Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-04-27

UnuI recently the Uniteu otates
 practically ranked with China in for.
 est affairs, for neither of these coun'
 tries had taken steps to care for the forests as every other civilized na.
 tion has dono. Meantime the pro gressive modern nations had forged
 far to the front in this regard. Fur. key, Greece, Spain. Portugal, had given attention to their forests. and Japan had developed forest service and national forest school. In Australia, Italy. Norway and Sweden forestry had become part of the na- tional life. while Russia was drawing enormous revenues from government woodlands. Germany, the leader in the science of forestry. France, with its perfected system of forest prac. tice, and Switzerland. offered practi- cal examples for our emulation and imitation. Australia and New Zea- land had made important advances. while in Canada, at the Cape of Good Hope, and in British India the Eng fish had shown us the way to solve many of our forest problems. The United States, as if surrounded by a Chinese wall, alone was at stand. still.
 The great western forests are the first of the three chief natural re. sources of the public lands for which . policy at all commensurate with the new requirements has been framed and put in force. If we have been behind other civilized countries. and even some uncivilized countries. in this provision for the future. there is every reason to believe that we are now making up for lost time and that the United States is destined to become a leader among nations
 Partly because we are, as a peo- pie, characteristically less inclined to build homes of stone and brick. but are satisfied with houses of wood, no other country uses for building pur. poses by any means so much timber, man for man, as this country. Again. because we move so rapidly and are 50 rich in initiative and the spirit of enterprise. we lead the world in the extent and growth of our railroad sys- tems. Think of using. as we do, about 100.000.000 ties per annum for renewals alone. To produce these from forest of lodge pole pine in Montana or Wyoming would take 20.- 100000 acres of permanent forest: from a red pine forest in one of the lake states. 100000 acres: from chestnut forest in Maryland and Pennsylvania. from l0.00o.000 to 1s.- 100000 acres: from a loblolly forest in Virginia and the Carolinas. 5000. 900 acres. Roughly. they cost s40.- 100000 year. Yet this single drain upon the forest--not to consider fuel. which probably takes at least as much as constructlor-calls for two ties growing in the forest for every tie laid down in the track. Then take the timber for mines. for which. for example. single coal mining com pany spends si.oo0.000 month. That is another enormous demand. These and other uses for wood. including pulpwood for paper. which takes about nine per cent of all timber cut, have already been pushed so far that. TO matter what is done. we are bound to have and keenly feel a national timber shortaee-not a famine to the extent of painful want. but a sharp twinge of wood hunger This cannot be prevented. but 1t can be pslliafed- One of the first boons of forestry vfI be to help cs ss people to keep going