INTRODUCTION xv 



the railroads a traffic income of over $200,000,- 

 000 annually. If we include in these statistics 

 also the derived wood products, we find that over 

 1,000,000 wage earners are employed, and that the 

 products and derived products are valued at over 

 $2,000,000,000 annually. Most certainly we are 

 dealing with a very large business enterprise. 



Our Future Lumber Supply. You may ask, 

 "What effect have the great annual consumption of 

 wood and these large business interests upon the 

 future supply of wood?" The most reliable sta- 

 tistics show that out of 5,200 billion feet of mer- 

 chantable timber which we once possessed, only 

 2,900 billion feet are left. In other words, almost 

 half of our original supply of timber has been used. 

 Besides, the present rate of cutting for all purposes 

 exceeds the annual growth of the forests. Even 

 the annual growth is considered by many experts 

 of unknown quantity and quality, to some extent 

 offset by decay in virgin forests. The only logical 

 conclusion to draw from this condition of affairs, if 

 the present rate of consumption continues, is a tim- 

 ber shortage in so far as our most valuable woods 

 are concerned. In view of this it is fortunate that 

 the National Government began to control the 



