CO-OPERATION WITH THE STATES 481 



was only about $39,000. The number of States is now twenty-four; 

 the area protected is approximately 15 million acres ; the number of 

 Federal patrolmen employed is 400 ; and the Federal expenditure is 

 practically the full appropriation of $100,000. The States co-operating 

 include all but one of the Northeastern States, about half of the 

 Southern States, the three Lake States, the four in the Pacific North- 

 west, and California. The chief value of this co-operation, in addition 

 to a certain amount of protection afforded, has been educational, since 

 States that have had no protective system have been encouraged to 

 enact legislation providing for such a system and appropriating funds 

 for its support. Furthermore, private owners have been encouraged 

 through State and Federal co-operation to adopt protective measures, 

 and, where practicable, to organize into associations. 



The Federal appropriation is allotted to the States on the basis of the 

 greatest good to the greatest number. A maximum is fixed, depending 

 on the number of States to receive co-operation. At first this was 

 $10,000, but the increase in the number of States necessitated a reduc- 

 tion first to $8,000 and then to $7,000. The money is used primarily 

 for the hire of lookout watchmen and patrolmen. The watchmen 

 are stationed on prominent points from which the lower country may 

 be seen and forest fires readily detected. By means of the telephone, 

 these men describe the location of a fire to patrolmen or fire wardens, 

 who endeavor to secure help if necessary and to reach the fire as 

 quickly as possible. 



As compared with the Federal expenditure of $100,000 annually, the 

 twenty-four States co-operating are expending about $650,000, and 

 private owners in these States approximately the same amount. In 

 these twenty-four States the private and State holdings that require 

 protection from fire, including both timbered and cut-over lands, aggre- 

 gate at least 140 million acres. Adequately to protect this area will re- 

 quire yearly a minimum expenditure of IJ/2 cents an acre, or somewhat 

 more than $2,000,000. If, as stated above, these States and the private 

 owners are together expending about a million and a quarter dollars, 

 this sum falls short of the estimated minimum by about three-quarters 

 of a million. From these figures it is obvious that the Federal Govern- 

 ment is not fully recognizing its responsibility in this matter. Further- 

 more, this list of twenty-four does not include such important timber 

 States as Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina. Georgia, Florida, 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. If co-operation were extended 



