New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-06-23
FIRE FIGHTERS AID.
Timber Cruisers Plan Wireless
Telegraph System.
STEP TO SAVE THE FORESTS.

Signal Method Expected to Make
Standing Timber Last For Centuries.
Proposed to Teach Forest Ranoers
Wireless Code to Quickly Locate
Fire and Summon Help
Wireless telegraphy as a means OF
giving alarm in the event of fire is the
plan advocated by timber cruisers in
Spokane, Wash, to protect the forests
IN Washington, Idaho, Montana, Ne
Fada, California and British Columbia.
which contain approximately 100000
600 acres of standing timber. Expert
enced cruisers in Spokane believe this
is the solution of problem of scien-
t1tic fire fighting, which costs lumber
companies and the, United States for
est service hundreds of thousands of
dollars every year. in addition to the
enormous expense involved in con-
gtructing and maintaining telephone
and telegraph lines by the government.
The plan outlined by r. Il. Arm
strong, an expert operator, is to estab-
q Gish a system of wireless signal boxes
and teach the forest rangers the code.
SO that at the first alarm they can To-
cate the fire and summon assistance
before the flames gain much headway
This would eliminate the danger of
cutting off communication by fires de-
stroying the poles and trees falling
across wires. Probably the most i'm
portant thing is the saving Of life
Every year since 1870 an average Of
fifty persons have been burned to death
in the United States in forest fires.
making total of nearly 1000 lives
sacrificed to flames which might have
been prevented.
Armstrong maintains that the chief
reason for the big coniagra tons is
after small fire is discovered a long
time elapses before the alarm can be
sounded and aid summoned to fight
the flames. Many Of the large lumber
concerns of the Pacific northwest have
considered using telephone lines for
connecting camps of forest rangers.
but this was given up for the reason
that the fires would burn the poles or
the wind would blow them down so
often that they would be useless most
Of the time. Then, too, it was found
that in many timber tracts the coun-
try is SO rugged and the standing tim
Der SO heavy it would be almost i'm
possible to stretch a telephone line.
= However, the forest service has built
hundreds of miles of telephone lines
and cut trails through the big govern
ment forests in Idaho, Washington,
Montana and other western states
where it also maintains patrols. These
were found Of good use during the
fires in 1907 and 1908, but large areas
were burned over as the result of the
fires gaining great Roadway before
. they could be located by range riders.
One thousand acres Of virgin timber
in western Washington were destroyed
last year, when the season was COM
paratiyely light one for fire losses, and
the losses in eastern Oregon, northern
Idaho, western Montana, northeastern
Washington, California and southeast
xern British Columbia were also heavy.
This enormous loss Of property and
sometimes the lives of hcllesteaders
can be prevented to a large extent, it
B believed, by the employment of the
wireless telegraph for reporting fires
as soon as they start and calling for
assistance from all Sides
There are more than 55O,OOO.OOO
acres of standing timber in Washing
ton, Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada
and Montana and about 15OOOO,OOO
acres in British Columbia. OF the
timber lands in the six western states
about 44O,O0OOOO acres are owned by
private corporations and individuals,
who maintain expensive organizations
to protect them.
The problem of forest protection is
: one of vital interest to the western
lumbermen, as we'll as those who are
only indirectly connected with the in
dustry. The chief payroll of the Pa
cific and northwestern states comes
from numbering, as is evidenced by the
fact that $75,OO0,0OO is paid in wages
annually in the mills, yards and camps
In Washington, which give employ
ment to from 175,OOO to 100000 men,
while the lumber concerns in Oregon,
Idaho, Montana and California pay as
much more.
Experienced lumbermen say that
more timber is DESTROYED annually by