The Yale expositor., 1908-10-02
IT'S WILD TALK
SAYS PIERCE
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ON
AMOUNT OF LOSSES BY
FOREST FIRES.
CAUSED BY RENEGADES
The Conditions From Two Points Of
View Are Worth Serious considera-
ton BY the People.

View Are Worth Serious considera-
ton BY the People.
The devastation and destruction
by forest fires of $10,000,000 worth
of timber lands; the loss of thou
sands of dollars worth of personal
property and the endangering OF
hundreds of human lives is the
direct result of faulty state, county
and township government. All this
loss and all this danger to life could
easily be avoided were the political
economic policies of the state r,cog-
nized as of some Importance and put
upon a sane, business-like basis"
This Is the emphatic statement Of
Dr. Filbert Roth, head of the forestry
department of the University of Mich
gan and state forestry warden.
THE history of this years fires,
which may be numbered as among
the most serious in that OF the state,
is but a repetition of all the fires,
large and small, that the state has
suffered. These waves of destruction
are set in motion, not as the natives
would have you believe-by the city
guy who goes into the woods to
camp and hunt, but by class of de-
generates who frequent the sparsely
settled districts and have no prop
erty of their own.
These men are renegades who for
reasons best known to themselves
elect to avoid those regions where
law and order prevail; they are
criminals in hiding.
1--WE have definite proof that these.
scoundrels have this year deliberately
set a large proportion of the fires
from which we have suffered. They
seem to take wanton pleasure in
driving along the woods-trails and
throwing lighted matches into the
dry grass and brush; they endanger
life and property either out of pure
cussedness of for the excitement OF
the thing
THAT is about the widest talk l
ever heard" says State Game and
Fish Warden Pierce, of the inter
view given by Prof. Roth, of the u.
of NJ, regarding forest conditions as
the professor sees them. 81 don't
want to minimize the danger nor the
amount of damage from the fires
says Mr.. Pierce. The condition is
the most serious we have had since
1871; but Prof Roth talks like wild
man when he says that 100000 of
forest property has been destroyed.
The professor has been up in Ros-
common and Crawford counties,
where the forest reserves are. Il
happens that the total assessed val
uation of those two counties is only
about $3,500,000 If the professor has
information of any such loss as be
speaks Of where did he get it? He
hasn't got it, because his statement
is utterly preposterous. He might as
well talk of billions.
"The forest fires in this state have
been vigorously, and, considering
what has to be contended VITA,
successfully fought. get daily
reports from my deputies, and they
do not show one disastrous fire IN
a town or village as a result of the
forest CONGREGATIONS. Newspaper
correspondents are sending out from
some sections of the state alarm
stories based on rumors and guesses
which have to be corrected within a
few hours. This has been especially
true up arounA Escanaba and Me-
nominee. The actual conditions
must be as poorly understood by the
general run of newspaper readers rs
they appear to be by the learned
gentleman who evolved the $4,000.
900 dream.
THE flames and the smoke you
hear so much about are mainly the
fires In the cut-over land and the
barrens, and in many cases they are
doing more good than harm. There
are scores of settlers benefited by
the clearing up of lands by fire.
have 10 regular deputies working
among the supervisors and other
officials of the townships throughout
the state, and they are at work now
at all times, and they report daily
In addition to these, l have appoint
ed fire wardens in every surveyed
township where anyone lives, and
this force of deputies has done ex
cellent work. They have saved farm
houses and other buildings almost
without number Considering all
the conditions, repeat, the loss has
been small. We are confronted by
the worst drouth in 25 years"