The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-06-12
THE NATIONAL FOREST TIMBER
What the Chief Forester Says of the Coun.
try's Wood Supply.

WASHINGTON, June 9, 1918. That the
great increase in sales of national forest
timber will not dangerously deplete the
countly's wood supply is the declara-
ton OF Chief Forester Henry S. Graves
IN statement made public today.
Ihere Is no danger of cutting off the
national forests too rapidly" said Mr..
Graves, ''nor will our sales STRENGTHEN
the control of the numbering industry by
Anew powerful companies. In everv in
dlvlduai sale specific provisions are made
to safeguard the public interest in both
these particulars.
Not long ago the policy of conserva-
ton, as applied to the national forests,
was supposed to mean that the Govern
ment timber resources were Indefinite
~ tied up. Now the fear is expressed
that we are cutting too much timber-the
other extreme. Because the Forest Ser
vice Is advertising widely by commercial
metnOdS It's more extensive sales and Sc
curing the utmost possible competition,
some people have apparently jumped to
the conclusion that the Forest Service
aims to cut off all the National Forest
timber within few years. Or it is as
sumed that we are making sales chiefly
to the larger lumber companies, and there
by playing into the hands of big lumber
interests.
'The function of the Forest Service is
primarily to avoid just those dangers;
the evils of unscientifc numbering and
the fostering of monopoly How these
evils are guarded against is illustrated
in our recent sales
1.-The Forest Service recently adver-
tised about 245 million feet of timber on
the Kaniksu National Forest in the
northwest corner of Idaho, the first
large sales in this locality. The Kani.
ksu Forest contains. as matter of
fact, nearly 2,730, ,00G feet of mer-
charitable stumpage. Ten years will be
required to cut the amount advertised,
which is only one-tenth of the total
stand on the Forest. In other words,
about one per cent of the timber on this
Forest will be cut off annually, no more
than is being produced every year by
growth. The timber advertised has
been awarded to two relatively small
local lumber companies, which have no
affiliations with large timber corpora
tons and own but very small quantities
OF timber themselves.
"A number of recent sales have been
made on the Whitman National Forest
in the Blue Mountains of northeastern
Oregon. Within the last three years
nearly 1852, 100000 feet have been con-
tracted for on this Forest. From seven
10 ten years will be required to cut this
timber, which is less than % per cent
of the amount on the whole Forest.
The Whitman timber which has been
sold is split up into four separate con-
tracts, of from sc million to 70 million
feet each, to four separate and indie
pendent local companies. This can
hardly be called promoting monopoly.
"a number of smaller sales have been
made in the same general region to diff
ferent local lumber companies. For
example, we have made one sale of Sc
million feet on the Lolo National Forest
in western Montana out of total stand
of over 2 billion feet. Another sale of
IS million feet has been made on t e
Columbia National Forest in Washing
ton, where we have altogether nearly 7
billion feet of merchantabIe timber.
''To utilize the annual growth Ct wood
on the national forests the Service is
endeavoring to increase the amount of
it's sales and hopes to soon reach an
annual business of billion feet, which
is about half of the estimated annual
growth on the Forests. Small sales
are always made wherever possible, ard
in making large sales the amount dis
posed of to single purchaser is 90
greater than will justify the investment
necessary for logging Improvements.
Sales to companies which have large
holdings of their own are rot made if
there is any other demand for the timber
or if monopoly would result"