E-USN *-2" ,H, 12-6-29 



into idleness, J)5:*oducing so little thsLt it is a iDurden to its owners and to the 

 cornmmiities within whose tet-iritoty it lies, fe6tn^ IBS thousand sq\3are miles have 

 already sto;pped being productive and a much larger area is ohly p&rtly productive* 

 The ItN^RODUCTIVE land, the federal foresters say, is being abandoned not because 

 of any serious difficulty in keeping it PRODUCTIVE, nor because no way to keep.it 

 productive is known, but because its owners doubt whether timber-growing will pay. 

 Up until very recent years, as the virgin timber in one region was cut, there Wa'ff? 

 always another virgin supply just over the hill or in the -^aearby country. But 

 that's not so any more. 



Now Xet's take a look at another side of the question. G-overnment experts 

 say that more wood is used in the United States than in any other country. IE 

 COIISUIvIE AS MUCH TIICBER FROM TREES lARSE ENOUGH TO SAW OUT LmtBER AS ALL THE OTHER 



COUITTRIES COffilNED or about 13 BILLIOIT cubic feet in all. The United States 



leads the world in the manufacture of many oroducts made wholly or partly of wood. 

 With only 5 per cent of the world's population, this country has 35 per cent of 

 the world's railv/ay mileage and for the transportation industries alone-^ including 

 automobiles and railroads — we' use nearly as much saw timber per capita as is re- 

 quired for all purposes in Great Britain, Germany, or France, We use immense 

 quantities of wood every year 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 knowii all over the world as tHe.land of wooden houses. We 

 are cutting from our forests about 200 cubic feet of wood every year for each man, 

 woman, and child in the United States. 



Of course, the United States isn't alone among the nations of the world when 

 it comes to using wood. Some folks thiiik that wood is more or less out of date 

 and tliat it's rapidly being replaced by cheaper materials or better materials. 

 That doesn't seem to be so. Newsprint aud other woodpulp products — automobiles- 

 phonographs — radio cabinets — and many other articles requiring large quantities 

 of wood, have come into extensive use within a generation. As a matter of fact, 

 as populations grow and as living standards rise and human wajits become more 

 complex, timber consuiiption increases in spite of the tendency to use wood more 

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

 uses for wood arise. Many foreign countries have learned the truth of that , 



China is the classic example of a nation that has suffered from an exhausted 

 wood-pile. Some 2,500 years ago, China was abundantly supplied with 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 interferedo Land clearings wasteful cutting — repeated forest fires, 



continuing throughout many centuries, gradually pushed the forests back uatil 

 they are confined to the least accessible parts of the mountains today. To get 

 timber down to the main consuming centers of the country takes 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, timber large e rough 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 for fuel 

 can't be gotten, you'd naturally expect the Chinest to turn to substitutes, such 

 as coal, brick, cement, and steel* The country has these and other mineral re- 

 sources in plenty. But without timber, it's impossible to use the substitutes. 

 The few coal mines that are developed depend largely on imported timber for 

 props, lagging, and other needed construction material. The railroads that carry 

 the coal rim on wooden ties brought in from J^anchuria. Japan, or North America, 

 Small native iron foundries use charcoal brought for many long miles on boats 



