THE WEEKS BILL 



295 



flow of streams has been equalized, and 

 the forests have become a source of 

 profit. In Germany the average net 

 income per acre from the forests is 

 $2.40 a year, while in the well-managed 

 state and communal forests of Switzer- 

 land the net annual income per acre is 

 from $3 to $6.50 per acre, and in 

 some of the city forests it reaches from 

 $8 to $9. 



In no country of Europe does the 

 government own all or a large part of 

 the forests, nor is a different plan un- 

 dertaken in this bill. In many instances 

 it owns only a small per cent. Even in 

 Germany, where forestry is most highly 

 developed, the crown and state forests 

 amount to but thirty-three and seven- 

 tenths per cent of the total. Much be- 

 longs to towns, corporations, and indi- 

 viduals. Several countries are actively 

 purchasing waste lands and restoring 

 the forests by planting. Up to 1900 

 France had bought 400,000 acres, of 

 which 218,000 acres had been planted. 

 She continues to acquire land at the 

 rate of 25,000 to 30,000 acres per year. 

 Sweden during the past thirty years has 

 purchased 600,000 acres at an average 

 cost of $5.30 per acre. 



It is the ownership of protective 

 mountain forests that is sought by the 

 state. Their influence on the silting up 

 and flow of streams is not only conceded, 

 but is recognized as the foundation of 

 the state forest systems of Europe, by 

 the highest engineering and forestry 

 authorities. 



The experience of the countries of 

 Europe, reaching back for over a hun- 

 dred years, without exception, points a 

 course which our government, looking 

 beyond the immediate present, cannot 

 afford to ignore. It is fortunate for 

 us that by immediate action, we can 

 avoid the enormous expense of reforesta- 

 tion necessary in the forest policies of 

 European countries, where a large part 

 of the expense is due to planting on 

 lands where the natural forest has 

 been exterminated. In the United 

 States at this time, the problem is not 

 one of reforestation, but of protecting 

 and using wisely the forests which na- 

 ture has provided ; it is not a question 

 of the creation of forests, but of the 



conservation of those we have already. 

 The enactment of this bill into law, we 

 confidently believe will save us from 

 the fatal errors and heavy burdens of 

 European countries in dealing with this 

 problem. 



FOREST INFLUENCES ON STREAM FLOW 



Your committee, having in view the 

 importance of a thorough investigation 

 of the claims for and against forest 

 preservation in relation to its functions 

 as a conserver of water in aid of navi- 

 gation, has had before it in numerous 

 hearings during this and past Con- 

 gresses,, many distinguished authorities 

 to give their views and conclusions on 

 this question. 



Much valuable data and expert opin- 

 ion concerning American and European 

 conditions have been brought to the at- 

 tention of your committee. 



The problem is recognized by the 

 best opinions to be a difficult one, but 

 the most exhaustive symposium held 

 upon the subject, from an engineering 

 and forestry point of view, was un- 

 dioubtedly the International Congress 

 of Navigation, held at Milan, 1905, at 

 which the general subject of forest in- 

 fluences upon streamflow was pre- 

 sented and discussed by a number of 

 eminent and able men, these being: 



i. Mr. H. Keller, privy councillor of 

 the public works department, Austria. 



2 . Mr. H. N. Lafosse, inspector of 

 rivers and forests, France. 



3. Mr. V. Lokhtine, Russia. 



4. Mr. Ponti, engineer in chief of the 

 genio civile, Italy 



5. Mr. J. Riedel, engineer, technical 

 councillor, at Vienna. 



6. Mr. J Wolfschutz, agricultural 

 councillor, Austria. 



7. Mr. E. Lauda, director of the royal 

 hydrographic office at Vienna. 



The conclusions advanced by these 

 authorities have been summarized care- 

 fully by Mr. Cipolletti, a prominent 

 Italian engineer, in his official sum- 

 mary of the inland navigation section 

 of the congress, in these words : 



"First. Opinions being unanimous 

 upon the point that forests exert a ben- 

 eficial influence : 



