the very heart of them. In some of the state forests hotels 

 are run by the state itself and they are connected with the 

 railroad stations by automobile lines. 



The fact that these wild parks or town forests are self-sup- 

 porting is not all; a net income of several dollars per acre is 

 realized each year from them. In ten of the principal for- 

 ests visited by the writer the past summer, the average net 

 income per acre yearly was six dollars and twenty cents. 

 Many of the towns have no taxes to pay. They are all paid 

 out of the proceeds from the forest. The town of Forbach 

 in Baden, with a population of nineteen hundred, owns a for- 

 est of fourteen hundred and eighty-two acres, from which it 

 secures a net profit of over twelve dollars per acre per year. 



It is needless to say that the town is kept in perfect con- 

 dition, and yet the people never need to worry about taxes. 

 Instead of having a sinking fund, as is used sometimes by 

 towns in this country to meet a coming debt, a part of the 

 forest is set aside as a reserve. Whenever a street needs 

 repairing or when a town hall or water system is to be built, 

 enough timber is sold from this reserve section to meet this 

 extraordinary expenditure. Hundreds of towns in Germany 

 are enjoying the benefits, financial and otherwise, from their 

 town forests. 



Reference is made to the financial phase of this question in 

 order to make clear the fact that these parks or recreational 

 areas are not a drag on the finances of the towns that own 

 them. They are really a luxury bestowed upon the people 

 by their far-sighted ancestors. Thankfully these people have 

 protected and respected their birthright. 



Providence left to us in this country a similar inheritance, 

 but we and our ancestors have destroyed it. We have de- 

 prived future generations of that which was justly theirs. 

 Our substance has been wasted in the riotous race for money, 

 and it is only when our purse strings begin to feel the pull 

 of the high cost of living, that we bestir ourselves. The price 

 of timber has practically doubled in the past fifteen years, 

 hence it costs more to build a house. That is why our rents 

 have been raised. Our forests are becoming fewer and fewer 

 as the years go by, and it is becoming increasingly difficult 



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