WHAT OUR NATIONAL FOREST POLICY SHOULD BE 



617 



(Continued from page 613) 

 form of state authority dealing with forest questions that 

 will have authority behind it in the laws of the state to 

 determine what is necessary within reasonable limita- 

 tions; to apply these regulations and requirements to 

 the private owners of the state subject to some provision 

 for appeal, or review in cases where an individual pri- 

 vate owner feels that the state commission has been 

 arbitrary or has exceeded its authority. 



I would authorize that state commission, in the first 

 place, to establish a sufficient fire protection organization 

 to control the fire situation of the state ; with a sufficient 

 appropriation to carry that out, but with the provision 

 that every private owner who benefits from that protec- 

 tion must contribute a fair and proper share to its cost. I 

 would authorize the commission to levy the cost of fire 

 protection upon the lands of private owners who will not 

 contribute voluntarily to make that a lien upon the 

 property; but I would put, probably in the law itself, 

 some limit as to cost per acre, some equitable limit, be- 

 yond which your commission cannot go. 



I would authorize that commission to deal with the 

 question of slash disposal in the same way, giving them 

 authority to prescribe the methods of slash disposal ap- 

 plicable and practical under this and that set of condi- 

 tions. Don't limit them in the law to details, limit them 

 as to a total cost ; put the protection to your timber owner 

 in that form. Third, I would give the commission au- 

 thority, subject to appeal, to determine what other 

 method should be employed in the way of restrictions in 

 cutting timber in order actually to prevent the devastation 

 of the forest lands of the state. I would make that 

 commission non-partisan in character. I would pro- 

 vide definitely for the representation of other interests in 

 the state upon it, in accordance with whatever the best 

 arrangements may be in each state, to get a representative 

 non-partisan commission that will hold the confidence of 

 the public and the state. That is the first and biggest 

 feature, in my judgment, of any effective state forestry 

 law. 



Now I would follow "that, in outlining a complete or 

 ideal state program, with some provision in each state, 

 even on a small scale, if necessary, for building up state 

 forests. Personally, I cannot agree with the proposition 

 expressed by Governor Philipp here yesterday, that the 

 duty of growing timber is entirely a duty of the national 

 government. It is a duty of the national government 

 and they should go at it, but it seems to me that it is a 

 responsibility that the states also share. It seems to me 

 that Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan have an obli- 

 gation to their own citizens, to their own welfare, their 

 own future taxable property, and future industry to 

 take an active hand in this proposition of growing tim- 

 ber. I am for state forests as well as federal forests. 



The third point is the question of taxes, upon which 

 the only suggestion I can make is one of investigation 

 and publicity through the designation of a legislative 

 commission. There are a good many other things tKot 



would be desirable in this or that particular state. I 

 have not touched on state nurseries and I think that it is 

 important in some prairie states to go into that phase. 

 The things which I have mentioned are the essential 

 things. 



There is only one way to get this program accom-' 

 plished, and that is by all taking hold of it; by creating 

 a public demand for this kind of legislation that Con- 

 gress in Washington will have to recognize, and that 

 your state legislatures in the various states will have to 

 recognize. I want to see the men and business interests 

 who are most directly interested in this take the leader- 

 ship in this fundamental public task. The American Pulp 

 and Paper Association has already formulated and ap- 

 proved definite forestry proposals, many of which are 

 quite in line with what I have outlined. The National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association, through a Forestry 

 Committee, which recently held a meeting in Chicago, 

 has also formulated a set of principles and certain pro- 

 posals for federal legislation which represent, by and 

 large, an advanced position, a creditable position, for 

 that industry to take. 



It seems to me that all that we can add to the con- 

 sideration of these questions, all the support and im- 

 petus we can put behind this proposition, means that 

 we will get a definite somewhere that much sooner. I 

 would like very much to see the interests represented 

 here take some action which will enable them collectively 

 to give the proper consideration to these proposals and 

 to other proposals, and to be prepared when the proper 

 time comes to make their voice and their influence flelt. 



(Extracts from an extemporaneous address delivered at the reforestation 

 conference of the wood-using industries held at Madison, Wisconsin, 

 July 23, 1920. This is the clearest presentation of the Forest Service 

 program that has yet been presented.) 



NEW METHOD OF TAGGING TREES 



INEN cloth is now being used in some of the experi- 

 - Lj mental work of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture in tagging trees and has been found to be 

 very successful. Writing on wooden tags, which were 

 formerly used, soon becomes illegible, while copper tags 

 are not only expensive but are not large enough for 

 sufficient data. The linen tags are first soaked several 

 days in water to remove the sizings and then dried and 

 smoothed with a hot flat iron. Data is written with 

 India ink using a round-pointed pen. The ink soaks in 

 but does not run. Such tags will last a year or longer. 

 When they are to be used for longer periods or under 

 conditions where the tags come in contact with the 

 ground, they are coated with paraffin after labeling. One 

 method is to dip them in a mixture of gasoline and 

 paraffin (proportion 1 quart of gasoline and one-half 

 pound paraffin). The gasoline evaporates leaving a film 

 of paraffin. If the tags become coated with mud they 

 can easily be washed and the ink shows up clearly. 

 Such tags may be used in a variety of ways, for when 

 'reated in this manner they last exceptionally well. 



