The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-30
SAYS SAVE THE TIMBER
SOUTH SEEKS TO PRESERVE ITS
 FORESTS,
And Diversity AgricuIture-POlicy of Development Which Aims at Con- tiRued Supremacy fin the COt-
 ton Production,
Washington Post.

Washington Post.
 There probably Is no man more fla
 miliar with the development of the Southern States than M. V. Richards of this city. He is recognized as an au- thority on the subject. having been in
 strumental in no small degree in
 bringing about the industrial and com mercIal conditions which now prevail
 in that section.
 As head of the land industrial de-
 partment of the Southern and Mobile and Ohio Railroads, MT. Richards has had an opportunity to study the affairs
 of the Southern States, and is possessed
 of a vast amount of information.
 "The laborious initiatory work in connection with the exploitation of the
 South seems to be at an end" MT Rich
 ards observed. T don't mean by this
 that we have by any means accom- pIishcd all the work desired in the way
 of enlisting capital and men in devcl- opng the South. I mean that the growth in these directions has gathered such momentum that we feel con-
 strained to change, to some extent, at least, the character of our promotion work, giving particular attention to questions of conservation. The study is now how not to repeat the mistakes which have resulted in the partial inn poverishment of other sections through the reckless waste of their natural wealth. We are now cooperating with
 the Bureau of Forestry and with lead ing lumber men of the South in plans | looking to the preservation of timber resources through the application of | approved forestry methods in lumber | ing and other timber operations. As the South possesses fully one-third of the standing timber Of the country, and | is now the Mecca toward which the ! .1 frtrr Tar af FG journeying. the importan1e of this work can not be questioned.
 '1The same problem has confronted us in regard to cotton territory. There have been grave fears that the con tinued production of cotton to the ex- clusion of other things would soon in- vite the penalty which nature invari- ably exacts, where she is abused, and that very soon in the4future we would see the South's production of this staple far below the worlds requirementS-a condition of things which would stimu- late the experiments with cotton grow ing which are being conducted under Government auspices in other parts of the world. and, possibly, in time rob us of our supremacy
 "The cotton crop of 1904 has silenced such predictions; 1t was so much larger than anybody had presumed to predict lthat no question is now entertained that
 the South will be able for many years to come to keep pace with the world g needs. The cause of this improved out
 look for cotton Is not far to seek; it is the first fruits of agitation for a sys- tenn of diversified agriculture. As plan-
 tations are succeeded by farms. and as
 the farms continue to diminish in size,
 and the farmers continue to increase in numbers, the future of cotton growing becomes more safely assured. The
 farm in the States traversed by the
 Southern Railway has been cut down nearly twenty-five acres in the past eleven years, and this. of course, means closer tillage and the greater variety
 of products which the general purpose farm yields.
 "The development of the South Is not accompanied with much noise; there are no crowds on the border of the
 promised land breathlesslZ awaiting tc