Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-08-26
CLIFFORD P|NCHOT
ON FOREST FIRES
Asserts Loss Of Property and Life
In Recent and Present Ones
Was Unnecessary.
CONGRESSMEN ARE SCORED.
L. Particular TO Name senator Hey
burn, senator Carter and Rep
rcscntatiye MondcIl.

Washington, Aug. 26.-Gifford Pin
chot OF the National Conservation as
ISOLATION and former head Of the gov
eminent forest service. in a statement
issued this morning, holds that the loss
OF property and life in the recent and
present forest fires was unnecessary
The disastrous results. he says, are
traceable TO the unrreparedness TO deal
with the FIRE situation lie scores
members Of Congress who have OPP
posed appropriations for the proper
equipment Of forest rangers and in
that connection names Senator Hey
burn of Idaho. whose home town. Wal
lace, suffered serious loss; Senator
Carter OF Montana, and Representative
Mondel of Wyoming The statement
follows
II am proud of the splendid work
the men OF the forest service have
been doing against the western forest
fires. Many OF them have given their
lives to protect the homes of settlers
and the forests on which the prosper
" OF the western people depend. To
my mind their conduct is beyond all
praise
Forest fires are prcventable, II Is
a good thing for us to remember at
this time that nearly or quite all of
the loss, suffering and death the fires
have caused was wholly unnecessary
"A fire i'm the forest Is the same kind
OF u thing as a fire i'm the city. There
Is only one way to fight either The
fire department of every city is organ
lied with the prime idea Of getting TO
the fire when II Is young, So with the
tH..rt
IS before they grow strong. If for
est Is equipped with roads, trails, tele-
phone lines and a reasonable number
of men for patrol there is no more
likelihood that great fires will be able
to get started than there Is that great
confagrations Ike the Chicago fire
will get started In city with a mod
ern fire department. Under rare cir
cumstances they may, but the chances
are against II"
PRAISE FOR FORESTERS.
1.-THE forest service has done wonders
With rs handful OF mon Il has put
out every yeeF many thousands of
small fires. -any one OF which under
favorable conditions might have de-
veloped into conisgration which 10
600 men could not stop. This year. be-
cause Of the great drouth. there were
many fires and the rangers were too
few.
1.-THE lesson from these fires is per-
fectly clear. When a city suffers from
great fire IL does not retrench in it,
fire department but strengthens II.
That is what the nation must do IN
the national forests.
1.-THE men I'm Congress like Hepburn.
Carter and Mondell, who have made
light Of the efforts Of the forest serv-
ice TO prepare itself 20 prevent just
such a calamity as this. have In eff
feet been fighting on the side OF the
fires against the general welfare. II
even a small fraction Of the loss from
the present fires had been expended
in additional patrol and preventive
equipment. some or perhaps nearly all
OF the loss could have been avoided.
IT believe our people viii take this
lesson to heart and insist that the set
tiers and their wives and children. the
lumbermen and the miners and the
two billion dollars worth Of property In
the national forests shall be suitably
protected"