748 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



of public ownership, State and Federal, negligible ; great financial opportunity 



and over three-fifths is in private hands, in standing timber no longer exists. 



There is, however, a vast area of cut Taxes, protection cost and interest on 

 and burned-over land, increasing yearly the investment are now compounding 

 and useless for any other purpose, far more rapidly than prices can be 

 which might be growing a new crop, advanced. Apparently home consump- 

 On the Pacific Coast alone, which has tion cannot use all our vast stored 

 been called the nation's woodlot be- supply until carrying costs have ex- 

 cause of its combination of favorable ceeded what the material is worth to 

 climate and rapid-growing species, the consumer;" -^Realization of this is 

 there are fully 20 million acres of such making the tendency sharply toward 

 deforested land which if encouraged to competitive overproduction, not toward 

 do so should yield 500 billion feet in monopolistic^Bglding back of material. 

 60 years. And in the same region the Unfortunatflv^ however, this does not 

 120^ million acres or more of uncut benefit tht^e&fkkner. The mill accepts 

 timber, if restocked as cut, would even- less, bujxthg^imate retailer does not 

 tually produce as much as we now con- sel1 for Jj^ Differences are absorbed 

 sume. Adding obtainable reproduction enroute.> l^producer always gets the 

 elsewhere in the United States, there kast thfi^can-possibly take and the 

 is no sound reason why we should not cofisumer^pays the most he can possibly 

 be well provided in perpetuity. The pay.. Th.e ner'result of low mill prices 

 chief thing to fear is that these new to the .ecmiumer. is wasteful cutting and 

 crops will not be started soon enough. forced fpft*ign export, to hasten the day 



Obviously what we want is such in- when his question will be not what he 



ducements as shall effect the use of all must P a Y for a board but whether he 



this land, cut and uncut, regardless of can g et a board at alL 

 ownership, with the least waste of ex- Insofar as this situation of the lum- 



isting material, the most certain pro- berman is due to his own overmvest- 



duction of future material, and the merit, we may not sympathize with him. 



lowest prices to consumer for which It is hard for us to say whether he 



such supply of his needs can be assured, hoped for an unearned increment or 



Older countries have learned the futility thought he was prudently supplying his 



of expecting this without sincere com- mills. But it is discouraging to good 



munity support and the removal of permanent management and we will 



prohibitory conditions. Having ac- suffer with him accordingly. And we 



corded these, they are in position to are certainly equally short-sighted when 



require the industry to reciprocate. It we aggravate it more intolerably by 



would reciprocate even more gladly continually threatening the timber with 



here, for it has more involved. Our a carelessness with fire which has no 



attitude, however, is either of complete parallel in the civilized world and by 



indifference or that forestry is to be a confiscatory taxation system which 



spread by the sword, with occasional has been abandoned by every nation 



defensive fortresses of public forests, that pretends to a forest policy. Our 



Even these many of us regard less as tax system forces destruction pronibi 



business institutions than as points conservation, and pays us les 



from which to shout defiance and ex- would a rational one. 

 pect reprisal. Surely we also should ,-,. , , WA c T p? 



i . . , J . .. VV HhKh. ib WASir.. 



be intelligent enough to evolve a policy 



which considers both private and public We talk much of the appalling wast 



forestry in their joint relations and of our forests when cut. 



from the viewpoint of permanent in- that every portion of the tree thai, cai 



dustrial development. If so, what are be taken out of the woods without 



the conditions to be met? is taken out, and more, for to 



Whatever may have been conditions extent the higher grades can be mad 



in the past ; when timberland was cheap, to pay for the loss on lower grades, 



market near at hand, and carrying costs The reason for this waste is t 



