absent or at a minimum. Beyond thie the SJnrvice doon not go. 

 I want thus to ptat.o definitely tho policy of tho Snrvloe on 

 thi"? puMeet of fir->3, because I kr.ow there are pood people In 

 California who virw such a policy ao r:ost hazardous. 



Host, people believe in life insurance. Wo believe 

 that money rper.t in forest frotection ie not dissimTlar to 



In life insurance there Is tho ponoibility of out- 

 livtr.g an endowment policy, and thre is the other poerihility 

 of not outlining it. But in any caao the principle of life 

 iiidurance in such that "toother we di* or livo, it in a pretty 



I u-v.at.mont for whoever receives th? benefit. One 

 particular tract of timber might escape a soriouo burn for a 

 decade or Icngor, or until it io harvested, but there IB the 

 lililier possibility that it night not, if left to take care 

 of itsnlf. The history of forest destruction ahowa plainly 

 that effective, or even inperfoct, protoction Is immensely 

 profitable. 



550,000,000 of loss annually, since 1870, would have 

 paid for a lot of effective protection when wr consider that 

 th3 Rational Korostc in thio country, vith their great bulk 

 of business outHide of fire protection have boon adr'iniotered, 

 and pretty effectively, tro, on loss than three cents per aero, 



Light Burning. 



But to return to the forest protection policy and 

 firo hazard?. A good many people believe that with complete 

 protection from fires, underbrush, debris, and younr r.'u^th, 

 will get so thick that nothing will stop a fire whrtr. it onco 

 ntarts. These people advocate what io called "li^ht burning* 

 or^ry tt7O or three years, to !:ecp dov;n tho accumulation of 

 inf lamictible material. One of the largest tinber o-Tiers in 



State, Mr. T. E. Y/alker, not only advocates, but under- 

 takes tc practice this theory. A study of MB light burning 

 o^-irations in 1910 showed thut he had littlo or no regard for 

 the unmerchantable timber, and. ras concerned wholly with the 

 protection of his merchantable forest. Tr. the August, 110, 

 ber of the Sunset Magazine, thore appeared an articlo by 

 . George L. Hoxie on "Kow Fire Helps Pore i try." Hr. IToxie, 

 in thio article, ir.vokes the aid of fire in preventing uerious 

 conflagrations. Ho calls it a "servor.t ." 



The people of this country may rest assured that the 

 rest Service stands ready tc adopt any sug^pntior.s ^h'.ch 

 will really aid in format "rot^ctic . In fact, one c 



3ial piecop of work which will be done t^-r comir ^on 

 will b a further study of tMa subject of lj , .It 

 has b^f^n 3t:;aiad brfor=>, but the i^sultc so far ahOT - 



to be v/holly <i. le with real tor- 'ion 







