THE ECONOMICS OF PRIVATE FORESTRY 



By Burt P. Kirkland, 



University of Washington 



The stock argument of those who oppose handhng private forest 

 lands on a continuoits production basis is that it is "uneconomic," 

 meaning usually that the profits are insufficient. A great many mis- 

 conceptions have arisen in connection with this point of view, hence 

 it may be worth while to deal with a few of them, three in particular. 



1. The rights of private property. Private property rights undoubt- 

 edly grew up because the granting of such rights was of service 

 to society. Wherever such rights cease to serve or need restriction 

 society will find a way to do so. The restrictions on management of 

 forest land now proposed are far less costly and less radical than re- 

 strictions on some other types of business. The banking business is 

 subjected to most rigid supervision (thereby through elimination of 

 losses making it the most profitable in the country). Orchardists are 

 compelled to spray and take other measures involving large expense. 

 Innumerable other restrictions of private property could be mentioned. 

 The safe conclusion in this regard is that the public is now fully de- 

 termined that all of our large and prominent industries shall serve 

 human welfare, an ideal not at all inconsistent, however, with profitable 

 private management of the industry. It is indeed in many cases more 

 consistent with private management than with public, since the latter 

 is almost invariably so wasteful in the utilization of labor and capital 

 as to make service impossible at reasonable cost. Prophecy is danger- 

 ous, but the writer ventures to predict that all industries will, within 

 the next 10 to 25 years, be compelled to get on a basis of public 

 service. This will be brought about either by voluntary private effort, 

 by compulsory private effort, or by public ownership. One would 

 think that foresighted business men would prefer the first method. 

 So far as these principles apply to forest management they lead to 

 continuous forest production on all suitable lands not needed for other 

 purposes, as the industry most serviceable to human welfare, and hence 

 the one that must be pursued. It is useless then to talk longer of the 

 management of forests in other terms. To all intents and purposes 

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