METHODS OF FOREST POLICY. 245 



These may take the form of assisting by money 

 gifts, by furnishing plant material, by giving land 

 as in our timber claim planting, by making work- 

 ing plans or otherwise specifically assisting in 

 private forest management beyond the giving of 

 general information, and finally by tax release and 

 tariff duties. 



We are approaching in these methods closely to 

 paternalism, when the state is doing for the indi- 

 vidual what the individual could or should do for 

 himself, when the state is doing more than provid- 

 ing opportunity for individual activity; at least 

 the danger of transcending proper policy and 

 abusing public interest is always present with 

 these methods. 



It is, therefore, necessary to scrutinize much 

 more carefully the conditions under which proper 

 policy is subserved by them. Curiously enough, 

 these paternal methods have found much more 

 favor and are more extensively used in our coun- 

 try than in the European countries, which are 

 usually charged with the opprobrium of paternal- 

 ism ; and in spite of the fact that the results have 

 been rather disappointing, the advocates of these 

 methods continue successfully to impress their 

 opinions upon legislatures. 



The fact that these methods have failed before 

 does not, to be sure, argue that with a change in 

 conditions and with more circumspect supervision 

 they may not be employed with better results, yet 



