226 North American Forests and Forestry 



and may continue to do so until all the original 

 stock of timber is exhausted. But they are doing 

 this at the expense of the nation. While on the 

 one hand the people fail to protect them against 

 fire, on the other hand they extort excessive taxes. 

 Thereby they make it impossible for lumbermen to 

 cut their timber conservatively, with due attention 

 to reforestation, and to carry on proper silviculture. 

 The people alone are the losers. 



On the treatment of the questions of fire and 

 taxes depends the future of American forest in- 

 dustries. Their solution can be reached by nothing 

 but legislation ; legislation depends upon the will of 

 the people in a commonwealth where all political 

 action is ultimately decided by public opinion. In 

 other countries, the judgment of a few enlight- 

 ened men may sometimes introduce wise reforms, 

 even against the will of those who are to reap the 

 ultimate benefit. But this incidental advantage of 

 monarchy and aristocracy we gave up when we 

 chose the greater benefits of a democratic form of 

 national life. Having made the many their own 

 masters, we must persuade them to do what will be 

 for their own good, and point out to them the way 

 they cannot find by themselves. This necessity of 

 teaching not a few, but the many, makes reforms 

 in our governmental affairs plants of slow growth, 

 and the time which is spent in agitation and instruc- 

 tion is usually much longer with us than with other 

 nations. The forestry problem is but just emerging 

 from this preliminary stage. While it is not the 



