El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-31

! lSHIIuH WUHhJ
F.. TO SAVE FORESTS
Continued from page 1. this seerfOn-)
4 own use but to put on the market to
supply the needs which the wasted re-
sources Of the eastern states are no
! longer able to supply.
First Forest Reserves.
1t was in 1891 that president Cleve-
4anu auIhorlzeQ the urSt nauOnal IOr-
est reserves which were made in what
was then washington territory. Since
then, they have been increased to in
clude reservations in 20 states and ter
ritOries, amounting TO 163,743.443 acres.
In addition to these there are 23.74S, $50
acres in Alaska and $3.50 in Porto
Rico. For the administration, .prOtec-
tiOn and improving Of these great
areas of forest lands, the United States
government last year expended the sum
1 OF $5,550,2l9.55 out Of the $3.50, S6l-3l
Of available appropriations for that
purpose, or less than 3 cents per acre.
The total amount Of lumber now stand
ing IN the national forests IS nearly
1 10000, 100000 feet board measure. The
sales Of timber from the national for
ests amounted to almost $1,000 600 rev.
enue last year, an Increase of over 10
percent from the year preceding, and
these forests are becoming more Talu-
able each year.
In addition to the national forests
are those in the different states which
are administered by each state accord
ing to- It's own discretion. The increase
Of these state reserves and the estab-
llshmenu of better system of caring
for those which have already been made
is securing the hearty efforts of pro-
greSSlVe citizens in every locality. For
some reason women have been more
active than men in working for for
estry legislation. In some states the
ment has been initiated by the women,
especially organized women The vii
lage Improvement clubs in the smaller
towns have brought the forestry move
ment home to the citizens in a prac-
teal manner which they could easily
understand.
REPRESENTATION Work.
In localities where the native trees
have been destroyed. either from lack
Of care upon the part Of the owners Of
the land or because of the greed Of the
lumbermen, the REPRESENTATION work
has been tnaugurated with good results
already apparent 1t frequently is found
that ground which has originally been
Forest land IS OF little value for any
thing else. 1t viii produce poor crops
Of grain and call for a heavy eXpendi-
ture of labor and fertilizer. If the
ground could have its original crop Of
forest trees restored, 1t might after a
term of years, become productive OF
larger revenues than could be secured
from any OLner crop, since trees were
the natural product Of that soil
When the first forest protective
measures were adopted by the United
States government. they were severely
opposed by most classes Of people. Only
q few We're able TO understand that
they were needed for the protection of
the people themselves. Now lumber
men, mine owners and other repre-
sentatives of large industries, depend
ent upon the natural resources Of the
country. are nearly all cooperating with
the government in the enforcement OF
every protective measure
One Of the largest gold mining COM
panieS in the world. located in South
Dakota, at first vigorously resisted the
attempts OF government forest officials
to limit the amount Of timber they cut
down each year A small part of this
timber was used in the construction
work Of the plant, but the bulk Of il
was allowed 10 waste An official Of
this company recently visited the for
Washington and said Il want 10 thank
you for the benefit your work has been
70 US But Tor the restrictions YOU
placed upon US 10 years ago we might
now be facing the necessity Of having
to buy lumber and ship il in for the
use Of our plant With the system OF
conserving the timber we have upon
our own ground we know that we viii
have sufficient to last US for cen
turtles"
Fire the Greatest Menace.
One Of the greatest menaces TO for
est reserves is that Of fire and the
fire protective measures comprise an
est rangers Frequently men and
horses suffer death in the forest fires
which grow beyond their control. and
the most rigid precautions are cOntinu-
ally being taken to stamp out every
small blaze before it can be famed
by the winds into serious volume.
The forest fires come from a num-
Der of causes Lightning is one of them
and this is the one appearing in most
untreQuented places. The railroads are
constantly responsible for small fires,
but the railroad companies themselves
are l1eenly alive to the menace and do
all in their power to prevent fires.
Many roads employ men for the ex-
press purpose of putting out fires
caused by sparks dropped along the
railroad track When the wind is high
these sparks may be carried for miles
however, so that a fire resultant from a
train may be kindled far away from
the track Campers and hunters have
been responsible for forest fires de-
strOying millions Of dollars worth of
property and a campaign Of education
upon this subject is sweeping over the
country.
The Boy Scouts have become inter
ested In the matter of forest fires. In
some states they rendered valiant ser
vice last year in fighting fires already
under way, while their training makes
them ever vigilant not only TO prevent
danger from any of their own camp
fires, but also to eXtinguish any small
fires which have been started in the
woods by other agents.
VIRGINIA PLACES BODY OF