a 
HORE 
OUR FORESTS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO POSTWAR EMPLOYMENT 
Forests throughout the United States are ex- 
pected to furnish sip gap ica to many workers 
in the postwar period. They offer opportunities 
for both temporary and permanent jobs—for 
work that will bring 
lasting benefits lo- 
cally and nationally. 
The end of the war 
already has caused 
some unemploy- 
ment. How great 
our postwar unem- 
ployment problem 
will be and how long 
it will last will de- 
pend upon many 
things: How quickly 
war industries can 
convert to peace- 
time production; 
whether the demand 
for post-war prod- 
ucts will continue 
big enough to keep all our new and enlarged 
‘plants going; what new industries might de- 
velop; whether we control inflation. It may be 
that pent-up civilian demands will stimulate 
much industrial employment in the immediate 
postwar period but that some time later, after 
these pent-up demands have been met, the most 
critical period will come. 
In any event, few will question the wisdom of 
having ready a backlog of useful public projects 
to be undertaken if and when the need arises, to 
make sure that thousands of our fighting men and 
667139°—45 
war workers are not left jobless now that the 
war is over. Federal and State Governments and 
many communities have been giving serious 
thought to planning such postwar projects. 
How can the forests help in this immediate 
postwar employment problem? 
Taking a longer view—beyond the matter of 
temporary jobs—how can our forests help to 
create greater opportunities for permanent em- 
ployment in the years after the war? How can 
they contribute to permanent prosperity and 
national well-being? 
KINDS OF FOREST WORK 
Forest projects can and should be considered 
from two angles: The employment opportunities 
they will provide; and the value of the work itself 
to local and national welfare. 
The Nation’s forests offer a huge field of useful 
work. During the depression years in the 1930’s 
they helped to meet acute unemployment prob- 
lems, furnishing work for hundreds of thousands 
of jobless youths enrolled in the Civilian Con- 
servation Corps. Both the forests and the CCC 
boys were benefited and so was the Nation. 
Many other unemployment relief activities also 
involved work in the forests. 
Our forest lands, covering one-third of the 
total land area of the United States, call for a 
large amount of constructive work if they are to 
contribute their proper share to the national 
economy. Generally speaking, our forests are 
in arun-down condition. Large areas are grow- 
ing only a fraction of what they could; millions 
of acres of potentially productive forest land are 
now virtually wasteland; millions of acres are 
inadequately protected against fire. Work ac- 
complished under the CCC and other conserva- 
tion work programs, valuable as it was, only 
scratched the surface of the huge job of needed 
long-time forest rehabilitation and development. 
Following are some of the necessary jobs that 
will have to be done to get the most benefits from 
