THE FOREST AS A RESOURCE. §3 



Not only does the lumberman with the system- 

 atic development of his business, which has enabled 

 him to supply a superior article as cheaply as the 

 inferior one is sold in Europe, give rise to many 

 manufactories and industries and render possible 

 the development of distant agricultural regions, 

 which in turn renders profitable the building of 

 railroads and the employment of labor, but he has 

 been the pioneer in bringing the wilderness itself 

 within reach of civilized influences ; and while this 

 has often been done at an unnecessarily extrava- 

 gant sacrifice of much of our natural forest 

 resources, the opening up of these backwoods 

 must nevertheless be considered as a potent influ- 

 ence for good, resulting from his business. 



Per aspera ad astra, through rough work to civ- 

 ilization, is the history of the settling of the back- 

 woods, which the logger has accomplished. 



Such settlement is necessary before forest man- 

 agement can be profitably applied to the remnants 

 of woodlands ; and while we may regret the waste- 

 fulness with which this settlement has been made, 

 we must consider it as a necessary step toward 

 an extension of civilized conditions.^ 



