Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-13
ENCOURAGE p .ANTING
OF TREES; LOWER TAX
Pennsylvania Lumber Men Are ADJ
dressed by Kellogg-Declares
the Problem Is Vital

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12.-That con-
servation of natural resources, partic-
ularly in regard to lumber, is the most
important subject of international inn
portance today, was the opinion eX-
pressed by Acting United States For
ester Il. w. Kellogg of Washington,
when he spoke before the Pennsylvania
Lumberman's association, Inc, III an
nual session, at the Hotel Walton.
The present system of land taxa
ton, according to Mr.. Kellogg, is man
ifestly unfair to the producers of lum-
ber, as they are taxed each year upon
the value of the standing timber upon
their tracts and are forced to pay
ever-increasing taxes upon what has
consumed years in the process of de-
velopment, rather than upon the in
crease in value through development
1.-The present system of property tax
alton is wholly wrong in regard to tim
ber land" said Mr.. Kellogg, because
it forces upon the producer the neces-
sity of cutting timber from his tracts
that would be reserved did he not face
the necessity of raising money for
what is, to my mind, exorbitant tax
alton.
For that reason / incline to the be-
lief that the first thing necessary to
advance the conservation of timber is
the Inauguration of a movement look
ing to the readjustment of the system
of property taxation The farmer
land is taxed at a rate each year in ac-
cordance with the value of his product,
but he turns his soil over each year.
fertilizes the ground and brings forth
his seasons crop. This is fair.
"The lumber grower on the other
hand. may reforest his land when he
has made his seasons harvest, increas-
ing the value of his tract with the d.
rect knowledge that he must wait
twenty or thirty years for profitable
development, pay taxes upon the stand
ing timber, as well as the lumber OF
the future, and be face to face all the
time with the cold fact that the gov
ernment and the people alike are look
ing for cheaper lumber and an unlim-
tied supply. This is unfair.
"The lumber grower and producer
must live, and 1t is but natural that
he should hesitate to lend his aid to
the conservation scheme, when he
knows that by lending his knowledge
his work and his public spirit to its
furtherance he is laying foundation
for nominal prices, smaller profits and
a greater supply.
1.-THE timber grower, so far, has given
the forest conservation his heartiest
support. He has injected scientific
methods of planting and growing into
his reforestation; he has placed his
tracts under state control and has
given his moral and financial support
He should have some recognition, ana
as surely as these matters exert pow
erful influences upon the future of the
lumber industry in Pennsylvania and
in the United States, you members of
the Pennsylvania association should
see to it that he has the support of
dealers and consumers If the taxation
problem attains to the position as a
conservation factor that 1t should en-
joy.
Forestry has come to stay. Con-
servation is attracting the attention or
the entire American people, and 1t
should be the particular business or
the lumbermen to direct the move
ment into safe and sane channels. The
greatest obstruction to the develop
ment of the project has been cheap
timber. Many of our lumbermen knew
for years that they were selling TIM
Der cheaper than it could possibly be
grown. In spite of this they cut and
they chopped and they sold simply be-
cause they had it, until depletion of
the forests called for public express
sions and some careful interference
"We, as people do not care for the
real value of a thing until we find our
selves suddenly facing famine in
that thing, that commodity
"In the matter of forestry, fortu-
nately we awoke in time, and for the
first time we are beginning to realize
that standing timber is really worth
just as much as the trees planted now
will be worth at a stage of similar de-
velopment, or after, in many instances,
from 100 to 200 years.
ut is now time to take up the con-
seryation of many kinds of timber in
this state. Our supply of cork pine,
hemlock, oak, poplar and other trees: |
might mention has become alarmingly