The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-06
IMPORTANCE OF THE FORESTS.
THE PRESIDENTS ADDRESS TO
THE FORESTRY CONGRESS-.
he says the Great Industries OF ASricul-
ture, transportation. Mining and
Grn ling Are Dependent on tho Woods
POLICY OF tho Administration

reaaon Of the presence Of President Roose-
welt. who delivered n carefully prepared
address on forest preservation and the
necessity Of replenishing the supply OF
timber by Intelligent. scientific effort The
President was received with much en-
thusiasm by the delegates and their friends,
who occupied all the seats and nearly all
the standing room in the New National
Theatre
The President addressed the meeting at
= o'clock Seated on the platform were
Secretary OF Agriculture Wilson. Howard
Elliott president Of the Northern Pacific
Railroad and many other persons who ha va
lent their names and their efforts TO the
cause Of forestry. Mr. Roosevelt caused
much enthusiasm when he inter ected into
his prepared speech the remark
There are among the men Of the West
those who skin the land and those who
develop the country. l am always for the
men who develop the country: am, every
tine against those who skin the land
President Roosevelt's speech was az
follows
II is a pleasure to greet the members
q the American Forestry Congress. You
haze made by your coming a meeting that
is without a parallel in the history OF for
estrv For the fret time the great business
ar1 forest interests OF the nation have
ioInod together. their delegates altogether
worthy If the organizations they represent.
10 consider their individual and their com
mon interests in the forest. This meeting
NAV we'll he called congress OF forest
users for that you are users Of the forest,
conc together to consider how best to
combine use with conservatism. is TO me
mil n the most hopeful possible promise
for our forests.
The producers. the manufacturers and
the great common carriers Of the nation
bad long failed to realize their true and
vital relation to the great forests Of the
United States. and forests and industries
both suffered from that failure. But the
time OF indifference and misunderstanding
has gone by. Your coming ia very great
step toward the solution OF the forest prob
lena problem which cannot be settled
until It il settled right. And II cannot
he settled right until the forces which bring
that settlement about come not from the
Government. not even from the newspapers
and from public sentiment in general,
but from the active, intelligent and effective
interest Of the men TO whom the forest is
important from the business point of view,
because they use it and its products; and
whose interest is therefore concrete. instead
Of general and difuse.
i do not in the least underrate the power
OF an awakened public opinion; but in the
hnal test II viii he the attitude of the in
dustries of the country which more than
ANYTHING else will determine whether or
not our forests are TO be preserved This
is true because by far the greater part Of
all orr forests must pass into the hands Of
forest users, whether directly or through
tho Government which will continue TO
hold some Of them. but only as trustee.
The forest il for use and its users viii decide
its future
The great Significance of this congress
comes from the fact that henceforth the
movement for the conservative use of the
forest is 10 come mainly from within. not
from withotS from tho men who are actively
Interested in the use OF the forest in one
way or another even more than from those
rhose interest is phanthropic and general,
The difference means to large extent the
difference between mere agitation and actual
execution between the hope of accom-
plshment and the thing done We believe
tina, at last forces have been set in motion
which will convert the once distant prospect
Of tho conservation Of the forests bv their
wise use into the practical accomplish
ment Of that great end; and Of this most
hopeful and significant fact the coming
together Of this congress is sufficient proof
The place Of the forest in the life Of any
nation is far too large TO be described inthe
time at my command This ~ peculiarly
,rle Of III place in the United States The
great industries Of agriculture, transporta-
ton mining grazing and, Of course. lum-
herring are each one of them vitality and
immediate ely dependent upon wood water
or gas from the forest The manufacture
ir ia ,rf, kofb ar not
directly into the finished product are
scarcely II at all. less dependent upon the
forest than those whose connect ion with
II Is obvious and direct. Wood Is an in
dsneusable part Of the material structure
unor which civihzat ION rest = and civilized
lie makes continually greater demands
on the fores,
We use. not less wood but more. For
example. although we consume relatively
less wood and relatively more steel or
brick or cement in certain industries than
WAS once the case. vet IN every Instance
which ! recall. while the relative proper
tion ia less the actual increase in the amount
n wood used is very great. Thus the
consumption Of wood in shpbulding Is far
larger than II was before the discovery Of
The an Of building iron ships because
vastly more ships are built. Larger sup
Pile ~ building humber are required. di-
rer'Iv or indirectly. for Use IN the con-
N0icfion Of brick and stqel and stone
structures Of grea' modern cities than were
consumed by the comparatively few and
comparatively small wooden buildings in
the earlier stages Of tho same cities. What
ever materials may be substitute ed for wood
IN certain Uses We may confidently expect
that the total demand for wood will not
diminish but steadily increase.
II i- a fair question. then, whether the
vast demands Of the future upon our forests
s-e likely 70 be met No man is a true
lover N his country whose confidence in its
progress and greatness Is limited to the
period OF his own life. and We cannot afford
Tor one instant 10 forget that our country
sony al tho beginning OF its growth. I'm
Joss the forests Of the United States can be
made ready 10 meet the vast demands,
which This growth will inevitably bring,
commercial disaster Is inevitable. The rail
roads must have ties. and the best opinion
q tho experts is that no substitute has
heen We, discovered which will satisfac-
iorllv replace the wooden ties. This Is
largely due 10 the great and continually
increasing speeds at which our trains are
nun
Tho miner must have timber or he cannot
operate his mine and in very many cases
the profit which mining yields is directly
pronorionate 70 the cost Of the timber
supply The farmer. East and West. mus,
raNc timber for numberless uses on his
farm and he must be protected by forest