EDITORIAL 



69 



also been among the first of the wood-users to recognize 

 the fact that a permanent and adequate supply of raw 

 material for the maintenance of the industry can be 

 secured only by the practice of forestry. More technically 

 trained foresters have probably been employed in the pulp 

 and paper industry than in any other phase of private 

 forest work, and the industry has, as is well known, been 

 active in urging the adoption by the Nation of a com- 

 prehensive forest policy. At the annual meeting of the 

 American Paper and Pulp Association, in November, 

 arrangements were made for the organization of a wood- 

 lands section similar to the section already in existence 

 in the Canadian Association. It is to be hoped that this 

 new section will be as aggressive and effective as its 

 Canadian counterpart, and that it will be successful in 

 arousing an equally keen and intelligent interest in the 

 entire problem of forest management. That this 

 is likely to be the case is indicated by the vision 

 expressed by many of those at the November meet- 

 ing of the American Association of the day when their 

 pulp mills will be in the midst of well-forested areas 



so handled as to produce a sustained annual yield. 

 One of the reasons for the early recognition by the 

 pulp and paper industry of its dependence upon a per- 

 petual supply of timber has been its heavy capital invest- 

 ment in manufacturing plants. These must obviously be 

 kept supplied with raw material if the owners are not 

 to suffer heavy loss. It must not be overlooked, however, 

 that this same situation exists, although in many in- 

 stances to a lesser extent, in the case of other wood- 

 using industries. All of these have made a larger or 

 smaller investment which can be safeguarded and on 

 which heavy depreciation charges can be avoided only 

 by continuous operation. And from the broader stand- 

 point of the community as a whole the continuation of 

 the wood-using industries and of the opportunities for 

 the employment of labor and capital which they offer is 

 essential to their economic welfare. Let us hope that it 

 will not be long before these facts are more widely recog- 

 nized and before the interest in the forest problem now 

 manifested by the pulp and paper industry becomes 

 general. 



TRIBUTE TO A GREAT LEADER 



A WELL-DESERVED tribute to one of the great 

 *"* leaders of forestry in America was paid by the 

 Second National Conference on Education in Forestry 

 and by the Society of American Foresters at their meet- 

 ings the latter part of December. Both organizations 

 sent to Dr. B. E. Fernow telegrams regretting his absence 

 from their deliberations and expressing their affection 

 for him as a man and their appreciation of his services 

 as the dean of forest education and the nestor of fores- 

 try in North America. No man is more worthy of such 

 recognition. 



For forty years Dr. Fernow has rendered marked ser- 

 vice to forestry in America as organizer, administrator, and 

 educator. From the very beginning he has been a pioneer 

 and a trail-breaker. As far back as 1882 he was one of 

 the organizers of the American Forestry Association. A 

 few years later he organized the Division of Forestry 



in the United States Department of Agriculture, which 

 he left in 1898 to organize the first professional forest 

 school in the country the New York State College of 

 Forestry, Cornell University. Nine years later, in 1907, 

 he organized the first forest school in the Dominion of 

 Canada at the University of Toronto. In practically 

 every part of the broad field of forestry his leadership 

 has been conspicuous and effective. 



Few men have either the opportunity or the ability to 

 render suc^i conspicuous service as has fallen to Dr. 

 Fernow's lot. All those who have the true interests of 

 forestry at heart will echo the hope of the Society of 

 American Foresters that he "will continue for many years 

 to come to be the inspiration and leading spirit as you 

 have been in the past for the profession of forestry in 

 America." 



INEFFICIENT ECONOMY 



'T'HE action so far taken by Congress on the various 

 -*- appropriation bills indicates that early reports as to 

 its determination to cut all appropriation estimates to the 

 bone were well founded. It is to be hoped that this zeal 

 to economize in governmental expenditures may be tem- 

 pered by some degree of judgment and that discrimination 

 will be exercised in making such cuts as appear un- 

 avoidable where they will do the least harm. In the 

 case of the Forest Service, for example, the increased 

 appropriation of approximately $2,700,000 requested by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture is absolutely essential for 

 its effective functioning. For Congress to materially re- 

 duce the amount asked for would seriously cripple some 

 of the most important activities of the Service and in 

 the long run would prove the most inefficient kind of 

 economy. 



Most important of all is the readjustment of the pres- 

 ent statutory roll and the provision of sufficient funds 

 for the miscellaneous roll to make possible the payment 

 of reasonably adequate salaries. Under present condi- 

 tions it is impossible for the Service to retain its trained 

 personnel, and the resulting turnover is demoralizing. 



In addition to provision for adequate salaries, funds 

 are also much needed for the extension of important 

 Forest Service activities. Largely increased amounts are 

 urgently needed for the protection of the National For- 

 ests from fire. The appropriation of a million dollars 

 which the Secretary of Agriculture has requested in a 

 supplemental estimate, with the approval of the President, 

 for co-operation with the States in forest fire protection 

 and other phases of forest management, would be one of 

 the best paying investments that the country could make. 



