R-USN - 2 - ia-lS-32 



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already stopped "beiiig productive and k rmich larger area is only partly productive. 

 The UllPRODUCTIVE land, the Federal fbtesters sa;^', is being abandoned not because 

 of any serious diif icuLty in keepiiig it PH0DUCTIV3, nor because no way to keep it 

 productive is loiown^ 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 was 

 alwac^s another virgin supply just over the hill or in the nearby country* But 

 that's not so any :nore. 



Now let's take a look at another side of the question. Government experts say 

 that more wood is used in the United States than in any other country, UE COiTSUlffi 

 AS IIUCH TlliBER FROil TRZES LARGS EITOUGH TO SAT7 OUT LUIffiER AS ALL TIE OTHER C0U2ITRISS 



COIBIHED or about 13 BILLION cubic feet in all. The United States loads the 



World in the manufacture of many products made wholly or partly of wood, 7ith only 

 6 per cent of the world's population, this country has 35 ner cent of the world's 

 railway mileage and for the transportation industries alone — including automobiles 

 and railroads — we use nearly as much saw timber per capita as is required for all 

 purposes in Great Britain, Germany, or Erance, I7e 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 p"ulp for our paper supply. The United States is 

 kno\vn all over the world as the land of wooden houses, 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 anoug the nations of the world when 

 it comes to using wood. Sor.ie folks think that wood is more or less out of date 

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

 That doesn't seen to be so. Newsprint and other woodpulp products — automobiles — 

 phonographs — radio cabinets — and many other articles r«qtilJflss large quantities of 

 wood, have come into extensive use within a generation. It seems that no sooner 

 do we find substitutes for wood that new uses for wood arise. Many foreign coun- 

 tries 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, waste- 

 fully 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 con- 

 fined to the least accessible parts of the moimtains today. To get timber do\7n 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 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 for fuel 

 can't be gotten, you'd naturally expect the Chinese 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 

 run on wooden ties brought in from Manchuria, Japan, or North America, Small 

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



