IS IT PRACTICABLE FOR RAILROADS 



TO HOLD FOREST LANDS FOR 



FUTURE SUPPLIES OF TIMBER? 



BY 

 L. E. JOHNSON 



President, The Norfolk and Western Railway 



1 CAN but express my appreciation at being requested 

 to present a subject for the consideration of this 

 Forest Congress, and being asked to answer the ques- 

 tion: "Is It Practicable for Railroads to Hold Forest 

 Lands for Future Supplies of Timber?" 



We find that it is one that can be discussed from 

 the standpoint of railroads, and while the question 

 from this standpoint is an important one, is it not a 

 question, by reason of its relation to the public at large, 

 in every industry and occupation, and in the individual 

 and domestic needs of every citizen, from the stand- 

 point of the public at large ? 



The preservation of forests is not only necessary for 

 supplying railroads with cross ties, with timber for its 

 trestles and cars, but is necessary to maintain the supply 

 of wood for the various manufacturing, building and 

 domestic purposes of the public. It is equally, if not 

 more, necessary to maintain and protect the water 

 supply in streams, the demands on which are increasing 

 by reason of an increasing population, and by reason 

 of the rapidly multiplying requirements for power in 

 its many forms. And it is equally necessary to pre- 

 serve our forests, to prevent floods, and to prevent 

 droughts. 



All this is well put in the definition of what forestry 



