292 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



the forest system of any other country on America. This does not 

 mean that we here can or should violate the natural and economic 

 laws on which forestry is based simply because most of them were 

 first worked out in Europe. To my knowledge neither foresters in- 

 side or outside the Government service have tried to apply more than 

 the natural laws, not to imitate the systems or methods in detail. In 

 the three forest schools with which the writer has come in contact 

 it has been taught very specifically that the European methods, even 

 in planting and nursery practice, are for the most part quite inappli- 

 cable here. Nevertheless, it cannot be doubted that, like Japan, we 

 should go to all the world and bring home all that is applicable here 

 instead of adhering to the narrow prejudice which demands that we 

 profit only by our own first hand experience. One of the chief dangers 

 we face as a nation is doing just this — failing to profit by the ex- 

 perience of other countries. 



As to the main thesis of whether the lumbermen in serving their 

 own interest have served and are serving the public, in the first place it 

 may be said that our industrial situation would be hopeless indeed if 

 the interests of any big basic industry like the lumber industry were 

 radically at cross purposes with public interests. - The industry em- 

 braces too large a section of the public and is too intimately connected 

 with other industries for this to be true. Most of the public is inter- 

 ested in some industry and all industries suffer together when one big 

 one is unprosperous. Also it is obvious enough that since the remainder 

 of the public pays the lumber industry for the services it gives, 

 naturally pnough the industry will get pretty close to the public desires 

 and thereby earn the highest possible reward. It may be said further 

 that, so far as the writer knows, foresters have never blamed lumber- 

 men for methods of the past, though it is not difficult to show that 

 on purely economic grounds in sonje regions far different methods 

 would have served both the lumberman and the public better. Forest- 

 ers have always endeavored to secure the cooperation of lumbermen. 

 That was the chief line of activity of the Bureau of Forestry in the 

 years before 1905, nor has that line of activity been dropped since. 

 Now that their twenty years of effort are beginning to bear fruit it 

 is gratifying, especially to those who early followed this policy, that 

 at least this policy of the profession has approval by a man of Gary's 

 experience in the industry. In my opinion the public should accept 

 its full share of the blame for any waste of forest resources which 

 may have taken place. 



