Forestry and the Lumber Business. 199 



manded as it increases in value. The first concern of the State 

 foresters will be the organization of efficient patrol systems, with 

 all that that involves; namely, securing the co-operation of pri- 

 vate timber owners ; educating the public by word and pen of its 

 interest in the forest, the fact that forest wealth is community 

 wealth ; impressing every citizen with the fact that every tree 

 which burns is a direct loss to him. The work of creating a 

 healthy public sentiment in favor of larger State legislative ap- 

 propriations for the protection and management of forests will 

 devolve upon the foresters. The enormous losses by forest 

 fires the past year have put the public mind in a more favorable 

 attitude for advanced work along this line than it has ever been 

 before. It has become recognized that the State should not only 

 insure its own property from loss, but that it owes its citizens 

 the protection of their lives and property as well. No one can 

 do more to impress this fact upon people than the foresters, be- 

 cause when the timber owner announces any such propaganda his 

 motives are immediately questioned. The people will recognize 

 the forester as a man qualified to speak and speak unselfishly. 



After they have reduced forest fire losses to the minimum, the 

 next stage of the State foresters will be the inauguration of con- 

 servative methods in the handling of State timber, just as the 

 Federal Forest Service has done. This will also include refor- 

 estation, which the State and Nation alone can afford to under- 

 take. State foresters will also be called upon to assist in the 

 classification of lands suitable for the growing of trees as distin- 

 guished from agricultural lands. People are beginning to realize 

 that it is a crime to put deluded settlers upon lands from which 

 they reap misery and starvation instead of wealth and happiness. 

 Hence, there will be a field for the professional forester in State 

 work before there is an opening for him in private undertakings. 

 Some timber owners are beginning to ask if it is not possible 

 to put the forest upon a permanently paying basis by utilizing 

 its productive power. In endeavoring to figure out what must 

 be done in order that timber may be handled upon scientific 

 forestry principles, lumbermen are confronted with the fact that 

 the present system of taxation is an absolute barrier against the 

 adoption of any forestry methods, whatever. And here I will 

 make a distinction between reforestation and conservative lum- 

 bering. Lumbermen believe that cut-over lands and lands not 



