R-U,S-N. 11/20/31 



But the trouble is, only a siaall portion of this woods land is now being 

 handled so as to produce timber continuously* The greater part of the land 

 is {.-radually drifting- into idleness, prdducing so little that it is' a burden 

 to its owners and to the comimmities within whose territory it lies. Some 

 125 thousand square miles have already stopped being productive and a much 

 larger area is only partly productive. The UNPRODUCTIVE Isuid, the Federal 

 foresters say, is beiag abandoned not because of any serious difficulty in 

 kooping it PRODUCTIVE, now because no way to keep it productive is lcio\7n, but 

 because its owners doubt whether timber-growing will pa^. Up until very 

 rocont years, as the virgin timber in one region was cut, there was abvays 

 another virgin supply just over the hill or in the nearby country. But that's 

 not so my more. 



Now let' s take a look at smother side of the question. Government 

 experts sa^' that more wood is used in the United States than in any other 

 country. WE CONSUME AS IIUCH TIMBER FROM TREES LARGE ENOUGH TO SAW OUT LUlfflER 



AS ALL TH2 OTHER COUNTRIES COI/SINED or about 13 BILLION cubic feet in all. 



The United States leads the world in the manufacture of many products made 

 wholly or partly of wood. With only 6 per cent of the world' s population, 

 this coiintry has 35 per cent of the world's railway mileage and for the trans- 

 portation industries alone — including automobiles and railf 'ads — we use nearly 

 as much saw timber per capita as is required for all p\irposes in Great Britain, 

 Germany, or France. We use immense quantities of wood every yeax for making 

 shipping and storing crates, boxes, and barrels. Great forests are used up 

 every year to make pulp for our paper supply. The United States is known all 

 over t'.ie world as the land of wooden houses. We are cutting from our forests 

 about 200 cubic feet of v;ood every j'^ear for each man, woman, and child in the 

 United Str.tes. 



Of course, the United States isn't alone among the nations of the v/orld 

 when it comes to using wood. Some folks think that wood is more or less ciit of 

 date and that it' s rapidly being replaced by cheaper materials or better 

 materials. That doesn't seem to be so. Newsprint and other woodpulp products — 

 automobiles — phonographs — radio cabinets — and many other articles requiring 

 large quantities of wood, have come into extensive use within a generation. 

 It seems that no sooner do we find substitutes for wood than new uses for 

 ^ood oj'ise. Mrny foreign countries have learned the truth of that . 



China is the classic exair^ile of a nation that has suffered from an ex- 

 hausted wood-pile. Some 2,500 yeaxs ago, China was abundantly supplied rdth 

 forests. The population increased rapidly and the people cut the timber as it 

 was needed, wastefully and without thought for the future. At first, the 

 Government seldom or never interfered. Land clearings wasteful cutting- 

 repeated forest fires, continuing throughout many centuries, gradually pushed 

 the forests back until they are confined to the least accessible parts of the 

 mountains todoy. To got timber down to the main consuming centers of the 

 cotmtry traces from 6 months to 3 years. This has put timber into the luxury 

 class in China and the general public can't afford it. In many districts, tim- 

 ber large enough to make boards is so scarce that practically none is used 

 save for the manufacture of coffins. 



Let's carry the story a step further. Since wood for building or ^"or 

 fuel can't be gotten, you'd naturally expect the Chinese to turn to sub- 

 stitutes, such as coal, brick, cement, and steel. The country has these and 



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