this, let him go to Urania, Louisiana, and see the 

 splendid demonstration of reforestation on 45,000 

 acres, brought about through the foresightedness of 

 a lumberman. Other examples could be cited a plenty 

 in many different states. It should be the effort 

 of the public to encourage just this sort of initiative, 

 to give it wider opportunity and greater certainty 

 of success, and to spread the gospel of reforestation 

 by effective demonstrations of its value. At the same 

 time I believe that the public must clothe itself with 

 the power and must exercise that power as need arises 

 to see to it that no forest owner fails in keeping his 

 land at work growing trees, once conditions are es- 

 tablished which make that a reasonable undertaking 

 on his part. 



"What role should the nation itself, through the 

 Federal government, play in reforestation? There 

 is every reason why the Federal government should 

 do everything that it can do effectively. The timber 

 supply problem is a national one. It can no more be 

 restricted to the limits of a State or any other local- 

 ity than our food supply, our coal supply, our rail- 

 roads, or our marine transport. Our most densely 

 populated, industrial States are dependent upon other 

 parts of the country for from 60 to 90 per cent of 

 the forest products which they consume. The farm- 

 ers of the Prairie States, who require on an average 

 2,000 feet of lumber per year on each farm for 

 normal improvements and upkeep, are totally depend- 

 ent upon sources of supply outside of their own 

 States. Nor is it a national problem alone because a 

 small percentage of our forest products are con- 



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