750 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Let us turn to state and national ignorance or to "grandstand" against a 

 forestry. We have a national forest mythical lumber trust for political pur- 

 system, with nearly 200 million acres poses. 



under its control-a tremendous empire N ?w all this is not chiefly the fault of 



ir ,r , i f u_ f t u_ politicians. There is nothing for them 



in itself You understand that the SQ faf as it ^ n be ma e to strike 



service charged with its management is ? ^ ' ^ ^^ Jn ^ constituents _ 

 competent and loyal. Surely, you say Whh thg b]ic ha}f SQ well informed 

 here at least we are in on the production of the lumber it 



progress. needs as it is upon the getting of its 



Here is a stupendous task, involving parce i s by ma ii or t h e pr i ce of sugar 

 the protection of existing forests, re- there would be an expression on an 

 stocking denuded areas, and disposing r - --- -~i-'~- ^-^ ,,.^..1,1 



of the product so as best to serve the 

 entire nation. To withhold funds nec- 

 essary to this work is letting an im- 

 mensely profitable plant lie idle, as well 

 as in danger of destruction, to save the 

 cost of fuel and watchmen. To mis- 



manage it is worse, for this one-fifth 

 proportion of our national supply can- 

 not but influence the four-fifths under 

 other control upon which we are even 

 more dependent. 



Yet even here we are without a na- 



American forest policy that would 

 leave no statesman uncertain. We can- 

 not blame him if there is no such ex- 

 pression. We don't know ourselves, 

 that is all. 



The same is true of our States. Few 

 have comprehensive far-seeing policies, 

 covering their own oportunities on 

 State-owned forest lands and adequate 

 encouragement of good private man- 

 agement. Yet here, of all places, it is 

 the commonwealth that determines. _ It 

 is State intelligence and State pride 



. Ye | ev f. r e w % ar lf that dictates to the representative in 



tional policy. The Forest Service can c and in its owll P laws and their 



neither announce nor execute such a enf( f rcement makes forestry a rea l in- 

 policy as long as there is extreme van- strument for good instea d of a grudg- 



reformers. And 



ing 



... concession to 

 State intelligence will not be exerted 

 until we stop making forestry an ab- 

 stract problem of public or private con- 

 science. Abstract ethics do not get 

 results like fear of personal injury or 



-r . r . *1 



ance in the views, not only of the 



States, whose attitude toward their own 



forests and forest industries has a pro- 



found influence, but also in Congress 



where any executive policy, to be de- 



pendable, must find sanction and sup- 



port. European countries Japan even - ersonal - n . Tt is futile to 



China, seek farseeing and expert de- P ^^ ^ f{ and pres . 



termination of the principles involved, 



but every session of our Congress sees 



the whole subject debated from a dozen 



viewpoints chiefly political seldom 



statesmanlike, and always without real 



knowledge of forest economics. Instead 



of setting an example, we spend less 



per acre for care of our forests not 



^^. as & d The a e 



see that bad {or _ 



< managemen t, in this country of 

 ^^ & handi of industry , 



er conditions of life> not only f or 

 ^ children but for him as we ll. When- 

 evgr ^ &cre of forest {s destroye d by 

 fire forced intQ waste f u l use, or not 



only than other governments but than ^ ro \ vn w here it might be grown, he 

 our own private owners upon contigu- bears most o f t i ie i oss 

 ous lands. Retrenchment which does -^ or j s t his enough Though he rec- 

 not extend to the "pork barrel" is prac- O g n izes the evil, it will not be remedied 

 ticed vigorously when dealing with pro- until he knows its practical working 

 tection of the lives and resources of reasons, so he may concede when he 

 the people. Pressure for the sale of must and demand where he may ; not 

 timber to a sacrificial and demoralizing create further confusion through senti- 

 extent is brought through penny-wise ment, ignorance, or prejudice. 



* From an address at the midsummer meeting of the Board of Directors of the American 

 Forestry Association at Chautauqua, N. Y. 



