18 



and uncontrolled fires, was toburn them over under 

 control, and thus by removing all inflamciable mater- 

 ial, prevent fires in the future. 



Those opposing the Light Burners, believed that 

 the method as practiced by the United States Forest 

 Service - that of preuenting and suppressing all fires 

 within the forest - was the only efficient and prac- 

 ticable means of preserving our stand of timber. This 

 side of the question was upheld by the i'orest Service 

 and other technically trained foresters. The Calif- 

 ornia press too up the issue, the San Francisco Chron- 

 icle being one of the most influential papers that a- 

 greed with the Light Burning theory. From that time 

 to this, the question as to whether or not Light Burn- 

 ing should be practiced has not been determined to the 

 satisfaction of all concerned. Through all of these 

 years there has been a great deal of discussion con- 

 cerning Light Burning, much propaganda being issued by 

 each side. Yet but little action as regards its prac- 

 tice has been undertaken. 



Continued Liiht Burning for a number of yeare on 

 typical areas and under observation is practically the 

 only manner in which can be brought together conclus- 

 ive data relating to the question under dispute. There 

 are a few, a very few areas of this description where 

 the results of Light Burning have been observed. On 

 the contrary there are extensive areas from which fires 

 have been excluded which will serve as a means of com- 



