132 FOREST VALUATION 



people, and especially the so-called representative men who are in 

 duty bound to "boost" and to "believe in the country," the assump- 

 tion that all lands are agricultural lands. That this is practically 

 true of Iowa and Illinois no one doubts, but that it is true of very 

 few other states every one who cares to can see for himself. 



Formerly the policy of the states was to get people and settle 

 the country. Usually this policy was forcefully emphasized by the 

 land boomer and other people who had, or believed they had a mon- 

 etary interest in rapidly populating the state. Of late the author- 

 ities agree that the state wants : 



1. Not merely many people but rather good and prosperous 

 people. 



2. To the state, any kind of "pauper" industry or industry in 

 which the people can not make fair wages and a fair living is an 

 injury. Of these pauper industries the farming of non-agricultural 

 lands is one of the worst. 



3. The state needs manufacture as well as farming, and that 

 even the best farming districts may lose in population and business 

 because of the one-industry condition. Consider Missouri and Iowa, 

 and some of the best farm counties of several of our states. 



4. The state wants to have its people supplied with raw ma- 

 terial and manufactured goods by the state itself and so be as inde- 

 pendent of import as possible. This applies as much to timber as 

 to grain. 



5. Every acre of land should raise the best possible crop and 

 make the largest return in permanent use. 



6. Labor conditions should be carefully balanced, so that 

 labor is steadily employed and all work is well done. The great 

 wheat districts, though excellent farm country, waste grain for lack 

 of help in the harvest season, and fail to give employment all the 

 rest of the year. 



7. Regulation of stream flow, protection from erosion and 

 winds and the beauty of the landscape are important and in many 

 cases decide the choice between field and forest. 



In our country public policy regarding the proper use of land 

 is largely controlled by the views and wishes of the farmer and it 

 is interesting to see how he is affected by the choice. 



I. The farmer wants not merely good crops but good prices. 

 A good home market is the only means of liberating the farmer 



