Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-10-11
CONSERVATION WORKERS
DISCUSS SOUTHERN WOODS
j. G. Peters, U. S. Forester,
Emphasizes Need for Pre-
serving Forests of South

president of Georgia Tech, presiding
Rabbi David Marx pronounced the inVo-
cation.
The attendance was hardly so numer-
Gus as that of Friday. Notwithstanding
the fact that many more delegates had
reached the city meanwhile. On Friday
there were a number OF ladies present
The first speaker introduced was Hon
]. Garvin Peters, of the United States
forest service, who read highly In
teresting paper on the work Of the for
estry service in the south. -.e ie,.s.
The forests of the south occupy more
than one-third it's area, he said. and II
they are ever exhausted the south would
probably be forced to draw from the
Pacific slope for it's future lumber sup
ply 1t is therefore of the utmost i'm
portance to conserve southern forests
. If they are properly managed there
should be no difficulty in obtaining nat
ural restocking of them. Fire is theii
greatest danger, Mr.. Peters said.
DUTY OF THE STATES.
1t is the duty of the states to remove
obstacles In the way Of practising for
estry. The main obstacles are fire and
faulty taxation, he continued.
The offer of the United States forester
in 1908 to aid the states in making pre-
liminary examinations of their forests
with a view of suggesting legislation
was promptly accepted by several south
ern states, Mr.. Peters said. and as a
result gratifying progress has already
been made by them.
Next Mr.. Peters explained the different
lines on which forest investigative work
has been done in the southeast meth
DDS of growing commercial trees, meth
DDS of lengthening the timber supply
and studies of the wood with view OF
increasing their durability.
II the Appalachian forest reserve bill
passes the senate. said Mr.. Peters In
conclusion, the government will spend
$500, 900 per year in cooperating with the
states in that territory.
When Mr.. Peters had finished, Judge
John c. Hart, elected president of the
Georgia Conservation association on Fri
day, suggested that the committee of the
congress on resolutions and platform re
tire to make up it's report. and the mem
bers of the committee were excused by
the chair.
w. ]. MGHEEs SPEAKS.
Next DR.. w. j. McGhee was intro.
duced to the congress. DR.. McGhee is
the saltwater expert of the United
States department of agriculture. Hi;
address on Soils had been postponed
from Friday afternoon.
Part of DR.. McGhees address was
technical, dealing with the nature and
history of soil, its relation TO water, and
its relation to forests-not so technical
however, as to place it beyond the grasI
of the audience and he was followed
with the closest attention. IS
He showed that the soil is the greatest
entity In nature, because upon it de
ponds the life of the vegetable and ami
NAL Kingdoms, and, therefore, the life OF
humanity also. He showed the beautiful
harmony between the soil and the Other
entities of nature; and gave the greatest
possible emphasis to the fact that un.
less the wafer supply OF America is con.
served 1t will have been exhausted III
300 years.
CAPTAIN WHITE SPEAKS.
1t was with genuine regret that DR.
Matheson announced that Mrs. H. NJ
Willet, scheduled for an address or
"Woman's Work in Conservation" and
DR., Alfred Alderman, for an address or
Forestry in Georgia." were both alb.
sent. unavoidably detained. ...
An enthusiastic hand-clapping greeted
the next speaker Capt. ]. B. White, OF
Kansas City, who made such hit with
his humor and fun at the dinner tC
the conservationists Friday evening
His subject was The Lumberman's In
terest in Conservation"
The time will eventually come wher
lumber will have to be sold for as mucl
as it costs to grow 1t, he said. The
present selling price is much less thar
that. Germany buys lumber from us be-
cause it costs less than to grow 1t. The
greatest waste of forest resources is tn,
sale of timber for one-third of what il
is worth, he said.
BETTER PRICE FOR LUMBER.
If conservation Of forests ever come
the consumers will have to pay a highe
price for lumber, said Captain White
He warmly denied that there is a 'lum
Der trust" or that the lumbermen ar,
Intentionally and ruthlessIy wasting re
sources.
Uninformed and unprincipled politician
have put that idea into the people
minds, he declared
The cost of all conservation will hav,
to be paid by the consumer Captain
White said. The price of lumber has no
increased nearly so fast as other pro
ducts.
Some states have no business trying I,
grow their trees, he said, because thei
soil is not suited for IL. 1t will pa,
then to grow crops and exchange then
for lumber
I'm interested in some trees in Colo
rado," said Captain White, that are 20
years old and yet they are only a foo
In diamater'
Unfair taxation of lumber forests 1,
one of the greatest obstacles in the way
of forest conservation, he said He tolC
of some notable advances that have beer
made I'm lumber conservation methods
He pointed out how fast new building
materials are supplanting lumber
The lumber men want to practice con
servation, he declared vigorously. anC
are helping to pass good laws to tina
end. BUt-and> he again emphasized thi
point-there can be no conservation O
lumber unless the consumer pays tn
price.
In conclusion Captain White paid
glowing tribute to "our hero OF fores
conservation" Clifford PInchot, and t,
'the first citizen of the land" Theodor
A.. Roosevelt.
MRS. OTTLEY'S PAPER.
J The next thing on the program was