50 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Every "-ood citizen wislies to promote the welfare of the new settler who 

 in pood fai'th tries to make a home in the forest wilderness. The state in 

 sonre localities has not yet done its duty towards such settlers nor promoted 

 its own best interest in the matter of main roads. There is an almost over- 

 ]owering temptation for many settlers whose land is incumbered with brush 

 TO st't it tn tire in very dry weather. The yielding to such a temptation, how- 

 ever, has caused many bad forest fires. Many a poor settler has lost all his 

 hay by the over-confidence or negligence of a neighbor in the use of fire in dry 

 weather. But there must be a change; and I recommend a provision of law 

 that from April 15th to November 15th no one shall set fire to brush, stumps 

 or meadows in the forest regions without first making a fire-break of bare 

 earth a rod wide between the place of fire and the property of another, nor 

 without first obtaining the consent of the town board. 



The 2G rangers employed from June 1st to September 1st proved in most 

 instances useful. They were successful in securing quite a number of prose- 

 cutions and convictions for violation of the forest fire laws. It is seldom a 

 local warden is willing to prosecute a fellow townsman. There are 700 town- 

 ships in which ranger or patrol service could be useful in very dry weather. 

 If one ranger had charge of only ten townships it w^ould require 100 rangers. 

 The expense of adequate patrol and ranger service will be about |100,000 a 

 year. If we could find a George Washington n every township who would 

 be willing to serve as fire warden or patrol, the problem of forest fires would 

 be solved. Your ideal man who has the energy, courage, and honesty to make 

 a thoroughly efiicient ranger or patrol is not so easily found. It requires 

 very good pay to secure the services of such a man. Of course all appoint- 

 ments in the forestry service sho'ild be solely for fitness and without regard 

 to party adherence. 



As town supervisors are frequently chan.^ed I believe it would be an im- 

 provement of our present system to appoint permanently in each town, as fast 

 as we can find a suitable man, ono warden or patrol to take the place of the 

 three supervisors and town clerk, who now are ex-officio fire wardens. If we 

 could find such a man in each town, then would arise the question of wages. 

 If he paid his own expenses it would be necessary to pay him three dollars a 

 day. Watching against fires in dangerous weather and enforcing the slash- 

 ings law in winter might require sixty or more days of his time. A really 

 valuable man for such duty would prefer to stick to his farm. 



The forest fire laws will not be respected unless enforced. The state 

 cannot keep a watchman over every heedless person in the forest regions. 

 Examples must be made of those who violate the law so that others will be 

 restrained from negligence in the use of fire. \Miile there have been praise- 

 worthy exceptions, as a rule the county attorneys have proved of but little 

 help in prosecutions under the forest fire laws. The incapacity of local magis- 

 trates is an obstacle in securing convictions. The advantage of penalties being 

 under ^100 is in having speedy trials before local magistrates. If the penalty 

 were above .?10() the case would have to go into the district court and be 

 attended with considerable delay. The present appropriation for prosecutions 

 is r*;ii,()00 a year. But it is not enough for any one of ten counties that could 

 be mentioned. There should be an appropriation of at least |25,000 a year 

 for ])rosecutions. We must pay respectable men for promptly looking up 

 evidence and capable attorneys for conducting prosecutions. 



If the legislation indicated prevails it will require considerable additional 

 oflice force to attend to correspondence and supervision incident to the ranger, 

 patrol and warden service, watching that a thousand different firms or individ- 

 uals live up lo the slashings law, that 2,000 miles of railroad are patrolled and 

 prosecutions instituted and carried on with energy against violators of the 

 law. Tlie forestry commissioner's ofiice must be strongly reinforced, and noT 

 with cheap men. 



