FIFTH NATIONAI, CONSERVATION CONGRESS 313 



REASONS FOR PRESENT ATTITUDE 



THE principal reasons for the present attitude of indifference towards fires 

 and its consequent ruinous effect on the present and future value of the 

 forests, may be summed up as follows: 

 (1) The Large Amount of Forest Land in the South: At the present time 

 over half the total area of the region is in woods. 



(3) The Comparative Immunity of Mature Timber from Destruction by 

 Fires: Only in turpentine orchards is there very serious danger of widespread 

 destruction of large timber, and here operators contend that controlled burning 

 is the surest method of protecting it. Under present conditions they are no 

 doubt right. 



(3) The Comparative Low Value of Second Growth Timber: Up to within 

 very recent years, second growth pine throughout most of this region has been 

 looked upon as worthless material and as something to be destroyed or prevented 

 from occupying the ground. This condition is rapidly changing, for even now in 

 many parts of the region second growth timber is the principal supply for the 

 sawmills. 



(4) The Free Ranging of Stock : As a general thing the stock that roams 

 the open range does not belong to the owners of the land. In most of the open 

 range region the stock owners cutnumber the land-owners very considerably, so 

 that the prospect for any rapid change in this direction is remote. There seems, 

 therefore, little prospect of effective fire prevention until stock can be confined to 

 the land of its owner. 



(5) The Dread of Increased Taxation: This feeling against taxation is as 

 strong or stronger in the South than elsewhere, and, as fire protection costs 

 money, the need for such expenditures must be very real and very pressing before 

 it is undertaken. Mr. George K. Smith, Secretary Yellow Pine Manufacturers' 

 Association, connects taxation with the problem in this way: 



"The tax laws and interest rates make it unprofitable for any one to 

 undertake to reforest a given area in the South, and while some efforts may 

 be made to keep fires out of young timber, I do not believe there has been 

 any organized eflfort along that line so far in the South." 



The three following adverse influences would, it seems, help to account for 

 lack of interest on the part of many lumbermen: 



(6) The tenure of timber without the land. Non-landowning lumbermen 

 have no interest in preventing fires except to protect merchantable rimber, or 

 other property connected with their operations. As soon as the timber is cut 

 they have no further interest in the property. 



(7) The low prices paid for stumpage, or for land including stumpage, no 

 doubt largely, though perhaps unconsciously, influences the lumberman. The 

 present value of the stumpage alone is, in most cases, much more than was paid 

 for the land and timber together. When the timber is removed it is felt that the 

 remaining land and young growth, having cost less than nothing, is not valuable 

 enough to spend money on for protection. 



