The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-22
The Sterrett Bill Gives the
Old Dominion Something
Of a Black Eye.
BIG FOREST FIRES
MAY BE THE RESULT
States Wooded Wealth Greatly
Curtailed by an Unwise Law
That Ought to be Vetoed.
Brighter Day Dawning
That May be
Darkened.
BY FRANK $. wooDsoN.

BY FRANK 8. WOODSON.
| The Legislature undoubtedly made q
mistake when it passed the bill i'm
posing special taxes on the standing
| timber in Virginia. Writers in The
Times Dispatch and other State jour-
nails, In their eagerness to fight the
| bill, have also made some serious mis-
! takes, mainly In their estimates of the
| amount of timber now standing in the
I old State. and thus two errors have
| gone forth, the effect of wtiicll is to
curtail the value of Virginia wealth
| in the one case and to underestimate 1t
and discourage investors in the other.
| This Is pity and well calculated to
do great deal of harm just at time
| when the forests OF the old State are
| yielding up wealth. and that wealth
/ IS attracting the attention of capitals
lists from all over the country.
Forests Astounding In Wealth.
The forests of Virginia have not yet
been denuded: have not been stripped
| of their valuable timber: have not
been dprived of their wealth of ium-
Der, and win not be shadeless and va
cant in the short space of a decade. as
recent writer in The Times dispatch
has tried to make IL appear. Observa-
tio2 and statistics show that at least
one-half of the Commonwealth is to-
day covered with valuable timber and
at least half OF that half is yet re-
joicins in the original growth.
or course. man who lives in a CITY
and who travels only in those parts OF
the state which pay tribute to the
cities, looks upon many acres of Irnd
that have only stumps TO represent
what was once vast forest areas. AMI
from that contracted view it is easy
enough, for him to reach the narrow
conclusion that the whole country hiss
| been cut down and that Virginia is
| getting barren of forests. But let the
same man travel in the Tidewatcr
section. where the oak. the hickory.
the cypress. the papaw the poplar
and the White pine abound: let Him
look upon the forests ana the mighty
swamp lands III which the sound Of
the woodman's aS has rare,r. ever been
heard, and where the whistle Of the
sawmilrs steam engine is only BEGIN
ning to be sounded. or let him go up
| i.ito the mountain county,. wierc the
sound of the ra.'way locomotive las
rarely been nsard and lie will find
OF, that old N:r..:liia is yet ricl In the
finest and most valuable timber that
the world ever saw.
\ World OF Timber.
In the region have named there is
enough standing timber to furnish the
world with material for its furniture,
it's barrels. its boxes. its buildings and
its all manner of wood working es-
Establishments for not less than three
decades yet to come.
Take the mountain region from the
western section of Pittsylvania, Hall
fan and Campbell counties TO the Ten
nessec line and the timber wealth of
Virginia is something beyond ordinary
computation. LunenburG, Mecklen-
burg Charlotte, Prince Edward, Bruins
wick, Greenesville, Nottoway. Sussex,
Southampton and other counties, to say
nothing of Franklin, Floyd. Carroll,
. Grayson and the other vast Southwest
counties that are practically untouched
by the woodsman's az. contain virgin
forests that are of untold value
This wealth has been for years wait
ing for two things--railway transport
tation and capital to work up the raw
material IN the very woods where 1t
is found. OF course the most profitable
way 10 set this undeveloped wcalti,
into cash is TO establish manufactures
right at home to make furniture.
wagons, buggies, barrels, boxes, slaves,
and all manner of building material
and ship the finished product to the
markets OF the world: and of course
these things cannot happen until the
transportation facilities are at hand
and until the outside capital comes
along to work up this wonderful store
house of raw material
A Legislative Error.
These two necessary things are com
ling--comng with rush-and it is an
awful pity that just as they are break
ling in upon the horizon, and before
they have come in perfect view, a Leg
l.islatlre that seems to have been more
| interested in politics than In material
developments and more noted for in-
lvestigative energy than for practical
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