The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1902-01-23
OUR PINE FORESTS.

l. = . I'LL a
is numbering, and it has contributed
millions of dollars to the wealth Of the
State, but it has been conducted in the
past on plan that has robbed future
generations of just Inheritance in the
shape of perpetual forest areas and re-
serves. The history of the march of
the lum bermen from the southern
limit Of the pine belt to the extreme
north is a history of extravaganza and
slaughter. The chief desire has been
to get all the pine and let the ''cut-
over" country take care of itself The
streams and lakes of the lower nine
belt have been stripped, of all the pine
and to-day the same policy is being
pursued throughout the northern pine
belt. The Indian reservations have
been rich harvests for the lumberman
who like the average business man is
in the business for no sentimental pur-
poses but for what he can get out of it.
In the early days of numbering when
the country was a mass of pine there
was little thought given by the people,
the State or government for the pres
ervation of at least portion of our
pine area under forestry reserve
systems. To- day we are face to face
with serious proposition, and that is,
shall we continue the slaughter on to
the farthermost limits of the State or
shall we insist on the government
holding the balance of the timber on
the reservations and have it cut sub
ject to rigid forestry regulations, and
preserve the remaining pine forests as
heritage to the generations to follow.
There is great fight on now by north
ern Minnesota interests to throw open
the Chippewa reservation for settle
ment. That is fair enough PROPOSE
ton, provided that the agricultural
lands only are thrown open to settle
ment. If the people of northern Min
nesota and the national government
will be sincere in the matter they will
set apart all the remaining area of pine
and have the same placed under the
supervision of the forest experts of the
government. This would guarantee
police patrol of the reserve and the
cutting only of such timber as is abso-
lutely necessary. This would include
the dead and down and the ripe timber,
but would not permit of a wholesale
slaughter of the pine. All timber
bordering on large lakes and water
ways should be preserved intact. Such
system should have been put in
operation at the time the Mile Laos
reservation was thrown open to SETTLE
ment, and enough pine left standing
around that beautiful lake to add to. its
picturesqueness and beauty, to osay
nothing of healthfulness. We are bur-
dened with commercialism, and it is
high time we became imbued with a
little sentiment.
H. H. Chapman Of Grand Rapids in
an article on Forestry in Minnesota"
says: Forestry is, more than lumber
ing. To the umbermen forest is
moving trees as cheaply as possible.
TO the forester it is community of
living trees, capable of reproducing
themselves, and perpetuating the for
est forever-and to this end he shapes
his plans. That the lumberman's stand
point is one of dollars and cents is not
remarkable. What other business is
there which is not conducted from this
standpoint"
Mr.. Chapman, in speaking of the
necessity of placing this pine under
the protection of the government, says:
''The improvement of this opportunity
for our State lies in the hands of seven
men, our national legislators. Let US
hope they will not stop short of placing
the control of the cutting of this pine
in the hands of the forestry experts of
the government. But in any case it
must be clearly recognized that once
the title to the fraction of the reserva-
ton known as pine lands passes into
private hands, all hope OF regenerating
the forest is lost, and Minnesota will
some day realize with sorrow her ig-
norant short-sightedness.'
The triangular debate by Messrs.
Bede, Cation and Stewart is an inter-
esting one, judging from the press &C.
counts. Stewart says the government