Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-11-27
TIMBER PROPERTY TAXES.
The Stripped Timber Land OF Name
and the Consequences to the State.

of land taxation is driving lumbermeh
to stripping their lands preparatory to
them-to withdrawing
their Investments in favor of others
Welding an annual return.
All lunlbermen know this to be true
but. through lack Of definite Informal
ton. many, outside the trade. deny II.
To n lay;nan a vast stretch OF APP
parently unbroken forest may appear
to contain an indefinitely large supply
of timber. and so it dOes-of KIND
hut the kind may have no present COM
mercial value.
The lumberman can tell by glance
over the treetops of forest whether IL
still holds pine or spruce in any quaint
jty. and what, to the layman. appears
to be valuable unbroken forest. to him
is but cut-uvcr land with no useful
mature timber.
tract covered with a mixed growth
of pine, spruce and hardwoods. Will
not, after the soft wood is removed,
unless the hardwood is removed also,
again produce full sized pine or spruce
in like quantity for two or three hum
drei years.
The soft wood may start up from
seeds, and the spruce may continue
growing very slowly, but the pine Will
witler and die out.
The reason for this is that all trees.
to have a normal growth, must have
sunlight. which the pine and spruce
seedlings, under the dense leafy
of hardwood trees. do not get.
Spruce, requiring less sun than pine.
will live under these conditions. though
never reaching mature size. but pine
requires much sunlight. and will not
live ut all beyond few years.
For any useful purpose. the hard
woods. at present. are merely weeds
and should be so treated
They will not float down the streams.
being too heavy, and would not take
the place Of pine and spruce if they
did.
From this it is evident that Il town
on which is left practically nothing
but mature hardwoods, has ceased to
be factor in furnishing desirable lum-
Der, and, if left to itself. will not again
become one for too many years to be
considered.
This is one of the conditions referred
to AS stripped land: the other being
where pure growth of soft wood is
entirely cut off. which. while requiring
less time to replace. would still re-
quire the lifetime of or generations.
Such areas can never be reforested
by individuals, for the cost is too great.
and the returns too remote to warrant
it: it must be done by the State or the
Nation.
Already much of Names timberland
is in this condition. but there are still
great areas where the owners have cut
very little but mature timber. and
where. if the young trees can be al
lowed to grow. will. within a reason
able time. again be ready to cut.
This land may be stripped today at
profit. but il it can be allowed to grow
twenty or thirty years. the profit at
the end Of that period will be far
greater, for the crop will be ripe and
full grown.
Were logs to he taxed instead of
land. the State would have the same
interest IN growing the largest posi-
BILE crop that the owner has. for its re-
turns would increase proportionately.
If he cuts his land conServatively.
with an eye to future crops. the lum-
herman is merely drawing his interest,
but # he strips it he withdraws his
principal.
The risk of fire is present every sea-
son. ard while he can work to mini
miZe it. he cannot entirely remove this
grave menace to his property.
To corduct his business successfully,
the price at which he sells his logs
must exceed all his other charges COM
bined, including taxes and interest
charges over growing years. and must
exceed them by enough margin to
cover his fire losses. for they can be
covered in no other way.
1t is perfectly evident to any bust
ness man that if his costs exceed his
returns he will soon be bankrupt, and
1t is quite as evident that if, year by
year, he finds his cost little nearer
his returns, he will seek new fields for
his capital. and stop short of bank
ruptcy if he can.
Many of the large lumber concerns,
with a view to perpetuating their sup
ply. have had cutting plans made by
the u. :. Bureau of Forestry.
But, without exception, these plans
We're rejected. and they have gone on
cutting all the timber they had in the
old way-clearing up one tract and 60
ing to the next
Timber is vital to their existence,
the! know that
What then is the reason. and where
will they look when the last log here is
CUT
The reason for the first is that. under
the present land tax system, to make
the additional investment needed to
perpetuate their timber supply would
be suicidal. for at any time it may be
swept away.
The answer to the second is, for the
present, Canada. whittier they already
turn.
It is not generally known, but Maine
timber interests own or control over
5000 square miles of Canadian timber
land today. for Canadian logs, and
pulp wood, pay neither import nor ex-