New-York tribune., 1907-08-30
TIMBER FAMINE ON.
Statement by Secretary W'lson
14fter Inspecting Forests.
rFrom The Tribune Bureau

Washington Aug 2a-''The timber famine Is
upon the United States already" said James VIII
son Secretary of Agriculture who returned TO-
day from weeks inspection OF the private anu
national forests of the Pacific Coast
Lumber costs twice as much to-day as !" o'u
ten years ago. The price is steadily advancing a"1
the supply available timber is decreasing 1he
Puget Sound section shipping daily hundreds OF
carloads of lumber to the East This Is uSeu
throughout the Mississippi Valley. and some OF IL
comes as far East Boston. The mines tifoush-
out the country great quantities or II. Inc
single small section of the Cour Alehe uis''io'
consumes twenty carloads a day
The mines will be the first place where tiio
scarcity will pinch This is due to the fact that
large timbers are used in the mines. and ths cisS
of timber will the first to be exhausted anu 'iie
hardest to produce again. The call OF the hts'
upon the Pacific Coast will be shut on Temporarily
by an added SO thousand which the raiirodus are
contemplating putting the transportation charse
When the Panama Canal is completed, ho"eVei'
cheap transportation will be again estaohsheo -
the East. and the demand will reappear.
The difficulty of getting timber VIII increase
gradually hut surely and the face of the present
demand 1t would be bard to say how severe tie
conditions will be ten. twenty or tnlrty years
hence. .,
Vast quantities of timber being wantoniS
DESTROYED every year. This destruction taxes p"ce
on lands which are privately owned, and is due III
large part to the fact that when the big TIMBER Is
cut the branches are LETT to dry ana become III
Then when n is started IL deNas,i'o'
great stretches of land. killing all the young ti-
her and in many instances leaving an aoSoiu.o
desert behind it. Large lumber companies "hi0h
formerly did the same thing In Michigan pave s'
West and bought great tracts OF iand ana WHY"
the big timber has been harvested they nave 'ane
no further interest In lands. and have allowed
the fires to destroy the forests of the tutule
These lards are privately owned and there Is ho
way Of restraining man from DONG as re p'ea'e
with his own property 49,.
I can that promises tInDer hof 'iie
future IS that section that protected by the ma
,ure timber Is allowed TO be cut, and all waste Is
There will be certain amounts Of timber maturing
indefinitely Fire destroyed only $4,000 worth OF
timber on the whole OF the forest reserves last
wear while the figures O. lumber people show
that more than s350.oo0 damage was done by hre III
the State of Washington alone
Congress has refused to allow the President 10
put more lands the reserve. and the position
Of the department is merely that of protecting the
timber it already has under its care"
Secretary Wilson is greatly impressed with the
remarkable prosperity throughout the West He
saws that all the people have abundance OF
money. and that crops are good. Wall street, ne
adds is too far removed from the West for its In
fluence be felt in money matters. He believes
that the West is oantng money TO the East and
that will continue 10 do So He says there are
enemies of the administration of for
est reserves but many more friends, and that the
West Will demand man IN thorough sympathy
with the Roosevelt policies FOR the next Republi-
Presidential candidate