MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



ing them as depreciating assets that must be 

 slaughtered at the bargain counter, is wrong, clear 

 to the bottom. The state ought never to have 

 parted with the title to its forest lands, or its 

 mineral lands ; but it did and we have to face 

 the facts as they now exist, and to point out 

 what partial measures of correction can still be 

 made by holding the remaining state lands and 

 those abandoned to the state for delinquent taxes 

 and utilizing them. Here is a. nucleus for start- 

 ing- the state aright in dealing with a public do- 

 main, which shall for all time be held and util- 

 ized for the benefit of the state, and its people as 

 a whole. 



The friends and disciples of forestry do not 

 insist upon having all the public lands necessarily 

 used for the growing of timber, but that all of 

 the land shall be put to its very best use. If 

 any of the public lands are, upon intelligent, ex- 

 pert investigation found to be more suitable for 

 ordinary agriculture, than for -forests, that they 

 shall be so applied at a reasonable, fair price, to 

 the state and to the purchaser. And, all the land, 

 both public and private, not suitable for any other 

 kind of agriculture than the raising of forest 

 crops, shall be devoted to that purpose, on terms 

 fair to the state and to all who are interested in 

 it. by neighborhood, or as the ultimate beneficiaries 

 of its products. The policy of the state, as to 

 taxation and protection, shall be such that pri- 

 vate owners may grow forests upon their own 

 lands, not fit for other uses, under such condi- 

 tions of taxation as will yield a distinct and cer- 

 tain benefit to every member of the community 

 when the product is, from time to time, used in 

 the industries of the state, or while serving the 

 purpose of a forest cover. 



There is but one special subject to which I 

 wish to allude, here, a little more at length, and 

 that is to re-state my own position with, reference 

 to the taxation of public and private lands, which, 

 under the proposed policy of the state, above re- 

 ferred to, shall be devoted to the culture of for- 

 ests. 



Without repeating the arguments upon which 

 mv conclusions are based, as presented in my pa- 

 per on taxation at the last annual meeting, I now 

 give you the results I have reached. 



"Speaking for myself, and disclaiming respon- 

 sibility of any one else for my assertions, I say 

 what we need here, in Michigan, in view of our 

 general system of taxation, is : The tax upon the 

 land at the fair average value of similarly situ- 

 ated and constituted land in the same neighbor- 

 hood ; entirely dissevered from any considera- 

 tion of what it may grow. That is, the treat- 

 ment of forest lands exactly like the treatment of 

 farm lands, with reference to its assessed value 

 and the proporton of tax burden they shall bear. 

 The taxation of growing forests should not be 

 considered until the state is ready to adopt the 

 principle of the taxation of all crops and income. 

 In European countries where the annual prod- 

 uct of the forest is taxed, whether it be upon the 

 actual cutting and marketing, or by an estimate 

 of the annual growth and increase, it accords with 

 the principle of taxation of incomes, whether 

 from invested funds, or the practice of a. pro- 

 fession or trade. 



Where the income-tax principle is applied to 

 all the people it is fair that the income from the 

 practice of agriculture, of both kinds, should bear 

 an income assessment. And then the tax should 

 be largely taken from the land and placed upon 

 the land's production, under just and scientific 

 regulations to ascertain and apply the appor- j 

 tionment of public benefits and natural risks, 

 from and to,' the different kinds of products 

 farm and forest; with a low minimum land rat- 

 ing by itself, and a separate assessment upon the 

 product of the soil, each after its own kind. But, 

 this is looking into the future, too far for pres- 

 ent, practical purposes. It will be time enough 

 to consider further modifications, when the prin- 

 ciples upon which such modifications must de- 

 pend, are demanded bv a public sense of th ' ; r 

 justice, and are embodied in our general system | 

 of taxation. So long as any branch of agricul- 

 ture is not assessed upon its yearly income, or [ 

 yearly production, it is not fair, and it ought not ! 

 to be legal, as it is not equitable, that the pro- ' 



duct or income of forest lands should be taxed. 



The foregoing facts and argument lead me 

 clearly to the following conclusions : 



First: Forest Lands. 



For the present, the only legislation required 

 is an amendment to the tax laws, providing for 

 a fair and equitable assessment of the land, i. e., 

 as bar or wild land, just as other land similar 

 in quality and situation is valued ; totally dis- 

 severed from its production ; with a fixed, aver- 

 age rate of taxation for local purposes ; nad with 

 a substantial modification of that rate for stat< 

 purposes. This rule is to be applied to true for 

 est lands, which must be explicitly defined bj 

 law. 



Second: The Farm Wood-Lots. 



For the farm wood-lot the rule should be : A 

 fair and equitable assessment of the land, i. e. 

 as bare or wild land, just as other land similar 

 in quality and situation is valued, without refer- 

 ence to its crop ; having an assessment of the 

 wood-lot separate from the rest of the farm 

 the rate of taxation to be a fair, fixed average 

 and under explicitly defined limitations as to 

 use and treatment of the land. 



In both cases there should be a right of appea 

 from the town board to the state tax commis- 

 sion, or some other general state authority, hav- 

 ing the right of revision. 



Third: State Lands. 



All lands set aside by the state as forest re- 

 serves should be assessed on the same equitable 

 j basis as provided for forest lands, with a fixed 

 average rate of taxation for local purposes ; anc 

 all state lands withdrawn from homestead entry 

 and sale should contribute to the maintenance oi 

 county and town at a fair, fixed assessment value 

 and a fair, fixed rate. 



Under the policy here advocated, if it is broad 

 enough to accomplish the gradual reforesting o) 

 what are now waste and abandoned lands, there 

 will be a restoration of such lands to the tax 

 lists, most of which are not now paying taxes 

 for any purpose, local or state. 



It is only on such a basis that the people of 

 the state as a whole can bear their fair share of 

 the cost of a comprehensive forest policy; which, 

 we all agree, is t(je most urgent of the economic 

 problems now confronting this State, and de- 

 manding the thought and intelligent action of the 

 State's best citizenship. 



After the appointment of the usual committees 

 President Bissell introduced Hon. Charles W. 

 Garfield of Grand Rapids, president of the State 

 Forestry Commission. 



MR. GARFIELD'S ADDRESS. 



He Discusses the Steps of Progress in Michi- 

 gan's Forestry Movement. 



A wondrous legacy came from the hand of 

 the Creator into the possession of those acquir- 

 ing lands in the beautiful peninsula of Michigan. 

 At a period when the famous minister of Louis 

 XIV exclaimed, upon seeing the slaughter of the 

 great forests of France, "France will perish for 

 lack of woods," another famous Frenchman was 

 exploiting the area now called Michigan. In the 

 Cadillac papers, as gathered bf President Bur- 

 ton' of the State Historical Society, we learn 

 that the famous French voyageur and discoverer 

 marveled at the beauty and extent and grandeur 

 of Michigan forests and commented in extvava- 

 gant terms upon the wide range of species rep- 

 resented here. He understood the great value 

 in this forest cover because at that early day the 

 French statesmen saw an impending wood famine 

 in France which was averted by timely and wise 

 activity in forest restoration. 



The first inroad upon this forest legacy in 

 Michigan was made by the pioneers who saw only 

 in trees an incumbrance, a menace to their pros- 

 perity. Tree destruction by these pioneers was 

 a necessity. I have no word of criticism to be- 

 stow upon them. 



However, I am unwilling to pass over the rep- 

 rehensible methods pursued during the conquest 



of the lumberman without expressing my indig- 

 nation at the ruthless slaughter with no com- 

 mensurate gain. The vandalism practiced by 

 short-sighted lumbermen in the destruction of a 

 large part of Michigan's forest area can not rea- 

 sonably be condoned even in the light of the 

 most magnificent bequests for benevolent pur- 

 poses. The blackened poles, devitalized soil and 

 terrible desolation of tremendous areas of aban- 

 doned cut-over lands in our commonwealth are 

 more plainly in evidence as a result of the un- 

 timely harvest than any monuments in stone and 

 mortar erected with the gains of men who gath- 

 ered where they had not sown. 



Early Steps in Michigan. 



In browsing through the literature which re- 

 cords the progressive steps of history, taken by 

 the State of Michigan looking toward forest res- 

 toration, the earliest mention of any anxiety con- 

 cerning the elision of the forest cover, is a me- 

 morial prepared by T. T. Lyon and Sanford 

 Howard at the instance of the State Board of 

 Agriculture and presented to the legislature of 

 1867. This paper recites that already the effects 

 of the removal of so large a proportion of the 

 timber is noticeable in the decadence of the more 

 tender varieties of fruits which in earlier days, 

 were perfectly hardy in lower Michigan, and pro- 

 claims that unless the hand of the axeman is 

 stayed, the countries which have grown the finest 

 fruits in the temperate zone will have the same 

 limitations as other countries which have been 

 denuded of lumber and we shall lose the climatic 

 conditions which have been our pride. The rec- 

 ommendations in the memorial suggest that some 

 method of stimulating the planting pfi belts of 

 timber and preserving protective belts of .original 

 forests be wrought out by the legislature, inti- 

 mating the possibility of bringing about the de- 

 sired result through the partial exemption of 

 permanent forest areas in southern Michigan 

 from taxation. 



This memorial was referred to a committee 

 consisting of Dr. R. C. Kedzie, Jonathan J. Wood- 

 man and O. H. Fellows on February 12, 1867. 

 This committee made an exhaustive report in 

 which it emphasized the danger to agriculture 

 which would arise from clearing off the timber 

 from the sands of western Michigan, thus allow- 

 ing the winds to spend their full force in carry- 

 ing the sands upon valuable farm lands and thus 

 increasing the barren area created by the forma- 

 tion of sand dunes. This report formulated three 

 recommendations for legislation. 



1. The exemption of timber belts planted or 

 preserved for purposes of protection. 2. The 

 compulsory retention of stock from running at 

 large. 3. The planting of roadside trees as a 

 means of stimulating an interest in tree planting 

 and protection. There is nothing in the statutes 

 indicating that the suggestions made any great 

 'mpression upon the law-making body. 



The most active organization in agitating the 

 questions connected with the > our 



Forest domain has been (he Miolv. 

 :ural Society. This association was organized in 

 1870 as a fruit gro\\ i ty and as early as 



1873 Mr. T. T. Lyon presented a scholarly ad- 

 dress at a meeting convened in ,-iouth Haven in 

 which he recounted the dangers which had re- 

 sulted irom cutting off the forests in other coun- 

 ries, dwelling especially upon the resultant con- 

 ditions affecting the interests of the farmer and 

 Vuit grower. He called attention to the losses 

 of moisture by evaporation and the value of 

 he forest as a sponge to hold back the flow of 

 water and allowing it to gradually percolate into 

 he sluiceways, thus maintaining an even flow 

 hroughout the year. He spoke of the woods as 

 storehouses of moisture and emphasized the fact 

 hat the peach-growing area of Michigan was get- 

 ing more restricted cvcrv years as a direct result 

 >f forest destruction. Said he, "The ax in the 

 lands of the sturdy pioneers seems as little 

 menable to reason as were the bayonets of the 

 r .lder Napoleon. We are alre_ady obliged to aban- 

 lon some of the best varieties of fruits because 

 f their inability to stand the trying variations 

 ' ftemperature and moisture caused by forest 

 lenudation." He accounted for the unparalleled 

 irgin forests of the lower peninsula because of the 



