23 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Their helpers all are paid $1 for the first two hours or 

 less and 40c per hour thereafter. This provision for a 

 fixed minimum pay for short service, whether for 10 

 minutes or two hours, at first blush has the appearance 

 of extravagance. In practice, however, it makes the pay 

 sufliicient to encourage men to drop their work and give 

 a fire attention at once while it is still a one-man job of 

 a few minutes. It also has proven the spur to "quick 

 work" by the wardens and their crews, by offering a 

 bonus for "winding up" the work quickly for big pay, 

 instead of working a longer time for less than the pre- 

 vailing rate of wages in most localities. It therefore has 

 helped to prevent both the damage and expense entailed 

 in long continued fires. 



Under this system an average total of 1,000 fires per 



slowly by a purely or large "state-owned and operated" 

 system. As the starting point in forest protection this 

 has unquestionably been a real asset. 



But, despite real progress in her forest fire campaign, 

 fires of from 500 to thousands of acres in area each are 

 still too common in New Jersey. Periods of severe dan- 

 ger yearly make conditions which the semi-volunteer 

 system cannot adequately handle. Local wardens in 

 their activity are tempted to observe political boundaries 

 which fire does not respect. Local jealousy and pride 

 are common weaknesses. Localities where help is scarce, 

 communication poor and transportation difficult are 

 plentiful. And we are still ignorant of how nearly one- 

 half of our fires start. Therefore, as a state-wide propo- 

 sition, timber which requires a minimum of from 30 to 



I DIDN'T MEAN TO 



But this will not undo the damage which external vigilance only will prevent. Fire not only spoils the looks of things but is 



responsible for the loss of much valuable young timber. 



year are dealt with so effectively that more than one- 

 quarter of them never become two-acre fires and over 

 half of them bum less than 10 acres each. With this 

 organization supplemented by the work of the State's 

 wardens, from 50 to 70 per cent of each year's fires are 

 definitely fixed upon the person or agency responsible, 

 a record which has earned for New Jersey an enviable 

 place among the agencies working on the forest protec- 

 tion problem. Also this feature of the work has proven 

 to be a tremendous power as a deterrent and educational 

 factor in preventing fires. The local nature of the or- 

 ganization has aroused a local public interest and sup- 

 port which would certainly have been secured more 



50 years to mature, is not yet assured that it can reach 

 maturity, even though it may escape fire damage for the 

 greater part of its growing period. What's the answer? 

 Closer supervision. In the first place by a state-wide 

 fire lookout system, so that fire can't sneak out into the 

 woods and grow up before someone knows that he is in 

 the neighborhood. Second, by enough more state fire 

 wardens to supplement and supervise the local organi- 

 zation so that prompt and well-coordinated attention 

 will be assured to every fire while it is still in short trous- 

 ers, and so that someone who has the time, as well as 

 the desire, may be on hand to know how all fires start 

 and to know of the remedy, any places or condition which 



