126 The Fokest Pkoducts Labokatoky 



ural resources for national efficiency in the long run tliat the world has 

 ever witnessed. 



Much in the way of i)ractical forest conservation has been accom- 

 plished by this vigorous and growing movement. One hundred and 

 fiftj'-five million acres of Xational Forests have been established and 

 partially developed for the maximum public service in producing tim- 

 ber and forage and protecting water sources. Some thirty of the states 

 have enlisted in the suppression of forest fires, and in spreading the 

 gospel of wise use of timber-growing land. Aluch has been done in 

 our industries to prolong the life of wood and utilize materials pre- 

 viously wasted. And yet we must recognize today that forestry is still 

 just wdiat President Roosevelt called it fifteen years ago — one of the 

 most important internal problems of the United States. The after- 

 math of the M ar has indeed brought home its magnitude and its seri- 

 ousness much more sharply than any previous event in the history of 

 this country. 



Consider for a moment our situation today as a people of wood 

 users. The United States at this moment is short at least one million 

 homes. In comparison with the need, new dwellings are being con- 

 structed at a snail's pace because of the high cost of lumber, other 

 building materials, and of labor. From the shortage of homes arise 

 exorbitant rents, crowded living conditions, and lowered standards of 

 comfort and family life. The average farm in the United States needs 

 about two thousand board feet of luml)er every year for new buildings 

 and improvements. Because the average farmer can not o])tain lum- 

 ber at prices within his reach, farm development is handicapped and 

 the efficiency of agriculture suffers. This is a factor of no slight im- 

 portance in our vital problem of food supply and living costs. 



We need six and one-quarter million cords of wood a vear to make 

 our newspapers, magazines, books, pasteboard boxes, and other prod- 

 ucts manufactured from wood pul]). We are meeting this need at 

 present only by importing a tliird of our paper or paper-making mate- 

 rials from Canada. We recjuire from one hundred to one hundred 

 twenty-five million railroad ties eacli year to kee]) u]) and extend our 

 railroad lines, aside from enormous quantities of tim])er used in other 

 forms for railroad construction and the ])uilding of cars. We have to 

 have at least six ])illion feet of timber yearly for boxes, crates, and bar- 

 rels, a requirement which is steadily increasing. In several highly de- 



