The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1907-12-03

the long run is most hurt by permit
ting thefts of the public land In what
ever form.
Optimism is good characteristic,
but II carried to an excess II becomes
foolishness. We are prone TO speak OF
the resources of this country as mex
haustible. This is not SO. The mineral
wealth of the country, the coal, iron,
oil. gas and the like, does not repro
duce itself and therefore is certain to
be exhausted ultimately, and wasteful-
ness In dealing with ii today means
that our descendants Will feel the eX-
haustion a generation or two before
they otherwise would. But there are
certain other forms of waste which
could be entirely stopped. The waste
of soil by washing, for instance, which
is among the most dangerous OF all
wastes now in progress In the United
States. is easily preventable, so that
this present enormous loss of fertility
is entirely unnecessary. The preserva-
ton or replacement Of the forests Is
one of the most important means OF
preventing this loss. We have made
beginning In forest preservation, but II
is only beginning. At present lum-
bering is the fourth greatest industry
In the United States, and yet so rapid
has been the rate of exhaustion OF tim
ber in the United States in the past
and so rapidly is the remainder being
exhausted that the country is unques-
tionably on the verge of a timber fam
ine which will be felt in every house
hold in the land. There has already
been rise in the price of lumber, but
there is certain to he more rapid ana
heavier rise in the future. The present
annual consumption OF lumber Is GER
tainly three times as great as the an
nual outgrowth. and if the consump-
tion and growth continue unchanged
practically all our lumber will be ex-
hausted i'm another generation, while
long before the limit to complete eX-
haustion is reached the growing scar
city will make itself felt in many
blighting ways upon our national wei
fare. About 20 per cent of our forested
territory is now reserved in national
forests. but these do not include the
most valuable timber lands, and In any
event the proportion is too small to eN-
pect that the reserves can accomplish
more than "A mitigation of the trouble
which is ahead for the nation. Far
more drastic action IL needed. Forests
can be numbered so as To give to the
public the full use of their mercantile
timber without the slightest detriment
70 the forest, any more than ii is
detriment to a farm to furnish a har
vest. so that there is no parallel be-
tween forests and mines, which can
only be completely used by exhaustion.
But forests, If used as all our forests
have been used in the past and as
most OF them are still used, will be
either wholly destroyed or SO damaged
that many decades have to pass before
effective use can be made of them
again.
All these facts are so obvious that 1t
Is extraordinary that 1t should be nec-
cssary to repeat them. Every business
man In the land, every writer In the
every man or woman Of an
ordinary school education, ought to be
able to see that immense quantities OK
timber are used in the country, that
the forests which supply this timber
are rapidly being exhausted and that
n no change takes place exhaustion
will come comparatively soon and that
the effects Of IL will be felt severely
In the everyday life of our people.
Surely when these facts are so 'obvi-
Gus there should be no delay I'm taking
preventive measures. Yet we seem as
a nation to be willing to proceed in
this matter with happy go lucky indif-
even to the immediate future.
1t Is this attitude which permits the
self interest of very few persons to
weigh for more than the ultimate in
terest Of all our people. There are per-
sons who find it to their immense pc
cuniary 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 in
terest of the moment, but heavier
blame attaches to the people at large
for permitting such action, whether in
the White mountains, in the southern
Alleghanles or in the Rockies and Sler-
ras. A biz numbering company, impa-
tent for immediate returns and not
caring To look far enough ahead, will
often deliberately destroy all the good
timber I'm region, hoping afterward
to move on 10 some new country. The
shiftless man Of small means who does
not care TO become an actual home
maker. but would like immediate prof
Il, will find IL TO his advantage to take
up timber land simply TO turn it over
to such a. big company and leave II
valueless for future settlers. A big
mine owner. anxious only to develop
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 condition of
the country when the forests are ex-
hausted any more than he does TO the