78 FORESTRY 



them ten times what the land has cost them, and in addi- 

 tion give a mortgage which they are never able to pay off. 

 If the original settlers failed, these later victims are sure 

 to, and such lands become a sponge to extract the savings 

 of land hungry purchasers. The only possible relief is for 

 the state to acquire such lands and, by devoting them to 

 forestry, not only put an end to this disgraceful swindle 

 but aid in restoring such regions to a fair degree of prosper- 

 ity which the presence of forests on the poorer land would 

 insure. 



The State as a Producer of Timber. 



As for the state going into the business of producing 

 timber, which is considered un-American in principle, it can 

 be shown that in every way this will encourage individual 

 effort along the same lines. It has always been true of 

 wood products that the greater the quantity of a certain 

 species produced in a restricted locality, the more profit 

 there was in handling it. Operations could be planned on 

 a large scale and all the costs of logging and marketing 

 reduced, while at the same time the product became known 

 and accepted as a staple article in manufacturing lines. So 

 great will be the scarcity of wood in the future, and so 

 comparatively little will be raised, unless the movement 

 for reforesting waste lands proceeds much faster than now, 

 that the combined efforts of state and individual will fall 

 far short of the demand, and if wood is not to cease to be 

 an article of trade, it is necessary that enough be raised 

 to make it worth while to rely upon it in the future for man- 

 ufacturing and other uses. State timber will help maintain 

 the market for private timber. But in other ways state for- 

 ests will benefit private forestry. Where states have estab- 

 lished forest reserves, it is their policy to protect them from 

 fire and to plant trees. The example and encouragement 

 thus given to individuals makes it much easier for the 

 latter to carry out plans for forest production. Some 



