LAISSEZ FAIRE VS. FORESIGHT IN FOREST MANAGEMENT 301 



"need supplied zvitli the least sufficient effort."^ It is to be feared he 

 has chosen an unfortunate illustration. The rule of primitive man to 

 go and take what he needs at the least sufficient effort is what has 

 very nearly destroyed our game, our fish, and many other resources 

 susceptible of this treatment. The people of more advanced civiliza- 

 tions know that in many cases need can be supplied with less eft'ort 

 by temporary abstinence. Moreover, this temporary abstinence, in 

 many cases, brings immediate reward because the future values to 

 be produced may be immediately discounted and given a present 

 value. The builders of railroads may reap a richer reward than they 

 would by supplying their "need with least sufficient effort" in a period 

 of high living. Other capitalists are willing to reward their efforts 

 and expenditures at once, because the future returns from the railroad 

 may be discounted to present value.. The forest constitutes a similar 

 case. Production of timber by this generation, though it may not be 

 used until the next, can meet with present reward if the enterprise 

 is properly organized because the future values can be discounted and 

 cashed in at the capitalized value. At the same time it maintains the 

 beauty of the landscape, gives value to land otherwise of little value, 

 and employs some local labor in growing the timber, although most 

 of the growth comes as a result of using resources otherwise unused 

 through giving nature only a little guidance. Much local labor will be 

 employed in the utilization and a chance given for the preservation 

 of the New England lumberman, whose spirit need not be unduly 

 depressed by the knowledge that the timber he is cutting was pro- 

 tected from fire, or in some cases even planted, by man. 



Incidentally, New England forms one of the best examples of 

 how greater foresight would have paid both the lumbermen and the 

 public in New England. The fact that stumpage of local timber is 

 now, or soon will be, based on transportation costs for outside timber, 

 such as shown above, means that forestry would have been profitable 

 in New England for at least jo years past even if the timber has been 

 planted, which was seldom the case, since in most cases only improve- 

 ment, care and protection of naturally reproduced forests was in- 

 volved. Forestry, it may be repeated, would have been profitable 

 because the product produced would now sell at prices to pay interest 

 on all costs of production. Few will deny that this cheaper local 

 supply of timber, so created, would be a great boon to local land 



* See p. 279, Gary's article. 



