Forest Service Revenue and Organization 201 



indicates that the Forest Service beheves thoroughly in the dis- 

 trict organization, since its headquarters are in Washington, in 

 the same building occupied by the Forester. The scheme of this 

 three- fold organization is clearly, (1) to have the broad policies 

 and procedures developed in Washington, (2) to have the seven 

 districts administrative, executive, and inspection offices together 

 with some pure routine (such as accounts), and (3) to have the 

 supervisor more and more purely an executive officer. This form 

 of organization has been maintained since 1908, with few modi- 

 fications. Ordinarily, the administrative offices in Washington 

 inspect only their own work. One General Inspector is provided 

 for a close study of important problems (chiefly personnel), but 

 no corps of special inspectors is maintained. 



Within the districts the organization has varied considerably. 

 When the position of associate district forester was abolished in 

 1912, in some districts the different chiefs of office (assistant 

 district foresters) alternated with the district forester during his 

 absence; in other districts, the chief of operation always alter- 

 nated and, in effect was made an associate district forester, al- 

 though this was not expressed in increased salary. In one dis- 

 trict, the district forester felt that all of his office chiefs should 

 be general men ; that, simply because one happened to be chief 

 of silviculture was no reason why in the field he should not un- 

 dertake general inspection. Another district forester rather 

 leaned towards specialists ; he felt that the repetition of travel 

 which this necessitated would be more than paid for through in- 

 creased efficiency gained by having specialists undertake only the 

 work with which they were most familiar. There is still a good 

 deal of variation in the district organizations. In District 3, for 

 example, the plan formerly adopted was to have general inspec- 

 tions made of all the forests in the district at least once every year 

 or so. These general inspections were carried on by the different 

 office chiefs and apparently gave them excellent training; super- 

 visors believed in it. In 1913 and 1914, in District 3, all strictly 

 general inspection was limited to operation and the District 

 Forester. 



The writer has always argued for more general inspection for 

 the district office and for the participation of all assistant district 

 foresters in the general administration as acting district fores- 

 ters. In March, 1916, such a policy was officially promulgated 



