vented fires and are doing it now. 

 They lament if one acre in 10,000 gets 

 touched by fire in any one year. The 

 man who says that the people of 

 Michigan can not do this reflects se- 

 riously on the honesty and capacity 

 of this law-abiding commonwealth. 



Forestry and fire go together, like 

 farming and fire, or like city build- 

 ings and fire. You must stop the 

 one to do the other. In our towns 

 we keep somebody on hand to pre- 

 vent and to stop fires. Do the same 

 for your forest (a far greater proper- 

 ty) and you will have no trouble. 



How About Taxation? 



Forestry is no "sugar trust baby,'' 

 as so many are trying to make it 

 out. Forests can pay taxes as well 

 as any other property. The forests 

 of the Old World pay taxes; New 

 York pays taxes on her State forest, 

 and we ought to do the same on our 

 State lands. But forestry is like any 

 other honest business, it can not stand 

 confiscation. And our present system 

 of taxing forest lands in most parts 

 of Michigan is not taxation but is 

 confiscation. Do you know that the 

 average tax rate in one of our coun- 

 ties was over $60 for each $1,000 of 

 property, and that some lands were 

 taxed over $100 for each $1,000 of ac- 



