The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-23
DESTRUCTION AND PREPARATION.

Ahoio 10 an oiu saying 70 tHc eheSe
that II our foresight was as good as
our h'rdsight we would be much bet
ter of, and in nothing has this been
more fully illustrated than in the
course pursued in this country with
regard to the forests and the timber
supply. OF the Americans as whole
1t may with truth be said that we are
q race of destroyers instead of conser-
vators II the land owners of this
country-any section of it--of even
half a century ago could have foreseen
and fully appreciated the conditions
now existing they would have pursued
q different line; provided, of course.
they were not wholly Indifferent to
the future, as many of them doubt
less were, and are yst. for that mat
ter.
! / r. trouble with the early settlers
was that they could not realize the
possibility of future timber famine.
They saw about them immense forests.
seemingly inexhaustible. and could not
see ahead 1T will last my time" was
the view they took of it. ard so the
work of destruction went on without
ceasing. Now we are told that in
many sections of the West, there the
mighty forests once stood, fuel Is be-
ing bought from a distance by farm
ers whose lands once contained tim
Der enough to have lasted a century
If any care had been exercised in its
preservation. but they ruthlessly
slaughtered 1t and are now even
without fuel at home.
The price of nearly all kinds of lum-
Der has about doubled within ten years
and some kinds have gone much high
er. Not only that, but the dlfficulty
Of getting first-class lumber is con-
stantly increasing. and any one who
understands lumber qualities has only
to go about the shops, or watch the
houses that are being built, to see that
much of the material being used is of
second or third grade. Not only is
first-class lumber scarce, but the price
practically bars it from being used in
building homes of moderate cost. Now
when most of the damage has been
ening to the situation. The Indianapo-
lis Star in a recent editorial says:
The situation has called to action the
National Association of Box Manufac-
turers. which is now engaged in
campaign to secure an accurate report
In the next census of the standing tim
Der in the country The figures would,
no doubt, be startling and Instructive,
similar lines, will be of value In arous-
ing the country to the seriousness or
the problem and the need of action
Certainly anything that tends in that
direction deserves encouragement, ana
IL Is a safe proposition that every con-
gresham who stands for advanced for
estry legislation will have as little
cause to regret it hereafter as did those
who stood for homestead laws.
But even more than governmental
action is individual action needed. Any
farmer can well afford to put in day
gathering a bushel or two of walnuts
or hickory nuts, or acorns, and plant
ing them on some of his waste lands.
He may say the growth will be too
slow to do him any good. What OF
posterity? If Johnny Appleseed' had
taken that view there would have peen
far less fruit for the present and pre-
ceding generation. Can each one not
give day to the good work to which
he gave his life? And any farmer can
utiifsa sdoa N timber snsfea& ofywasting
| It. If the Government should do all
TIA ttha tiostlarderit advocates sof for
! estrv ask of IT, 1t would be hardly more
than a drop In the bucket and its CHIEF
value would be educational. A great
| popular movement Will be needed 10
secure any adequate remedy for this
evil
The old saying about locking the
stable door after the horse has been
stolen almost applies here. though
there is still something left which may
he saved II proper warnings are CIV
en- and proper steps taken. What is
perhaps of more general and wide
spread Importance ID, to get up gem
eraI interest In tree4planting and cul-
tiyation. TO refuse to plant trees be-
| cause the planter may not live to be
benefited is a short sighted and sell
| fish feeling. On the same theory a
man might refuse to accumulate and
preserve land. money or anything Tor
his family and descendants. The man
who plants trees Is putting something
| in the bank for those who come after
them. The next best thing to avoid
ing or preventing a wrong is to repair
it. Much wrong has been done in the
waste of our priceless forests, but al
least something can be done towards
repairing that wrong. and the time is
now and always present.