356 



Canadian Forestry Journal, January, ipi6. 



The Authority^ of a Fire Ranger 



While I have noted and read many 

 articles and su.c^gestions of consider- 

 able value to those directly interest- 

 ed and responsible for the welfare 

 and protection of our forests from 

 destruction by fire, I observe that 

 there is one matter which not only 

 requires attention but is of vital im- 

 portance and worthy of serious 

 consideration and early action, if we 

 are to continue to improve our fire 

 protective organizations so that they 

 become a recognized force in the 

 land and gradually reduce the enor- 

 mous losses caused through careless 

 •or thoughtless setting out of fires. 



More Backing Required. 

 The subject in mind is the great 

 need for a "New Fire Ordinance," 

 especially in the three western prov- 

 inces. Fire rangers are appointed 

 each year for the sole purpose of 

 protecting our forests from fire ; an 

 ordinance known as "The Prairie 

 Fires Ordinance" is their only legal 

 guide, under the statutes of which 

 they are given no more authority or 

 power to enforce the act than any 

 citizen of good standing. Unlike 

 game guardians or other officers ap- 

 pointed to administer the law and 



protect our interests, who are grant- 

 ed the authority to arrest and bring 

 before a magistrate or justice of the 

 peace any offender, the unfortunate 

 fire ranger may catch a person in the 

 very act of setting fire to a valuable 

 tract of timber, and the only action 

 he can take is to proceed, after ex- 

 tinguishing the fire, to the nearest 

 magistrate or justice of the peace 

 and swear out a warrant for the ar- 

 rest of the offender. I would ask 

 your readers where they would ex- 

 pect to find the culprit, after possi- 

 bly making a two days' journey by 

 canoe to swear out a warrant? 



Rangers Pozverless. 



The very reason why so many 

 people are careless with fire is, be- 

 cause they are posted in the law of 

 the land and know there is very little 

 to fear from their local fire ranger, 

 who, under the present act, is given 

 a more or less burlesque position, 



I would suggest the issuing of an 

 amendment to "The Dominion For- 

 est Reserves and Parks Act," grant- 

 ing the necessary authority to the 

 rangers and extending the jurisdic- 

 tion of the act to cover all Dominion 

 and Crown lands. — T. McN. 



The New Cartoon Service 



The cartoon is a weapon which should be employed for forest protec- 

 tion as powerfully as it is used in politics. During the past six weeks the 

 Canadian Forestry Association has undertaken to issue a regular cartoon 

 service to newspapers, and the first three sent out to dailies and weeklies 

 show a cordial reception from editors. An effort will be made to prepare 

 two each month, dealing not only with forest fire protection but other 

 important aspects of forest conservation. The best Canadian cartoonists 

 are employed for the purpose and 150 duplicates in the form of stereotypes 

 and paper matrices have been placed with newspapers. Quebec Province 

 cartoons will be issued with regard to the necessities of the dual language. 

 All expense in connection with this service is borne by the Association. 

 After giving prominent space to one of the cartoons the publisher of a lead- 

 ing Ontario newspaper wrote : "Many thanks. If you have any more car- 

 toons as good as this which you are passing out to your friends, we trust 

 you will not overlook us." Other publishers appear to receive the cartoons 

 in the same generous spirit. A few examples are reproduced in the follow- 

 ing pages. 



