24^ JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



operative agreements." The owner pays the National Government a 

 certain sum each year, sometimes estimated on a per acre basis, in 

 return for which the Government takes entire charge of the work of 

 fire suppression on the property, placing Federal rangers or guards 

 on patrol, and directing the work of fire fighting when fires occur. 

 In many States the aggregate area of private forest land under Federal 

 protection is no small part of the total forest land privately owned. 

 It is conceivable that in some States, upon requests from the States 

 themselves, this system might be applied successfully to all commercial 

 private timberlands. Federal fire wardens being appointed locally 

 and upon the recommendations of town, county, or State governments. 

 If the States and the owners should invite Federal fire protection on 

 private holdings, would there be any valid objection to such a plan? 

 The method of raising funds from the owners and the States is a 

 detail only, best settled as local conditions dictate. 



Of course a plan of that description would reduce the problem of 

 organization to very simple terms indeed. 



ADVISORY BOARDS 



Under the plan for national control it would be possible to create and 

 sustain a substantial local interest in local forest aflfairs. One way 

 of doing this successfully would be to sanction and encourage the 

 establishment of advisory forest boards. Such boards would meet 

 with the regional foresters on regional forest matters, and local boards 

 could be formed to advise with forest supervisors and other local forest 

 officers. On these boards might be representatives from lumber as- 

 sociations and wood-using industries, directors of forest schools, presi- 

 dents of State agricultural colleges, and public spirited citizens in 

 general. In the national control of grazing, advisory boards have 

 proved invaluable. 



BUSINESS PROBLEMS 



The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Labor would 

 handle all those business phases of the work included in the general 

 plan, such, for example, as the co-operative combination of lumber 

 manufacturers, the control of production, reports on the business 

 conditions of the industry, and the formation of industrial councils. 

 The Forest Service would be concerned with these subjects only in so 

 far as they might have a direct bearing upon measures for forest 



