THREE-QUARTERS OF THE WAY 109 



to help prevent them. If this plan Is carried out, it 

 will be one of the greatest contributions toward 

 forest conservation ever made. In 1921 President 

 Harding instituted by proclamation Forest Protec- 

 tion Week, a step which did much to awaken public 

 interest. In nineteen states local proclamations 

 were issued by the governors and a large amount of 

 space was given by the daily press. Yet, in all, this 

 effort is only a drop in the bucket, and soon for- 

 gotten. 



There are millions of people in our country who 

 know nothing of its timber resources other than that 

 there is a lumber yard around the corner; they care 

 less. The high prices and scarcity of building ma- 

 terials, paper, etc., is a mystery to them, and the 

 fact that forests enter into the daily cost of living 

 and form an essential part of the industrial pros- 

 perity of the nation means nothing. How to edu- 

 cate the people to the importance of all this is one 

 of the biggest problems of today. Until forest pro- 

 tection is a matter of conversation at the office, in 

 the club and In the home, there can be no definite 

 assurance for the future. 



