406 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



CALL FOR ACTION SAYS FOREST 





THE editors of the country con- 

 tinue their co-operation with the; 

 American Forestry Association in its 

 call for action on a national forest 

 policy and for better fire protection. 

 The Olympian of Olympia, Washing- 

 ton, declares that a "forest fire is a war 

 on prosperity," while the Nonpareii 

 of Council Bluffs says "we cannot af- 

 ford to overlook the facts." The Eve- 

 ning Telegram of New York City 

 points out that "the American con- 

 sumer is at the mercy of the foreign 

 manufacturer," in the matter of news- 

 print, and the Louisville Courier- 

 Journal calls attention to the fact that 

 the "time will come, of course, when 

 building with wood will be out of the 

 question unless there is an early devel- 

 opment of reforestation." Some of 

 the editorial co-operation on the part 

 of the editors follows : 



Louisville Courier-Journal: The Ameri- 

 can Forestry Association reminds the pub- 

 lic of facts. The time will come, of course, 

 when building with wood will be out of the 

 question unless there is is an early de- 

 velopment of reforestation. The wide use 

 of wood for residences and other buildings 

 that characterizes the United States would 

 not be permitted in any European country. 

 As long as timber was plentiful and cheap 

 the frame house, in town or country, had 

 so many advocates that there was little 

 disposition to place wood construction un- 

 der the ban. 



Only a few American cities have build- 

 ing ordinances under which frame construc- 

 tion is forbidden, but it will not be neces- 

 sary to forbid frame construction, to reduce 

 the fire risk, if the supply of timber con- 

 tinues to diminish at the present rate and 

 the price of lumber, as a result, continues 

 to rise. This country already has reached 

 the point at which, upon the ground of 

 economy, permanent construction of stone, 

 concrete, concrete blocks, hollow tile or 

 other non-combustible and non-rotting ma- 

 terial is considered by many builders as 

 against wood, with its limited life and high 

 maintenance cost. 



Indianapolis Star: At last the importance 

 of tree planting seems to have taken hold 

 in quarters where practical results will 

 follow. A number of citizens of promi- 

 nence are urging the Massachusetts Legis- 

 lature to advocate the passage of a pend- 

 ing bill to allow the State to buy 250,000 

 acres of waste land for reforestation pur- 



poses. In other directions public action 

 has not been waited for. According to the 

 American Forestry Magazine, many coal 

 companies, which need much mine timber, 

 are planting trees on their own territory 

 in great numbers. Already, it is said, news- 

 paper and book publishers are planning 

 the control and protection of existing for- 

 ests, from which wood pulp is derived, and 

 the systematic planting of trees. The pub- 

 lic has been slow in realizing the growing 



THE SCHOOLMA'AM AND THE 

 FORESTER 



Salt Lake Deseret News 

 Travelers in some of the unfrequented 

 or sparsely settled regions of the coun- 

 try where national forests are located 

 have perhaps wondered whence came 

 all the established school teachers who 

 were met in these journeys, and how 

 it was that they seemed so cheerful and 

 contented. The interesting explanation 

 is given in the "American Forestry" 

 Magazine. One curious fact is that ap- 

 proximately 75 per cent of the forest 

 rangers marry school teachers, conse- 

 quently the latter are at home and happy 

 in the districts where they and their 

 spouses serve. Another reason is that 

 25 per cent of all receipts from the 

 national forests go to the counties in 

 which they lie, to be used for schools 

 and roads. These counties can there- 

 fore well afford to employ good teachers 

 at good salaries, and are able to pro- 

 vide plenty of teachers, regardless of 

 the number of pupils. 



The explanation is highly satisfactory, 

 and the condition would seem to be at 

 once romantic and, in most respects, 

 ideal. The attraction for the ambitious 

 teacher may well be believed to consist 

 not altogether in the monetary compen- 

 sation offered the love and protection 

 of a clean-living young forester is a 

 prize or bonus not to be despised. Un- 

 cle Sam's forest service is not less 

 benefited by the opportunities thus given 

 his rangers to acquire comely, intelli- 

 gent and courageous brides. On both 

 sides the evils of lohesomeness are cor- 

 rected; on both sides there is an in- 

 creased sense of responsibility and a 

 development of the fine virtues which 

 attend the sound enjoyment of living 

 worthily in close contact and commun- 

 ion with Nature. 



scarcity of timber, but now that it is be- 

 ginning to do so, tree planting is likely 

 to become an active industry. 



Council Bluffs Nonpareil: Too few of 

 our people are taking any heed of the 

 morrow. We are living at a fast pace. 

 And we are rapidly exhausting our natural 

 resources. Note the statements taken from 

 a report of the American Forestry Asso- 

 ciation. We cannot and should not over- 

 look these serious statements. We owe 

 it to bur children to preserve for them a 



condition which will be tolerable. We 

 have no right to appropriate to ourselves 

 all the cream of the earth's products and 

 pass on to our children a depleted soil and 

 a country barren of its forests upon which 

 the happiness and welfare of people large- 

 ly depend. 



New York Evening Telegram: The 

 American Forestry Association now points 

 out that one of the striking facts brought 

 to light is the over centralization of 

 industry in the Northeast and the Lake 

 States. In this region the limited supply 

 of raw material prevents expansion to meet 

 the increasing demand. Not only is the 

 American consumer at the mercy of the 

 foreign manufacturer as to price, but he is 

 in danger of an embargo. In order to 

 reach the safe condition of independence 

 the experts advocate the development of 

 the industry in the Northwest and at the 

 same time the making of plans for in- 

 creased production in the East. 



It used to be our boast that we were 

 self-sufficient as to necessities. It is our 

 duty to see that we are so again. 



The Olympia Olympian: The American 

 Forestry Association calls attention to the 

 fact that forest fires in this country burn 

 ten times the area of devastated France 

 every year. Using that terrific fact as a 

 text, Charles Lathrop Pack, president of 

 the Association, preaches a powerful ser- 

 mon on the imperative need for a national 

 forest policy. 



He explains why the penny newspaper 

 and the two-penny newspaper are things 

 of the past. He sees in the gradual de- 

 pletion of American forestry an actual 

 menace to education. Some of his recent 

 utterances are alarming, and his data, care- 

 fully gathered, confirm the opinion rapidly 

 spreading that unless the United States 

 buckles down to forest conservation, not 

 only will newsprint become higher, but 

 agriculture must inevitably suffer. 



But the conservation of timber for news- 

 print purposes is even less important than 

 the conservation of forestry for the making 

 of homes for human beings to live in. 



Louisville Courier Journal: The St. 

 Louis Globe-Democrat, in the course of an 

 editorial upon the paper shortage, says : 



There is much criticism of the news- 

 papers for waste of paper, but the above 

 statistics show that it is not newspaper con- 

 sumption which is making the wood pulp 

 supply inadequate to the demand. The 

 newspapers only consume 22 per cent. The 

 newspaper publishers are themselves suffer- 

 ing from the high prices and the difficulty 

 of keeping supplied with stock as a result 



