CHAPTER XV, 99 



trained men, without organization or discipline. However good men 

 they are, very little forestry work can be expected of them. 



This is truly an extraordinary condition of confusion. We must 

 all work to have its radical defects cured. It is clear that the skilled 

 forest officers are the men to formulate forest rules and establish a 

 Federal forest system. 



The present Federal system, if we can call it a system, is as follows: 

 The forests are directly in charge of the Land Commissioner. This 

 gentleman is not a forester. Under him are a number of Forest Super- 

 intendents and Supervisors. One of these has charge of all the forest 

 reserves of Southern California. Until recently, the Forest Su- 

 perintendent now having charge of the northern reserves resided 

 at Redlands, in this district. Not one of these officers is a 

 skilled or trained forester. Under the Forest Supervisors there 

 are Rangers. It Is claimed that most of the rangers are at 

 least experienced mountaineers. These are few in number for 

 the territory covered. Each one of these has a district as- 

 signed 10 him, which is necessarily very large. In such district he 

 works alone. There is no system of checks by which it can be known 

 where a ranger is or how much work he does. His duties are to patrol 

 the district assigned to him, and to enforce the regulations about pas- 

 ture that may be made at "Washington. In case of a forest fire, he is to 

 come out of the forest, if he happens to be in it, and gather up men 

 and tools, and conduct this force back into the mountains to fight 

 the fire. There can be but little expectation that such a body of hastily 

 gathered men would be composed of experienced fire fighters. It is 

 impossible that it should be a disciplined force. Time, which is of 

 the essence of the contract in fighting fire, is fearfully wasted under 

 this plan. 



There is no system of fire prevention. Fire prevention is the one 

 great thing to do to save our mountain watersheds. 



It is claimed by the Land Commissioner that the law of the last 

 Congress which gives citizens free ingress and egress to the forests, 

 prevents any system of control of those entering the reserves, or the 

 establishment of a permit, or even of a registry system for those going 

 into the mountains. The law is bad, but it is not as bad as the com- 

 missioner thinks it is. 



This entire plan of action has proved to be unsatisfactory. It 

 has been inefficient in every particular. It is a practical failure. 



