FORESTRY, THE LUMBER INDUSTRY, AND THE STATE 



The forests of Washington and the industries dependent upon them 

 have furnished the foundation for the present wealth and well-being of 

 our State. Up to within comparatively recent times the people of the 

 State were more dependent upon the products of the forests than on 

 those of all other resources and industries combined. Even today they are 

 more dependent upon the forests and lumber industry than upon any one 

 other industry, unless all the varied agricultural pursuits be considered 

 one. This is well illustrated in the accompanying tables: 



TABLE I 



Value of Lumber and Timber Products Compared to Agriculture* 



Lumber and Timber Products $89,155,000 



Woodlot Products 3,754,293 



Total Forest Products $92,909,293 



Grain 



Domestic Animals 



Dairy Products 



Eggs 



Orchard Fruits . . 

 Garden Truck . . . 

 Small Fruits 



$78,927,053 

 10,249,346 

 8,746,041 

 4,311,000 

 4,274,000 

 3,000,000 

 941,415 



Total All Agricultural Products $110,448,855 



*A11 figures according to last census. 



TABLE II 

 Forest Products Compared to Other Manufactured Products 



All manufacturing Industries Value $220,746,000 



Lumber and timber products 89,155,000 



Value of Forest Products in percentage of total 40.4% 



Annual wealth added to the state through lumber manufacture in 



percentage of total added wealth due to manufacture 50.8% 



The above tables show without further comment the tremendous value 

 of our lumber industry to the State. The importance of this is empha- 

 sized even more when it is known that about 80 per cent of this total 

 annual value of the lumber and timber products goesr into general circu- 

 lation among the people for wages and supplies and that 63.3 per cent 

 of all the wage earners engaged in manufacturing in the State are em- 

 ployed in the lumber industry. 



The Pacific Northwest in normal times furnishes a larger proporition 

 of the lumber cut in the United States than any other region of similar 

 size and Washington is the leading State. Since 1907, however, there 

 were only two years during which the lumber industry has been operated 

 on a profitable basis. The present state of affairs points to an economic 

 situation the people of our State cannot afford to neglect. It rests upon 

 two conditions. The first of these is the general economic value of the 

 lumber industry and the other the large area of land within the State 

 that will be almost wholly worthless unless it is made to produce timber 

 crops. To be of the greatest value these two conditions are inseparable, 

 because each is dependent upon the other. Without a sufficient lumber 

 industry the wood crops that can be grown on the non-agricultural and 

 non-grazing lands will have no value, and without the raw materials pro- 

 duced by means of continuous wood crops we can have no lumber industry 

 of importance. Both of these conditions should be developed to their 

 fullest capacity and the State owes it to itself and to the people to see 

 that they are. 



How can these conditions be fulfilled? A great deal, of course, will 



