The Glenwood post., 1909-01-30
CONSERVATION COMMISSIONS REPORT
WASH Is Too Great, ssys csnmssisn- Shows Available
sppt Of Laad, WstM, Trees And Other Resources
Of Id United Status :a.Strne Plain Facts

| public lands is necessary for their ad-
ministration in the interests of the
people.
Third.-The timber. the minerals and
the surface of the public lands should
be disposed of separately.
for conserving water supply, timber
and natural beauties or wonders than
for agriculture should be held for the
use of the people to all except min
eral entry.
Fifth.-Title to the surface of the
remaining nonmineral public lands
should be granted only to actual homo
makers.
Sixsh.-Pending the transfer of title
to the remaining public lands, they
should be administered by the govern
ment, and their use should be allowed
IN way to prevent or control waste
and monopoly.
The present public land laws as a
whole do not subserve the best interests
Of the nation.
Forests
Next to our need of food and water,
comes our need of timber.
Our industries which subsist wholly
or mainly upon wood pay the wages of
more than 100000 men and women.
Forea.s hot only grow timber, but
they hold the soil and conserve the
stream. They abate the wind, and
give protection from excessive heat and
cold. Woodlands make for the fiber
health and happiness for the citizen AMI
nation.
Our forests now cover 550,O00,000
acres. or about one fourth of the United
States. The original forests covered no
less than s5O,000,0O0 acres.
Forests publicly owned cover one
fourth of the total forest area, and con-
tain one fifth of all our standing tim
ber. The timber privately owned is not
only four times that publicly owned.
but is generally more valuable.
Forestry is now practiced on 20 per
cent of the forests publicly owned and
on less than per cent. of the forests
privately owned or on only Is per cent.
of the total area of forests.
The yearly growth of wood in or
forests does not average more than u
cubic feet per acre This gives a total
YEARLY growth of less than 7 900, 0,000,OGO
cubic feet.
We have 20O.OO0,000 acres of mature
forests in which yearly growth is bal,
anced by decay; 25O,O0O,OO0 acres part
ly cut over or burned over, but res.ock
ing naturally with enough young
growth to produce a merchantable crop
and lO0,O0O,OOO acres cut over and
burned over upon which young growth
I is lacking or too scamty to make merch-
chantable timber.
We take from our forests yearly, in
GLIDING waste in logging and in manu-
faeture, $4,000, 100000 cubic feet of
wood.
Sinct 1870 forest. fires have destroyed
yearly average of fifty lives and $780,
OOO, 900 worth of timber. Not less than
SC, ,OOO, 900 acres of forest is burned over
yearly. The young growth destroyed
by fire is worth far more than the mer-
chantable timber burned.
We take from our forests each year,
not counting the loss by fire, three and
a half times their yearly growth. We
take forty cubic fee. per acre for eacn
twelve cubic feet grown. We take 26o
cubic feet per capita, while Germany
uses thirty-seven, and France twenty
five cubic feet. 30
The preservation by use under the
methods of practical forestry of all
public forest lands, either in state or
federal ownership, is essential to the
permanent public welfare. In many
forest states the requirement of addi-
tional forest lands MS state forests is
necessary to the best interests of the
states themselves.
n~y ~ a mvo@y NON ~,r, . uv~,o NM,