330 JOURNAL OF fore;3Try 



their expectation value, no more nor less, as figured at current interest 

 rates and with sufficient insurance to cover the risks in a period as 

 long as the rotation of a timber crop. The conditions under public 

 ownership are more favorable than those under private ownership 

 for the production of timber crops, but as far as timber production 

 for commercial purposes is separated as a purpose in itself, projects 

 under public ownership are justifiable only as they can yield profits. 



There is much difference in the possibilities for practical forestry 

 in our several forest regions, and the great fear which has been created 

 by the Committee's report is that a crude uniformity of regulations, 

 unduly expensive in comparison with results, will be forced on local 

 lumbermen and foresters. Accurate discernment of conditions is 

 especially needed. 



What should be done is to secure adequate fire protection, more de- 

 pendable taxation, and strong protection against any fraud or mis- 

 statement in timberland transactions and administration. The produc- 

 tion of timber is a long-time project and requires strong, orderly 

 functioning of the police duties of government, and consistent steadi- 

 ness in financial conditions. 



There is also a large field open for practical investigation. Markets, 

 quantities of timber, growth, properties of wood, and its utilization, all 

 call for investigation, and for live, current dissemination of detailed 

 information. Conditions, such as future timber supplies, affecting each 

 of the various wood-using industries, should be studied as separate 

 problems for each industry, for, as has frequently been said, it is the 

 industries which should be conserved. Satisfaction of human require- 

 ments, not merely the universal practice of silviculture, should be 

 the aim. 



Many projects in commercial timber production, if entered upon to- 

 day, would undoubtedly yield satisfactory profits at the ends of the 

 rotations. The practicability of the projects cannot be hurried, how- 

 ever, and it is unwise and unprofessional to urge commercial forestry 

 on the nation in terms which lack impartiality, and which are alarming 

 rather than reassuring to those who are endeavoring to bring about 

 scientific, businesslike methods in industry and finance. Capital should 

 flow freely to timber production, and it should be our business not to 

 force this use of capital but to facilitate normal development by estab- 

 lishing the necessary safeguards. 



