The semi-weekly messenger., 1907-12-06

supply this timber are rapidly being
exhausted, and that, il no change takes
place. exhaustion will come compare
lively soon. and that the effects Of
it will be felt severely in the every
day life Of our people. Surely, when
these facts are so obvious, there should
be no delay in taking preventative
measures. Yet we seem as a nation
to be willing to proceed in this matter
with happy-go-lucky indifference even
to the immediate future. It is this
attitude which permits the self-interest
to weigh for more than the ultimate
interest of all our people. There are
persons who find it to their immense
pecuniary benefit to destroy the forests
by numbering. They are to be blamed
for thus sacrificing the future of the
nation as a whole to their own self
interest of the moment; but heavier
blame attaches to the people at large
for permitting such action, whether in
the White Mountains. in the southern
Alleghanies, or in the Rockies and
Sierras.
big numbering company, impa-
tient for immediate returns and not
caring to look far enough ahead, will
often deliberately destroy all the good
timber in a region hoping afterwards
to move on to some new country. The
shiftless man of small means, who does
not care to become an actual home
maker but would like immediate prof
it, will find it to his advantage to take
up timber land simply to turn it owe"
to such big company, and leave it
vslueless for future settlers. A big
mine owner anxiOusly only to devel-
Cp his mine at the moment, will care
Only to cut all the timber that he
wishes without regard to the future
probably not looking ahead to the con-
dition of the country when the forests
are exhausted. any more than he does
to the condition when the mine is work
ed out. I do not blame these men
nearly as much as I blame the supine
public opinion, the Indifferent public
opinion, which permits their action to
go unchecked. Of course to check
the waste Of timber means that there
must be on the part OF the public
acceptance Of a temporary restriction
III the lavish use of timber, in order
to prevent the total loss of this use
in the future. There are plenty of men
in public and private life who actual
ly advocate the continuance Of the
present system of unchecked and waste
ful extravaganza, using as an argument
mean interference with the ease and
comfort of certain people who now get
lumber at less cost than they ought
to pay, at the expense Of the future
generations. Some of these persons
actually demand that the present for
est reserves be thrown open to destruc-
ton, because forsooth, they think that
thereby the price Of lumber could be
put down again for two or three or
more years. Their attitude is precisely
like that of an agitator protesting
against the outlay of money bv farm
ers on manure and in taking care of
their farms generally.
Undoubtedly if the average far
mer were content absolutely to ruin
his farm, he could for two or three
years avoid spending any money on
it, and yet make a good deal of
money out of it. But only saw
age would, in his private affairs,
G
future; yet .. is precisely this reck-
less disregard of the future which
the opponents of the forestry sys-
tenn are now endeavoring to get the
people of the United States to show.
The only trouble with the movement
the preservation of our forests
is that it has not gone far enough,
and was not begun soon enough. It
is most fortunate thing, however,
that we began it when we did We
should acquire in the Appalachian
and White Mountain regions all the
forest lands that it is possible to
acquire for the use of the nation.
These lands, because they form a
national asset, are as emphatically
national as the rivers which they
feed and which flow through so
many states before they reach the
ocean.
TARIFF ON WOOD PULP.
There should be no taft on any
forest product grown in this coun-
try; and, in especial, there should
be no tariff on wood pulp; due no.
tice of the change being of course
given to those engage in the bus
mess so as to enable them to ad-
just themselves to the new condi-
tions. The repeal of the duty on
wood pulp should if possible be &C
companied with an agreement with
Canada that there shall be no ex-
port duty on Canadian pulp wood.
MINERAL LANDS.
In the eastern United States the
mineral fuels have already passed
into the hands Of large private own
ers, and those of the west are rapid
ly following. 1t is obvious that
these fuels should be conserved and
not wasted it would he we'll tn nro-