10 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



WHAT THE STATES HAVE 



DONE AND ARE DOING 



(PAR I 



ABROAD. 



In Central Europe, where forestry really 

 had its beginning, the states, or common- 

 wealths, as represented by the village and 

 town, as well as the ruling princes or men- 

 archs, began as early as the year 1,000 to give 

 special consideration to the forests. The 

 compilations of local laws known as the 



"S-irhs, sniper MOI-SI nrf the "Srhwahen 



' 

 spiegel (1273), recognized the importance as 



well as the peculiarties of forest property. As 

 early as 1304 Emperor Albrecht ordered the 



reforestration of devastated areas, in the Pala- 



. 

 tmate. In France the laws of 1346 organized 



a regular state forest service, though more 

 or less of this organization had existed fcr 



ever a century. As the states of Central 



, r .. , 

 Europe gradually took on more definite form, 



the numerous local laws, orders of the nobility 

 and the clergy, the regulations of town and 

 village, were replaced by regular state laws, 

 or laws having effect alike in all parts of a 

 given state. Thus for the little state of Wur- 

 temburg the law of 1515, revised in 1614, re- 

 mained state law until 1879, a period of over 

 3J/2 centuries, and is practically in force today. 

 In Bavaria the law of 1568, revised 1616, re- 

 mained in force until 1852, and forms the body 



: Z m 7 .ores, U, , h ,, !t ,,e h S imi - 

 lanty ,n Baden, the laws of 1614, which re- 

 placed several special laws dating back as far 

 as 1448. remain in effect today. In Hesse 

 the local laws, promulgated as early as 1338 

 by free cities,, cloisters and certain of the no- 

 bility, and having effect only en the territories 

 belonging to these several powers, were re- 

 placed by the laws of 1520, 1605 and 1628. _ 



In Saxony the laws or "Forstordmingen" 

 of 1560, 1585 and 1598 serve the same purpose 

 and affect the forests of the prince, the no- 

 bility and all subjects. In France the law of 

 1669 as part of a general system of progres- 

 sive legislation compelled all owners of for- 

 ests to obey certain regulations, believed by 

 the great Colbert to be for the welfare and 

 power of the state. These laws were not 

 mere decoraticns or a screen for game pre- 

 servation; they were plain business and pro- 

 posed to avoid the devastation of the forest, 

 to prevent scarcity of raw material for shop, 

 mine and marine, and to keep the useless lands 

 covered with a useful growth. They were tco 

 severe; they were abolished by the revolution; 

 the state forests were sold and destroyed the 

 private forests devasted. In 1801 a new law 

 was put in force and a forest service organiz- 

 ed. In 1827 the old law of 1669, considerably 

 modified to be rare, was re-established and 

 since that time France, though a republic for 

 37 years has "tightened" in the matter of for- 

 est legislation 



Even Russ'ia with its enormous forest 

 wealth, it vast stretches of unexplored and 

 unexploited woods, has seen fit ever since 1645 

 to pass special laws with regard to fi rest pro- 

 perty, its use and protection. 



These laws of the different European states 

 were a matter of development, they represent- 

 ed even in. their first form the experience of 

 centuries, and accordingly, they have stood the 

 test of time and prove of value tcday. 



Generally these laws cover the following 

 principal point: 



1 The ownership purchase sale and man- 

 agement of forest property by the state itself. 

 Thus every state of the German Empire owns 

 and operates forests. The same is true of 



France. Austria, Hungary, Scandinavia. Rus- 

 sia and ether states. A notable exception is 

 Great Britain, which owns hardly any state 

 forests at home, but has one of the most ex- 

 tensive state forest systems in Judia and other 

 colonies. 



In Germany the states own 33 per cent, in 

 Austria 7 per cent, in Hungary 15 per cent, 

 in France 12 per cent, in Russia 66 per cent, in 

 Sweden 33 per cent and so forth. These state 

 forests are in numerous-parcels, scattered over 

 the statcs . and are cared for by a regular 



tective men or guards. The expenses and in- 

 come are handled by the Treasury Depart- 

 ment f tne state, the management is for prof- 

 '* and the net income reduces by just that 

 much the tax burden of the state. In spite of 

 al ] att acks on the policy of State Forests, 

 which were especially severe during and after 

 the French revolution, this policy is thorough- 

 ^ established in every civilized state of En- 

 rrpe, it is fully appreciated and approved by 

 a]1 peop]e and the state forests are steadily 



increasing in almost every state. The indica- 

 tions are that the future of all large holdings 

 I" Europe lies in their ownership by the state 

 itself, or by corporation, city or village, under 

 direct state control 



2 The supervision or control of forest 

 property by the State. 



This ; with different states includes 

 penerally all forests belonging to cities, vil- 

 fages and other public bodies, but in a number 

 of states it is extended also to all private for- 



.M < leMt tO pnvate f reStS Under "^ 



^Generally this supervision tries to secure to 

 the forest a businesslike care, and prevent 

 every form of misuse and in most cases it 



authorities, an investigation is made, a hear- 

 ing is had and if the owner can not make a 

 good case, he is warned, his cutting is stopped, 

 he is ordered to reforest, and in extreme 

 cases the forest may be placed for a period 

 of years in the case of the local state forester 

 who then manages the woods, the state paying 

 the owner such sums or giving him such ma- 

 terials as are taken from the property, and 

 deducting the expenses which are involved in 

 the care of the woods. 



5. The purchase and reforestation cf waste- 

 and devastated mountain lands. This 

 of state action carried out especially in 

 France, the German states, Ai^tria and in 

 Switzerland recognizes the necessity of state 

 action with regard to such lands. 



The necessity of forestry in the reclama- 

 tion of such lands, and 



The inability cf the private individual, the 

 village and even the county to do this work. 



Centuries of experience, the gradual deter- 

 ioration of -millions of acres of land in to 

 wastes, and the accompanying evils of poverty, 

 crime and general lawlessness: the disturbance 

 of stream flow, the flood and drouth, all this 

 have taught the people, the states of Europe 

 the necessity of this line of action. And to- 

 day states like the Republic of France, Prus- 

 sia and other German states even little Switz- 

 erland have a regular appropriation for pur- 

 chase of such areas and for their reforestation. 

 This work has become one of such magnitude 

 and importance that it resulted in the devel- 



gauged, foresighted legislation, and in the ex- 

 penditure of enormous sums of money. The 

 state usually appears as a buyer, it is repre- 

 sented at the auction sales of property, it 

 buys in the land that is of little value, that 



of the plansunder h ich the forests are man 

 age d, and state inspection. 



, Laws f orbi ddin- the { urthe r clearing of 

 , 3 " LaWS f rb dd ! ni [ th _ e father cleanng of 

 land > or removal of th e forest. This is really 

 the oldest form of state action which attempts 

 to conserve the forest cover. In some form or 

 other laws of this kind date back as far as the 

 year 1200, a time when the want cf accessible 

 WO od material made itself felt, at least local- 

 l y , for the first time among Teutonic people. 

 These laws were quite general at one time, 

 have been much modified, in some states, like 

 Saxony and Prussia practically abolished: in 

 others, like France restricted to forests taking 

 C n more or less of the character of protective 

 forests. Generally these laws apply to all 

 forests and provide that the owner of a forest 

 can not clear without securing a permit from 

 the state authorities. 



4 Laws forbidd i ng devastation, or misuse 

 . .. m 



of the forest - These laws also are verv old ' 

 were almost universal two centuries ago, are 

 quite general at present, and like the preced- 

 ins. they apply to all forest properties. 



These laws call in the police function of the 

 state only when there is evident misuse, but in 

 this case give ample power to the authorities 

 to interfere fcr the safety of the property, they 

 " a ve been much modified, have been abolish- 

 ed entirely in some states, but on the whole 

 seem still firmly fixed with a tendency to ex- 

 tension through a more liberal interpretation 

 of the idea of the protection fcrest. To illus- 

 trate their application: A private owner has 

 100 acres of woods in Baden, this forest is 

 not really under state supervision like that of 

 a village, he can make his own plan, hire a 

 forester cr not. he does not account to the 

 state for the material he cuts and is not sub- 

 Ject to the state forest inspection. His forest 

 is free, it is his; but he can not clear an acre 

 without permission from state authorities, and 

 '{ a state forester or rural police- discovers 

 that he is over-cutting the woods to a serious 

 extent . so that the job looks like timber de . 



vastation (something like a modern Michigan 

 logging job) the police reports the case to the 



.. , the poor 



lai ? ds elc ,\ are crowde d " the market at 



a "^ ""i" " O P" r P se ' In certain cases > 



as ,n the mountains of France and Switzerland 

 the state exercises its right of eminent domain 

 a " d takes the lands on the principle of the 

 g reatest g od to the largest number. 



6 - Adaptation of the tax laws to the na- 

 ture and needs of forestry as a business 

 Thoueh the methods nf taxation nf 

 P r P ert y are b y n means uniform or alike 

 j n a " states, yet they are everywhere so ad- 

 justed that forestry as a business is possible 

 and that they do not form an inducement to 

 c ' ear away the forest. Like other forest laws 

 they are a matter of centuries of trial, and 

 adaptation. Up to recent times forests were 

 generally taxed on the ordinary plan of a 

 "ground rent." or soil tax just as the farms 

 are ta * e d in our states This form of taxation 

 ls ancient, it taxes the land and the land only 

 and is therefore based on what the land can 

 produce or what it would bring if sold. In 

 recent years this form has given way exten- 

 sively to the income tax, which is based on the 

 net income which is derived from a piece of 

 property, and the tendency throughout Europe 

 i s to this form of forest taxation as the only 

 scientific and perfectly just form. 



7 T he protection cf the forests by special 

 . 



laws and b y a r 'g' d enforcement of law. Not 

 only is the forest property dealt with as a 

 property deserving the attention of govern- 

 ment. but all its peculiarities, the extent of the 

 areas, the difficulty of- seeing or finding the 

 damage, the greater difficulty of catching the 

 evil doer in the act, the serious danger cf fire 

 in the forest, all of these peculiarities are 

 fully recognized in the protective laws of 

 practically every state of Europe. 



But what is far more important, the state 

 action does not stop here, it is not content, 

 as it is with us. merely to pass laws fcr the 



protection of the forest, but it provides for 

 , he enforceniein of the law and ^ does this 



unstintedly and at all times, and in every 

 hook and corner of the state. There is no 



