366 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



If the commission established a certain level of prices, and then ad- 

 hered to those prices in spite of the decreasing supply and increasing 

 demand for timber, it would be encouraging rapid exhaustion of the 

 supply. There would be no increase in price to discourage consump- 

 tion. If, on the other hand, the commission were to increase the price 

 as rapidly as competition would cause it to rise, there would be no 

 particular reason for the existence of the commission. If a price- 

 regulating commission were to try to keep lumber prices down, it 

 would remove one of the chief incentives owners now have for pre- 

 serving their timber. The expectation of a future rise in stumpage 

 values is one of the reasons why many timber owners are not clearing 

 their land as rapidly as possible, and this incentive would be removed 

 by keeping lumber prices stationary. 



These are only a few of the difficulties involved in government 

 regulation of prices. Detailed consideration of that policy would lead 

 beyond the proper scope of this book, but it has seemed appropriate 

 to point out a few of the difficulties in the way of such a scheme, just 

 to bring out the appropriateness of another policy — increased 

 government ownership of timber lands. 



INCREASED GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF STANDING TIMBER 



An increase in government ownership is one remedy which will 

 prove helpful, whatever our view of the situation. It will obviate the 

 fear of artificial price control, will insure stability in the lumber 

 market, reduce waste to a minimum, and provide for proper refor- 

 estation. The present unsatisfactory conditions in the lumber in- 

 dustry are an inevitable result of the policy of private ownership and 

 exploitation which the government followed previous to the adoption 

 of the forest reserve policy in 1891 ; and the remedy for these ills is 

 to be found in a return to the policy of government ownership. The 

 wisdom — perhaps we might almost say the necessity — of government 

 ownership, is the great outstanding lesson to be gained from the study 

 of the United States Forest Policy as outlined in the preceding 

 chapters. Almost all of the advanced countries of the world have 

 found it necessary to take over the management of their forests ; and 

 the United States must eventually enlarge her field of activities along 

 this line. 



