The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-06


Roosevelt was the principal speaker at
special session of the American For
est congress held this afternoon at the
National theatre. Secretary Wilson pre-
sided over the session and many OF the
most distinguished people in official and
social life were in the auditorium. On
the stage were many prominent mem
bers of the forest congress-.
President Roosevelt was the first speak
er. The Presidents address was pune
tuated frequently with applause. He
said:
President Roosevelt Speaks.
ut is a pleasure to greet the members
Of the American Forest congress. You
have made, by your coming, a meeting
which is without parallel in the history
OF forestry. For the first time the great
business and the forest interests of the
nation have Joined together, through del
egates altogether worthy of the organ
izations they represent to consider their
individual and their common interests in
the forest This meeting may well be
called congress of forest users, for that
you are users of the forest, come to-
gether to consider how best to combine
use with conservation, is to me full OF
the most hopeful possible promise for
our forests.
THE producers, the manufacturers and
the great common carriers of the nation
had long failed to realize their true and
vital relation to the great forests of tine
United States and forests and industries
both suffered for that failure. But the
time of indifference and misunderstanding
has gone by. Your coming is a very
great step toward the solution of the
forest problem-a problem which cannot
be settled until 1t Is settled right. And
it cannot be settled right until the forces
which bring that settlement about come,
not from the government, not even from
the newspapers and public sentiment in
general but from the active, intelligent
and effective interest of the men to
whom the forest is important from a
business point of view, because they use
it and its products and whose interest
is therefore concrete instead of general
and diffuse. / do not in the least under
rate the power of an awakened public
opinion; but in the final test it will be
the attitude of the industries of the
country which more than anything else
will determine whether or not our for
ests must pass into the hands of the for
est users, whether directly or through
the government, which will continue to
hold some of them, but only as trustee
The forest is for use and its users will
decide its future.
Comes From Those Interested.
THE great significance of this Congress
comes from the fact that henceforth
the movement for the conservative use
of the forest Is to come mainly from
within, not from without; from the men
who aptiyalV int In he Of
the forest in one way or another, even
more than from those who's, interest is
philanthropic and general. The difference
means to a large extent the difference
between mere agitation and actual exec,t-
ton. between the hope of accomplishment
and the thing done. We believe that at
last forces have been set in motion which
will convert the once distant prospect
OF the conservation of the forest by wise
use into the practical accomplishment
of that great end and of this most hope
full and significant fact the coming to-
gether of this Congress Is the sufficient
proof.
1.-The place of the forest in the life
of any nation is far too large to be
described in the time at my command
This is particularly true of it's place
IL the United States. The great indus
tries of agriculture. transportation. min
are each one of them vitality and immed-
lately dependent upon wood, water or
grass from the forest The manufacturing
Industries, whether or not wood enters
directly into their finished product, are
scarcely If at all. less Dependent upon
the forest than those whose connection
with 1t is obvious and direct.
Wood Is Indispensable.
Wood is an Indispensable part of the
material structure on which civilization
rests. and civilized life makes continually
greater demands on the forests. We use
not less wood, but more. For example. al
though we consume relatively less wood
and relatively more steel or brick, of ce-
ment in certain industries than was once
the case, yet in every instance which l
recall, while the relative proportion is less
the actual increase in the amount of wood
used Is very great. Thus the consumption
of wood in ship building is far larger than
1t was before the discovery of the art of
building iron ships. because vastly more
ships are built. Larger supplies of build
ing lumber are required, directly or in
directly, for use in the construction of
the brick and steel and stone structures
of great modern cities than were con-
sumed by the comparatively few and COM
Laratively small wooden buildings in the
earlier stages of these same cities. What
ever materials may be substituted for
wood In certain uses we may confidently
expect that the total demand for wood
will not diminish but steadily increase.
'It is a fair question. whether the vast
demands OF the future upon our forests
are likely to be met No man is true
lover of his country whose confidence in
the progress and greatness is limited to
the period of his own lire, ana we cannot
afford for one instant to forget that our
country is only at the beginning of its
growth. Unless the forests of the United
States can be made ready to meet the
vast demands which this growth Will in
evitably bring, commercial disaster Is in
evitable. The railroads must have tics,
and the best opinion of the experts Is
that no substitute has yet been discov-
cred which will satisfactorily replace the
wooden tie
This is largely due to the great and
continually increasing speeds at which
our trains are run. The miner must
have timber or he cannot operate his
mine, and very many cases the profit
which mining yields is directly proper
tionate to the cost of the timber supply.
The farmer east and west must have tim
Ter for numberless uses on his farm. and
he must be protected by forest cover
upon the head-waters of the streams he
uses against floods In the east and the
lack of water for irrigation in the west
The stockman must have fence posts and
very often he must have summer range
for his stock in the national forest re-
serves. In word, both the production
of the great staple on which our pros
perity depends and their movement in
commerce throughout the United States
are inseparably dependent on the exis-
tence Of permanent and suitable supplies
from the forest at a reasonable cost