3& 



THE FORESTER. 



February, 



the snow drift theory may be a correct 

 one in given instances, the Lumberman 

 concludes : 



But there may be climatic reasons for pre- 

 serving the forests, and there may be economic 

 reasons. Forestry advocates as a rule do not 

 expect to deprive the people of necessary tim- 

 ber, but seek only to have the laws enacted so 

 cutting can be carried on in a way that shall 

 preserve and perpetuate the younger growth. 

 What they aim at is to stop indiscriminate 

 slaughter, without reference to a future supply, 

 and by preserving carefully and maintaining 

 the growth of young trees to keep forests on 

 public lands practically intact. Nowise econ- 

 omist can object to that. It seems to the Lum- 

 berman that the objectors to public forestry 

 are mainly those who want to go on to Govern- 

 ment or State domain and steal timber, thus 

 avoiding the necessity of buying land and pay- 

 ing taxes thereon. 



Philip Wilson, of Fort Collins, Colo , 

 writing to a local paper in opposition to 

 the forest reserve policy, which, fortu- 

 nately and for good reasons, is very 

 popular in that enterprising community 



of irrigators, argues along the same line 

 that Mr. Sessions does. Each argues 

 from special instances to general conclu- 

 sions; each seemingly forgets the office of 

 the forest cover in preventing erosion on 

 sloping surfaces and apparently neither 

 believes that water can or does percolate 

 through the soil. Both writers have 

 failed to note, in recording their obser- 

 vations, that not all the snow drifts into 

 dark canons and gorges, that indeed 

 many drifts form on southern exposures 

 where rapid melting is early and certain. 

 Mr. Wilson even goes so far as to 

 advocate the clearing of all the mountain 

 forests in the interest of the irrigation 

 agriculturist, finally concluding with the 

 following language which would seem to 

 substantiate the Lumberman 's conjecture 

 as to the real motive of opposition : 



The Poudre valley is one of the best farming 

 countries in the West. We need full swing at 

 the timber for building and fencing. Why 

 send to Texas for timber when it is here and 

 plenty of it? I say, clear this Government 

 domain of the fences so that the people can 

 have free access to go where they want to and 

 get timber where they can find it. 



Lumber Industry. 



Log Salvage. 



Under the caption of "A Dangerous 

 Bill " the American Lumberman has the 

 following to say in regard to pending 

 legislation : 



Mr. Bromwell, of Ohio, has introduced a 

 bill in the House of Representatives which it 

 will be well enough for the lumbermen who 

 are engaged in floating logs in the streams of 

 the United States to give some attention 

 to. The bill was presented some little time 

 ago, and has already been referred to the 

 committee on interstate and foreign com- 

 merce. Under the operations of this law if a 

 lumberman should chance to lose, as lumber- 

 men are apt to do, some of his logs, by floods 

 or other accidents, it would be entirely pos- 

 sible for any one picking up these logs to 

 collect from 25 to 50 cents for each log. This 

 would mean anywhere from $3 50 upwards a 

 thousand additional cost to the log owners. 

 The condition on the Mississippi River will serve 

 to illustrate. It is not an infrequent occurrence 

 in the spring for logs to break away at Minne- 

 apolis and be carried into the river at points 

 between St. Paul and Hastings. Before the 

 machinery for gathering these logs into rafts 

 again could be put into motion, every owner of 



a little boat could gather such logs as he could 

 reach and then collect by process of law the 

 large fees provided for in this bill. It is the 

 practice of the operators on the Chippewa 

 River, and particularly of the manufacturers at 

 points on the middle Mississippi River, to float 

 their logs down in the open Chippewa River to 

 the Mississippi, and then for a considerable 

 distance in the Mississippi to the West Newton 

 rafting works. Unless this law were supple- 

 mented by some other provision, all these logs 

 would become subject to the pirating acts of 

 any parties who could find a profit in gathering 

 them and selling them under the terms of the 

 law. In rafting logs to the down-river points, 

 it not infrequently is the case that a raft is 

 broken up and the logs set afloat. Here again 

 the log owners might be subjected to the 

 penalties prescribed in this bill. 



The conditions on the Mississippi are prob- 

 ably not different from those on other streams 

 where logs are floated. Log owners have 

 found that they can gather their logs at a great 

 deal less cost than named in this bill. Some 

 vigorous protests should be sent to Washington 

 against the passage of this bill, which it ap- 

 pears that Mr. Bromwell has introduced by 

 request. At whose request has not transpired, 

 but presumably parties in his own State or 

 Kentucky. 



