102 Proceedings of the 



thought. Lumbermen who have studied the timber 

 situation reahze that in the future, as in the past, the 

 largest returns will not be obtained through their 

 manufacturing plants only. The great fortunes that 

 have been made in the lumber business have been ac- 

 quired by the owners of large bodies of timber lands, 

 and this condition will continue. For the purpose 

 of illustration, let us consider the supply of timber 

 as represented by one circle, and the annual consump- 

 tion by another circle. The circle representing con- 

 sumption is annually increasing, as the result not 

 only of increase in population but of a material 

 increase in per capita consumption of wood. 

 On the other hand the circle representing supply is 

 annually decreasing, and unless the forests arc reserved 

 for use, instead of being sacrificed for the sake of the 

 cost of immediate production of lumber, the circle of 

 supply, as far as it can be considered a commercial 

 factor, must disappear. If this be true, all Govern- 

 ment timber lands should be withdrawn from sale or 

 entry and placed under conservative forest manage- 

 ment, all mature timber being for sale, provided proper 

 protection is given the young timber. In this way, at 

 least, a partial supply of timber for future generations 

 can be perpetuated. 



