The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-06-22
The Tree, the House and the Wood
PULP Press.

s~'F f'~~~s
The completely OF modern life Is as
well shown In little things as In big.
IL is sometimes beautifully shown in
the relationship of big things to little.
The Aashy American newspaper in
mere material bulk Ia vast. Its con-
tribution to transformation and bad
taste cannot be measured by finite
Its influence upon public
policy, and upon the political decisions
of the people, has become very nearly
iDfinitesimal. To maintain this ratio
of mass and sensationalism to intellec-
tual worth we are grinding forests into
wood pulp.
Forests have various other uses b.
sides those to which the makers Of
newspapers devote them. They will
furnish certain amount OF good tim
Der, planking, clapboarding, shingles
and 80 on for building purposes. They
are drawn upon for railroad ties, tele-
graph poles, bed Stats, golf sticks,
toothsticks and matches. They are
pleasant to wander In, restful to camp
out In, useful to store up rain In, there
by conserving water power and pre-
venting destructive freshets, and, to
minds not wholly disintegrated by the
habit of reading wood pulp newspap-
ers, they are still inspiring and uplift.
ing as the original temples OF Almigh-
Ity God.
Naturally, the demands upon the for
ests have grown with the advance Of
"civilization" which no philosopher or
statesman has yet discovered how to
stop. OF late the public--even the
newspaper reading part OF it-has be-
gun to grasp the idea that "civiliza-
ton" threatens to become the whole
thing and to destroy the forests utter
ny. A statistical minded person has
figured II out that in the United States
more than 100000 acres of timber are
cut over every working day. We have
left now only 450,O00,000 acres bearing
commercial timer. To this supply
the railroads look for 100000, 000
ties year, the telegraph lines for g..
526.S75 poles over 20 feet In length
and the newspapers and other print
ers for 2,327,S44 tons Of pulp. Our
ientire supply OF standing timber Is
otherwise estimated at between four
teen hundred and two THOUSAND billion
feet, and our consumption at forty bill
lion feet or more. At this rate the
forests may last thirty or thirty-fve
years more. but the rate is increasing
IObviously, some OF the uses of wood
Twill have to cease before long.
Such minor retrenchments as might
be accomplished by the abatement oil
the toothpick habit, or the success OIL
Ian anti-tobacco crusade, which would
diminish the confagration OF matches
will not put off the evil day for long
No satisfactory substitute has YET
been found for the wooden railroad
lite. Concrete Is possibility. but 1t Il
lstill IN the experimental stage. This
lis hardly true, however. Of the con
crete house, and In the substitution o
concrete for wood In house building
mot only in towns, but also In the rura
districts, we see more possibilities
than have yet been pointed out by thu
professional forest conservatOrs.
Most OF the dwelling houses, barns
pig pens, memories" and fence post
in the United States are made Of WOO
Iand all of them could be made OF con
crete not only just as well but grea
deal better. The houses. for instance
made of concrete would be more en-
during and the. annual fire loss, es
J pecially, would be enormously reduced
They would be more substantial Wei
made wooden houses have not bee
unknown in this country. Some OF tn
old Colonial types were of excellen
and enduring workmanship but 1t
undeniable that a large part Of tn
wooden houses, barns and outhouses I
America are shocking examples {
that fundamental immortality whic
consists in passing of claptrap fc
honest production. The building {
such houses and the habit Of living
them has undoubtedly helped to de-
troy whatever remnants Of esthetl
feeling was left In the blood OF Amer
can people after their ancestors ha
! smashed the craven images an
Iwhitewashed the idolatrous frescot
of the European cathedrals.
Morally and esthetically, as well
economically. It might be a good thin
for the American people II they coul
Inn Ionpar rehuild their balloon frame