EDITORIAL 



517 



industries represented was strongly emphasized, and 

 not a single voice was raised in opposition to the plan 

 of organizing a committee through which the wood- 

 using industries as a whole could make themselves felt 

 in the development of a national forest policy. 



Of equal significance with the action of the wood- 

 users in organizing themselves for action was the hearty 

 endorsement of the movement by the representatives of 

 lumber companies and lumber manufacturers associa- 

 tions present at the conference. Dr. Compton, secre- 

 tary-manager of the National Lumber Manufacturers 

 Association, voiced the general sentiment of those pres- 

 ent when he said, "I am sure that I speak for timber 



tain the perpetuity of the forests in which we are all 

 interested." 



The point has now been reached, therefore, where 

 both the lumber manufacturers and the wood-users are 

 working through their own organizations, but in com- 

 plete harmony, for the development of a nation-wide 

 forest policy which will result in the protection and 

 perpetuation of our forest resources. It is particularly 

 encouraging that the wood-using industries, whose re- 

 lation to the forest, while intimate, is sometimes re- 

 garded as less so than that of the lumbermen, should 

 have organized on their own initiative to take an active 



owners and manufacturers as a whole when I say that P art m formulating and securing the practical applica- 



the movement which you contemplate will have the tion of a forest policy. There is no question but that 



very hearty endorsement of the manufacturers and the tne wood-users, connected as they are with practically 



timber owners, who would be glad to have created among every phase of our industrial life, can exercise a most 



you the machinery by which you can carry into effect a potent and much needed influence in bringing about the 



practical plan which will preserve and largely main- adoption of a definite and effective program. 



MASSACHUSETTS' NEW FORESTRY BILL 



T^HE new Forest Act passed at the last session cf the 

 Massachusetts Legislature is in reality a substitute 

 for the bill presented by the Massachusetts Forestry 

 Association which was based upon an initiative peti- 

 tion signed by more than 31,000 citizens of the common- 

 wealth, which provided for the purchase and replanting 

 of 250,000 acres of land during a period of ten years, 

 and was. to be financed by a serial bond issue with inter- 

 est compounded during the period of production, the 

 annual cost of maintenance to be paid out of current 

 revenue. 



A very significant and gratifying feature of the cam- 

 paign waged to secure the passage of the bill was the 

 cordial and earnest support given it by many prominent 

 lumbermen of the State who appeared before the Com- 

 mittee on Agriculture and Ways and Means, and urged 



the importance of the measure as the only means of 

 preventing a serious lumber famine in the near future 

 The support of these men was especially welcome be- 

 cause of their apparent indifference to forestry legis- 

 lation in the past. 



The Committee of Ways and Means, after many con- 

 ferences with the friends of the measure, reported a 

 bill considerably modified, reducing the amount of land 

 to be acquired to 100,000 acres; also eliminating the 

 bond feature. The cost of land acquired under this act 

 must not exceed an average price of $5 per acre. If how- 

 ever, it is found that a sufficient amount of land cannot 

 be acquired at this price, the Legislature may from time 

 to time increase the rate. This act went into effect on 

 August 5. 



BUSIJNESS MEN FAVOR FOREST CONSERVATION 



'TMIE Eastern Shook and Wooden Box Manufacturers 

 -*- Association has come forward with a decidedly pro- 

 gressive contribution to the development of a nation-wide 

 forest policy in approving forward-looking measures for 

 fire protection, conservation in lumbering operations, re- 

 forestation and taxation. 



The Association emphasizes particularly the importance 

 of more adequate fire protection and compulsory slash 

 disposal and top lopping. It recommends additional State 

 appropriations for the work and the development of watch 

 tower and patrol systems in those States where they are 

 not already installed. The responsibility of the private 

 owner in fire prevention and protection is clearly recog- 

 nized and the belief is expressed that private owners 

 should be required to participate to a reasonable extent 

 with the State in the cost of fire protection. 



The Association expresses the belief that "the time has 

 come when all stands of forest growth, whether on pri- 



vately owned lands or on publicly owned preserves, must 

 be regarded as an asset of the State in the preservation 

 of watersheds, protection of the public health, and con- 

 servation of public resources in other ways, as well as 

 the preservation of the lumber supply." Recognizing 

 these facts, it believes that private timberland owners and 

 operators should be willing to submit cheerfully to a 

 reasonable amount of regulation under the supervision 

 of the Forest Departments of the various States in order 

 to assure the perpetuation of the timber supply of the 

 country. In addition to action by private owners, ii 

 favors the establishment of State and municipal forests 

 and endorses heartily a campaign of public education 

 on the entire question of the preservation of our forest 

 resources. As one means of promoting such a campaign 

 it has continued its Forestry Committee with instruc- 

 tions to co-operate with other associations and civic 

 bodies which are interested in the forest problem. 



