope that with altered economic conditions in the future the 

 second growth that results after present day lumbering will be suffi- 

 cient to serve our needs. 



Obviously the first point to be settled is which of these three methods 

 we are to adopt, for on the choice that is made hang all the plans of 

 management that we are now so busily devising. This choice must 

 be made by the people of this country, for it is they, ultimately, what- 

 ever happens, who will have to pay the bill. So far in the discussions 

 of this question this point seems to have been overlooked or mini- 

 mized. It seems to me of fundamental importance, for until the de- 

 cision is made we are at a loss how to proceed as to details. 



To be able to make a wise selection the public ought to be made to 

 understand clearly what the result will be of diminishing our forest 

 supply, without provision for the future. Already we are beginning 

 to feel the pinch, but as yet few persons realize the economic cause 

 for it. It is true that it is hard to interest the public in what seems a 

 remote contingency, but I believe there is need of pressing home this 

 point in a frank and fearless manner. We foresters should not be 

 afraid to say that forestry methods do cost more than the exploitation 

 of original stands, but also we can and should show that without for- 

 estry the prices of wood materials are likely to go much above what 

 they will be if systematic forest management is undertaken without 

 more delay. As a nation we have had our cake and eaten it. It 

 remains to be seen of what we will make our next meal. 



Of the three courses open to us the third, the "laisser faire idea" 

 will, I think, meet with little favor among foresters. Even though 

 we still lack many data that we ought to possess, we do know that, 

 taken by and large, the second growth that follows indiscriminate log- 

 ging is but a poor reed on which to lean. Further, even were the 

 outlook good, as of course it is in a few rather local regions, there is 

 the period of adjustment to be considered, with its train of conse- 

 quences which Professor Chandler outlines in the paper he reads today. 



The choice then, if it is to be a wise one, seems to lie between the 

 "replacement" and the "investment" proposals, or what is more likely, 

 in a plan that borrows from each. Whichever of these plans is finally 



- A National Forest and Lumber Policy. By B. A. Chandler, American Lum- 

 ber>iian, July 5, 1919, p. 1. 



