Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-09-09

49, AfAeAAs
! there is n return clearly "a sight In view
Of the long Investment risk from life a
burdensome system Of ta,Vatiun, and the
present uncertainties OF market. most lum-
bermen today are not prdcticlng a system
OF forestry which takes into consideration.
the production OF new timber supplies. Let
me say, ana with all the emphasis | am
capable Of using. that forest production
will not take care OF itself There are cases.
and remarkable ones Of natural reprOduc-
ton Of forests, even under the worst Of
abuse. But where there is no systematic
provision for reproduction. ordinary lumber
ing in the long run results in a steady re-
ductiun. OF growth Of valuable material,
and there are only too many cases Of de-
strucuve lumberinge which leave the land
! I'm an uhproductve state, even when fires
do not occur.
The federal and state forests alone will
be sufficient to produce the supplies Of
| forest products needed by the nation. The
| practice of forestry on private lands is
public necessity. The practice of forestry
| by private owners must be brought about
through assistance and cooperation by the
federal government and the states. Direct
assistance to private owners is the practice
| of forestry must come chiefly from the
states The proper adjustment OF taxes is
state matter. Assistance in fire patrol
and fire fighting must come from the
| states IT, on the other hand, this aid is
given by the states and the government
| and the obstacles now standing In the way
| of private forestry are removed private
owners must assume their obligations in
actually setting to work to practice for
| estry.
The first necessity is prompt and eff
fective action by the states As yet, most
states have not assumed their RESPONSE
biity in forestry.
The first duty of the federal govern
ment is the proper administration Of the
| forest lands owned by the nation. The
greater portion Of the federal forest lands
| have been set aside as national forests, and
they have been managed on the principles
of practical conservation. The purpose of
establishing these forests has been to guar
antee the best possible use of their re-
sources to, the people. The keynote of the
federal policy in handling these forests is
the use OF their resources; but 1t Is the
continued use in contrast to that use which
exhausts the resources. There are many
who assert that the national forests are
retarding development 1t is the policy of
lnb lOItSl StlNlGt W ShIOul obN NhN NP~'i
ing up and development of the resources
of the forests, but we take the stand that
this must be development which will per-
manently build up the country. Our policy
stands for permanent development and
maintenance Of stable industries, as OPP
posed to mere exploitation, which exhausts
the resources and which shortly results
i'm the impoverishment of the region
I'm administering the national forests,
the first task Is to protect them from de-
struction by fire In order adequately to
protect forests from fire the first necessity
is a system of roads and trails to enable
proper patrol and movement of fire fighters
and telephone lines for quick communica-
ton The second Is a well organized force
Of rangers and guards to patrol the forests
and fight fires Eyer. since the national
forests were placed under the administra-
ton of the forest service, the construction
of trails and telephone lines has been
pushed as rapidly as funds could be secured
for that purpose. Although there have
all eady been built s,21S miles of trails, LIS
miles Of roads and 1851 miles of telephone
line. this represents but a beginning Of the
work when the vast area Of inaccessible
and undeveloped forests is considered. The
forest service has "a Well organized pro-
tectiye service for patrol and fire fighting.
although the number of men is still made
duate. Nevertheless, It has been possible
in ordinary Seasons. to Keep down fires to
small lossJ During the present seasonsthere
has been In the northwest an unparalleled
drouth. and constant high winds that have
made fire protection unusually difficult.
THE forest seryiee has been subjected to
criticism because it has not. sold, larger
amount of timber than has been its prae-
tlce and thus increase the return to Sthe
government. 1t would be entirely possible
for the government to sell great deal
more timber than at present and to increase
its income. This could be done by reducing
this price Of the timber below what is
charged by private lumber men. The eff
feet of this would be to overstock the pres
ent market, Increase the waste in logging
and in the manufacture of lumber and un-
necessarily deplete the timber supply. 1t
would result in private owners holding their
timber for higher prices, while cutting the |
public forests, and the timber would usually |
bring to the government less than its real |
value. |
THE government should encourage the |
utilization OF the mature timber and sell |
such as can be absorbed by legitimate |
demand. The national forests should not |
be managed with reference solely to public |
revenue, The policy of timber sales and |
other business on the forest must be based |
primarily on principles of broad public |
economy
THE other resources of the national for
ests are also being put to use. The grass
is utilized under system Of regulated |
grazing, land more valuable for agriculture
than for forest purposes is opened to entry |
under the forest homestead act, prospect |
ing is allowed without restriction and legiti- |
mate mining encouraged Il is the aim OF |
the forest service to encourage the devel- |
opment OF water powers ana we are en-
desvoring to work out a practical plan |
which will facilitate this development |
by private capital and at the same time
protect the interests of the public. [ be- |
lieve that the use of water-power sites on |
federal lands should be under government |
control and 1 believe that this can be &C.
complished so as not to prevent the attrac-
ton OF capital to their development |
FORT DODGE-The Corn Belt Packing |
company will rebuild its plant twice de- |
stroyed by fire as soon as construction |
was COMPLETED. The action of the Fort |
Dodge Commercial club in raising $4,000 |
for the provision Of a private system |
for fire fighting is the reason for the de- |