The Dawn of a New Constructive Era 



113 



been remarkable, it is the seriousness, the earnestness of discus- 

 sion and the directness with which the speakers have approached 

 the point. We have had an unusual absence of whatl we are 

 pleased to call "hot air." Now, at the risk of offending in this 

 very respect, I wish to indulge in a few figures. The acreage, 

 as generally agreed upon, is 76 million acres of cut-over timber 

 lands on the Coastal Plain and contiguous territories. That 

 doesn't mean much to me, because I can't think in millions ; 

 some men can, but I can't. But when I ran through a table 

 showing the acreage of the states in the South I was staggered. 

 Do you realize that that acreage is half the acreage of the entire 

 state of Texas? Do you realize you can take the entire state of 

 Florida, add the state of Georgia and take a chunk out of South 

 Carolina, and you would have an acreage representing the acre- 

 age of these cut-over lands? Furthermore, your secretary told me 

 at lunch today that that acreage is being added to at the rate of 

 10 million acres a year, and that ultimately we will have added to 

 the 76 million acres which we now have an acreage of 250 million 

 acres, a total that is larger, gentlemen, than the present unallotted, 

 unused, unassigned, undeveloped acreage of the public range in 

 the West ; an empire, if you please, in extent ; in area equal to 

 almost any ten of your Southern states; and nothing is being 

 done with it. Now, this Conference, as I understand it, has 

 been called to consider a constructive plan of development. I 

 cannot tell you how much I appreciate what Dean Dodson said 

 on this subject — when a man who stands as he does in the state 

 and nation stands before you and tells you what he told you, 

 then any damn Yankee that comes down from the North can feel 

 pretty safe in taking such a position. (Applause.) 



I grant you, gentlemen, the correctness of the position set 

 forth in that splendid paper written by Mr. Graves, the Chief 

 Forester of the United States. This problem has three phases — 

 reforestation, grazing and agriculture. What is being done now 

 in reforestation? You know better than I do. What can be 

 done in agriculture? The statement has been made here, uncon- 

 tradicted, that only 15 million acres — only one-fifth of the present 

 available area — are suitable for agricultural development at the 

 present time. What are you going to do with the other four- 

 fifths? You are not reforesting it. It seems to me that leaves it 

 open to either one of the three possibilities, straight farming, 

 cattle raising or sheep raising. 



Cut-Over 

 Lands Cover 

 on Empire 



Cut-Over Area 

 Increasing 

 Ten Million 

 Acres a Year 



Wliat Shall 

 We Do Witli 

 It? 



