94 Conservation of Natural Resources in California. 



Statistics kept for the past five years show that on the average 800 

 fires a year occur and 66 per cent of all are man-caused fires. Think 

 of it ! Through ignorance or carelessness or maliciousness, two thirds 

 of all the forest fires in California are started by men. We have got 

 to educate these men, and the general public as well, by every means 

 in our power. We have got to drive home to them the effects of their 

 carelessness. We have got to change their mental attitude from 

 thoughtless irresponsibility or positive malice to an adequate apprecia- 

 tion of the values involved. 



This is our big present problem. It has been said that ignorance is 

 the great evil that nothing, in truth, is really evil save ignorance. If 

 a definite knowledge of the wonderful potential value of our California 

 forests can be inculcated in the younger generation, if we can bring 

 home to the boys and girls of our State the necessity for using every 

 means in our power and in their power to save these forests for our- 

 selves and for posterity, to keep fires out of them and to work in 

 spreading this knowledge of the evil of fire, we will be by way of 

 making the best use of the powerful engine of education. 



