Our Government and the^ Forests 131 



' For many years it was thought the forests were inex- 

 haustible and needed no special care. The national gov- 

 eriunent encouraged people to acquire forest land and 

 practically gave away 160 acres to every one who would 

 build a cabin upon the land and live there for a short time. 



Suddenly some of the wise people among us awoke to a 

 realization of what was going on. They discovered that 

 the forests were going very fast and that soon we should 

 have none if something were not done. Between the fires 

 that swept them every year and the wasteful lumbering, 

 the forests were in a fair way to leave us as they had the 

 wasteful and careless peoples of other parts of the world. 



How fortunate it is that some of us did look ahead before 

 it was too late; for, although the Eastern forests have 

 largely disappeared, there still remain milKons of acres of 

 government-owned forests in the West. These forests have 

 now been withdrawn from sale and are to be held for the use 

 and benefit of all. They are not to be permitted to pass 

 into the hands of a few, to be cut and sold for private gain. 



Our government is acting like a wise father who is inter- 

 ested in the welfare of his children, and who understands 

 the need of taking care of their treasures until they are 

 wise enough to manage them for themselves. 



We are all concerned in many ways in the welfare of the 

 forests. Whether we own any forest land or not, we are 

 affected by the way in which the trees are managed. Be- 

 cause we are all dependent more or less upon the forests, 

 they should be regarded as the property of us all, just as 

 the air and water are. But because some of us do not yet 

 know how, or do not care, to protect them, it is best that the 

 government should do so for us. 



