Evening star., 1908-01-16
GREAT FOREST PARK
Secretary Wilson Submits Re-
port on Purchase.
TO CONSERVE THE timber
Proposed Regulation Of the Cutting
by Lumbermen.
WOULD GIVE STEADY SUPPORT
Acquisition Of Tracts in the White
Mountains and the Appalachian j..
Range Urged Upon Congress.
WOULD GIVE STEADY SUPPORT
BIZ WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

| BIZ WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
| Herald.
| Secretary Wilson has submitted to Con-
gress an elaborate report concerning the
! purchase of the forests in the White
mountains and in the Appalachian range
| in Maryland, Virginia. West Virginia,
| North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. Bills
| have been introduced in the House OF
Representatives appropriating $5,OOOOO0
| for this purpose by Representatives Cur
| rier Of New Hampshire and Lever of
South Carolina, and in the Senate by Mr..
Gallinger of New Hampshire and Mr..
Overman of North Carolina. They are re-
| ferred to the committees on agriculture,
which have agreed to hear arguments
January 80 from the American Forest
Association, the American Civic Associa-
| ton, the Appalachian National Forest
Association, the Appalachian Mountain
| Club, the Massachusetts, Forest Associa-
ton and other organizations which are
deeply interested in the subject OF pre-
serving the trees and the water power
and turning as much as possible of the
unoccupied mountain land in the eastern
states into national parks for the health
and the pleasure of the people.
At the last session of Congress an ap-
preparation of $4,000 was made for
thorough and complete Investigation OF
the area under consideration. The work
| was done by w. W. Ash Of the bureau
of forestry, Walter milford Of the Uni
versity of Michigan. Alfred Akerman OF
the University of Georgia, Prof l. z.
Glenn Of Vanderbilt University. Nashville
and Philip w. Ayres of the Society Tor
| the Protection Of New Hampshire For
ests. These gentlemen went over the en-
tire territory with Typographical maps in
| their hands and plated the mountainous
woodland so as to have an accurate rec
| ord Of all the wild land and the area
| that is more valuable for forestry than
| for agriculture They noted allthe springs
and streams and measured their now
and the surface drainage SO thaL Con
gress can know exactly the area and the
value of each watershed included In the
proposed reservation
They found 23.OOO,oOO acres OF forests
| in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky
mountains. the Alleghanies, the Cumber-
lands and the four main ranges or the
| White mountains mostly in New Hamp-
| shire. OF this area Secretary Wilson rec
ommends that the government acquire
| 600 600 acres in the White mountains at
| the average price of $6 an acre. and
| 5000, 600 acres in the Southern Appala-
l Clla1S at not more tHdII $o.sU GA ~ -
Immediate action is urged by the Secre-
tary because the natural resources OF botn
| regions are being seriously impaired by
reckless numbering and heavy rains; and
also because the price OF these ianos Is
| continually increasing, as the TIMBER sup
ply Is being diminished.
Exhausting Hard Wood Supply.
The report brings out in striking man.
ner the fact that the hard wood Of this
| country, which is required for carriages,
wagons. car building. furniture and agrl-
4 cultural implements, is being rapidly ex-
| hausted, and those Industries cannot exist
| after the supply of raw material is gone:
| In the state of Illinois alone the sum OF
| $14S sos Is invested in such manufac-
/ tories, which employ 10000 wage earners.
and in 1905 turned OUT products valued at
| s139 $40, J9O or IL per cent of the entire
value of manufactured products Of the
| United States. Already steel Is being
| adopted very largely in place of hard
woods for many purposes but it cannot
| be used as substitute for furniture. tool
| handles, musical instruments, wagons and
| carriages or for many other purposes.
In Russia, where lumber Is very scarce,
railway cars are built entirely OF steel,
| and metal is being employed to an in
| creasing extent in this country at present
| for both freight and passenger cars.
| The manufacture of furniture, which
| calls for more hard wood than any other
| industry. is entirely dependent for exist
| ence upon the preservation Of the for
ests. In 1905, which is the latest year
| for which ! can obtain statistics, there
were 2.4S2 furniture factories in the
| United States, with a capital Of $l53.OOO.
600, and an annual product valued at
$17O.OOO.OOO. They consumed 5SOO 100000 feet
| of lumber that year. or 70 per cent OF
the entire hardwood cut of the United
States. Those factories have got to de-
pend for their future supply upon the
| forests Of the southern Appalachian noun
tains, which are being rapidly stripped
| and cannot even now furnish as much
as Is demanded. During the last seven
| years the wholesale prices of hardwood
lumber have advanced from % to IS pei
cent, and in the face Of this the cut has
fallen off 10 per cent because of the scar
city of timber. The experts estimate
the remaining stand OF hardwood trees
in the United States at 400 OOO. .OOO,O feet
which is enough to last only sixteen years
at the present rate of consumption. They
also assert that under proper manage
ment the Appalachian forests can be made
to yield 1900, 600 600 feet year, which
will be sufficient for all purposes. But
unless the forests are properly protected
and the lumbermen are prohibited from
cutting eoung and growing trees the
waste will be quite as large as the con-
sumption.
Regular Supply Proposed.
It is not intended to take the hardwood
forests of the Appalachians out OF the
market, but to prevent the lumbermen
from cutting any but full-grown trees
and at the same time to replant at gov
ernment expense the enormous area OF
mountain land that has already been
stripped. II this can be done the 5000
600 acres which it is proposed to re-
| serve. under proper management. Will
furnish regular and permanent supply
of hardwood for furniture. agricultural
implements. tool handles. vehicles and
/ necessary: and at the same time, by
| the sale of selected trees. bring enough
revenue to the government that will re-
pay the Treasury for the cost OF the
| reservation many times over.
Protection Of Water Supply.
An equally important matter. and many
people think of even greater gravity
is the protection of the water supply fol
the cotton mills and other manufactures