226 Forestry Quarterly 



at present to justify maintaining a separate inspection system so 

 long as the districts are maintained. 

 As a supervisor put it : 



"Supervisors' offices are becoming better equipped and organ- 

 ized and men have become better trained and more experienced 

 and are somewhat more seasoned by virtue of increased age. 

 I beheve it will be found that a good Supervisor who has been 

 fortunate enough to have the help he needs, is handling routine 

 matters with good satisfaction. We have probably gotten to the 

 point where there is too much duplication in connection with 

 routine matters which, of course, absorbs valuable time which 

 should be expended in connection with matters really worth 

 while. We really have no organized inspection system as I inter- 

 pret the term. For instance, I go out and inspect a ranger who 

 has been instructed by me to do certain things. Naturally, the 

 points which I inspect first are the ones to which I have given 

 greatest time and care. They may be hobbies and carried to 

 too great a degree of precision as compared with other lines 

 of work. Members of the District Office inspect their special 

 lines and only occasionally branch out to other lines which should 

 be inspected simultaneously with the one in which he happens 

 to be most interested. And so it goes ad infinitum. A separate 

 inspection office would be a tremendous expense and should not 

 be considered unless a proportionate saving in expense could 

 be made in other branches." 



One of the strongest Forest Service District officials in the 

 West thus summarized the District administration and inspec- 

 tion phase: 



"If it is to be conceded that uniform interpretations of laws 

 and regulations, and uniform administrative practices are desir- 

 able so far as local conditions will permit, then there is obviously 

 need for some central organization, which will act as a check or 

 balance upon the pronounced tendency of Supervisors to diverge 

 from a prescribed course of action. It would be quite possible 

 to discontinue the District Offices, whenever it becomes prac- 

 ticable to man each Forest Unit with a Supervisor who is not 

 only always subject to discipline and anxious to conform to the 

 stated policies of his superiors, but who, in addition, has unusual 

 breadth of vision and power of understanding, who is thoroughly 

 in sympathy with the aims and ideals of the people with whom 

 he has to deal, who can reconcile the conflicting demands of 

 different interests, and who, finally, has executive or administra- 

 tive ability, tact and good judgment to a very marked degree. If 

 each of our Supervisors was of this class, probably there would 

 be no need for the District office organization, since the Super- 



