104 FOREST SYSTEM. 



forest, and especially the rules for small cooking fires, prohibition of 

 large bon-flres, and the rule obliging all fires to be extinguished by 

 water, and a condensed statement of law and penalties for fire setting. 

 This will at once insure responsibility on the part of visitors and in- 

 form them of the danger and penalties of careless fire setting. It will 

 also furnish a clew for the apprehension of careless or malicious per- 

 sons. Any one found by the patrol in the forests, without the permit, 

 should be removed, and, when the law permits, be subjected to arrest 

 and penalties. We will probably be forced to provide an alternative 

 system, until present laws are changed, on account of the hostile atti- 

 tude of the Interior Department to the permit system. The explanation 

 of this opposition by the department is a law tacke^ on to the forest 

 laws, at the last session of Congress, providing that citizens should 

 have free ingress and egress to the forest reserves. I do not see that 

 a free permit system would violate this law. It might be deemed a 

 proper precaution to see that only citizens did thus enter the reserves 

 without any regulation. Free transportation is always regulated by 

 a pass or check system. Still, a pass holder travels free. This is so 

 with other things of like free use, such as free theater tickets. When 

 there is any class or personal privilege, it seems to be eminently 

 appropriate, and in fact necessary, to see that the privilege is not 

 abused or used by those not entitled to it. This Congressional law 

 does thus discriminate againt persons not citizens. Therefore a free 

 permit system must be lawful. Should the department fail to take this 

 view, it can inaugurate a voluntary registry system, which would 

 have much the same results. To each visitor could be handed a copy 

 of the forest rules, as above outlined. Prevention of fires being the 

 ideal method of dealing with our great forest danger, some provision 

 of this kind to create a feeling of responsibility in the fast increasing 

 campers and visitors to the forest, and to inform them of rules, laws 

 and penalties of carelessness or criminality of fire handling should 

 be adopted. 



DEALING WITH FOREST FIRES. 



The method of dealing with forest fires in California may be con- 

 densed as follows: Outfit, canvas suit, similar to hunters', strong shoes, 

 shovels, brush hooks and axes. Shovel should have long handle. The 

 handle can have hinge and bolt, to facilitate carrying on horseback. 

 Some prefer rakes or pitchforks instead of shovels. For back-firing 

 pitchforks should supplement shovels. There should be ample rations 



