session. The latest move is a proclamation issued this 

 year for the first time by a number of governors in 

 the western states setting aside a "Forest Protection 

 Week." This proclamation will receive publicity in 

 all of the schools and churches and in many other 

 ways. It is intended to concentrate everyone's atten- 

 tion on the necessity for greater care in the handling 

 of fire in the forest. If this can be done for a week 

 each year, it should have some tendency to turn peo- 

 ple's minds permanently in that direction. 



The present paper necessity, the high price of lum- 

 ber and all other wood products and the disastrous 

 results of great forest fires in the past should add 

 weight to the observance of such a week this year. 



The Pacific Coast states and most of those in the 

 Rocky Mountains have joined the movement. Strange- 

 ly enough none of the Lake States are included. There 

 is probably no other section of the country which has 

 suffered more heavily from fires than the Lake States 

 and yet they are the hardest ones to move. The 

 Eastern states probably do not feel the need of it. 

 They have very small areas to protect, plenty of 

 people to protect them and a well developed senti- 

 ment against fires. The South with its annual grass 

 fires, generally believed in that section to be benefi- 

 cial and never doing any great damage except to the 

 forest soil and young growth, where it is not noticed, 

 have not awakened to the necessity of fire protection. 

 The Lake States with their lurid history and great 

 future forest possibilities should be in the lead, and 

 they will be when the people get over the idea that 

 every square foot of the state is agricultural and des- 



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