The new era., 1909-11-11
NS7Rs17zso 1140QX- DOC AoyoN oN ne R4NoEJ

keep pace with the expenditures but to return to the
government the entire cost of maintaining the forest
service. Private owners of grazing lands in the
regions ask and receive very higher return per
head Of stock for the Of their lands than the
forest service The national forests which contain
fifth Of the standing merchanable timber in the
try, furnished last about 3 per lumber
cut resulting in the removal from the forests of about
oneeighth Of cent of the OF this COM
paratively insignificant cut. onefourth sold
given to home-builders and communities; yet
sales brought in nearly 100000 If the chief object
the forests to produce immediate income the
amount received could be multiplied several times
There is actually going to waste in the woods each
through decay and other natural causes from five
to ten times the amount of timber being cut.
With adequate force of forest officers available
much of this might be prevented. Timber sales
involve for marking scaling supervising the work.
cost to the of about 80 cents thousand
feet. and the amount sold cannot be much increased
without increased appropriation There is also the
of the productive power of the forest which
not be brought into full play until the mature trees have
been removed to make room for a growing crop.
Most of the forest timber is beyond reach unless
heavy ouays made to obtain of transporta-
tion. Such timber be sold only to those who
mand large resources of capital and then only at
a relatively low price On the other hand where the
demand for the timber is good and competition for its
purchase fairly brisk it is generally to
slowly because of the certainty Of future requirements
short the question of the timber that safely
wisely sold is local The fact that timber is
rotting in the woods in distant regions will help
communities which find their home supply exhausted
For the sales OF national forest timber
are carefully guarded The amount of national forest
over
feet, not much one-thrd the amount sold the
previous year. The falling on directly due to the
refusals make large sales Under such sales the
cutting allowed to extend several The
amount timber paid for during the how
ever than doubled the cut Of the previous year.
With of quite 393,000o00 feet The receipts
from timber sales about $S50O00 against not
quite 100000 for the previous In addition there
was cut under 900 feet Of timber
valued at about $4,000.
The timber the west outside Of the national
forests mainly In strong hands Were the national
forest offered the market to purchaser
the Of western numbering would be quickly
shifted public holdings. 1t is sometimes asserted
that national forests has played into
the hands OF monopolists of timber lands 1t
the contrary, eleventhhour hating Of the
which would have made the hold obtainabe by such
monopoly complete. To permit the owners of standing
timber preserve their intact while supply
ing needs through purchase from the
ernment would simply inYite the boarding of private
timber further high prices while the public supply
would be disposed of without adequate return.
Under the tmbersale policy now in force both the
present the future interests of the
borne in mind The needs of those dependent the
forests supplied to the limit set by the of
the reKou maintain steady YIELD 1t 10 recognized.
ALSO that the removal Of timber to make
fpr new and growing crop 10 the only way by which
tAs forests be put to work Small sales are. how.