526 



The National Geographic Magazine 



Again, protection of the forest against 

 fire and trespass calls for means of get- 

 ting rapidly about and of intercommuni- 

 cation on the part of the members of 

 the protective force. Rangers' cabins, 

 tools, and other equipment are also mat- 

 ters of necessit)'. The Forest Service 

 is doing all that it can to make these per- 

 manent improvements on the national for- 

 ests. Roads and trails are being built, 

 telephone lines run, and quarters for the 

 field force provided. The telephone has 

 proved especially effective as an aid in 

 controlling fire. There are now under 

 construction nearly 2,000 miles of tele- 

 phone lines and 1,800 miles of trail. A 

 special appropriation of $500,000, made 

 by Congress for use in these improve- 

 ments, enables the work to be pushed. 

 Much of the money paid out by the 

 Forest Service as general expenses 

 should really be classed as expenditure 

 for permanent improvements — in other 

 words, is reinvested. This kind of de- 

 velopment is good business, for it is in- 

 creasing the value and serviceableness 

 of the property. When put into roads, 

 it also helps materially the general de- 

 velopment of the region, since the roads 

 are open to the public. 



PRESENT CAPITALIZED VALUE OE THE 

 NATIONAL FORESTS 



An estimate of the present capital value 

 of the national forests was submitted by 

 the Forester to the Agricultural Com- 

 mittee of Congress last winter. It was 

 as follows : 



1. Stumpage value of 330 billion 



feet of timber at $2 per M.. $660,000,000 



2. no million acres capable of 



producing commercial forest, 



at $1 per acre 110,000,000 



3. no million acres of range for 



grazing live stock, at lyi 

 ■ cents per acre (capitalized 



at 5 per cent) 30,000,000 



4. 83 million acre-feet of water 



for irrigation purposes, at 10 

 cents per acre-foot (capital- 

 ized at 5 per cent) 166,000,000 



5. Three million horse-power, 



capable of being developed 

 from water in reserves, at 



$10 per horse-power (capital- 

 ized at S per cent) 600,000,000 



6. Estimated value of occupancy 



and use of reserve land, pro- 

 ducts, and resources addi- 

 tional to the above 5,000,000 



7. Permanent improvements now 



on the reserves (roads, trails, 



cabins, telephones, etc.).... 5,000,000 



Total $1,576,000,000 



Less 10 per cent for 

 private- holdings 157,600,000 



$1,418,400,000 



This table does not mean that the for- 

 ests are to be regarded as a corporation 

 would regard a similar piece of property 

 held by it, and run for the sake of the 

 money return. They are maintained and 

 managed not in order to make them 

 yield the largest possible income, but 

 in order to make them contribute most 

 fully to the economic welfare of the 

 public. Uncle Sam has not turned land- 

 lord, looking upon his broad acres as 

 primarily revenue-producers and seeking 

 to squeeze out of them all they will bring 

 in. The very moderate charges made for 

 the use of land for grazing, and pro- 

 posed for the use of land in order to 

 develop and sell hydraulic power, by no 

 means represent the actual value of what 

 the user gets, and gets for an exclusive 

 use. The value of the use privilege de- 

 pends upon the protection which admin- 

 istration by the Forest Service gives, and 

 which is a source of expense to the gov- 

 ernment. It is a privilege which other 

 users would be glad to pay for. Why 

 should not the beneficiaries of the for- 

 ests contribute toward the cost of main- 

 taining them? 



THE SALE OP GRAZING RIGHTS IN THE 

 FORESTS 



At present the receipts from the graz- 

 ing fee, amounting to $875,000 for the 

 .year ending June 30, 1907, constitute the 

 largest single item in the income derived 

 by the government from the national for- 

 ests. This is because, unlike their use 

 for timber supply, the use of the forests 

 for stock is fully developed. Many re- 



