Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1915-01-28
FROM CHARLESTON
FROM JAS. w. WEIR.

A1A KILLS. YIN, w. va, jan co.
The move to strengthen and revise
the forestry laws of the state of West
Virginia has crystalized in a bill in
troduced by the Hon. Geo. B. Thomp-
son of Tucker County last Friday,
known as House bill No. lit which
has been referred to the committee on
Forestry and Conservation of which
the Hon. E. M Merriman or Marshall
County is Chairman. No meeting of
the committee has as yet been held
to consider the Thompson bill but
Chairman Hinerman has indicated
that he would probably call a meeting
of the committee some time during
the present week.
The bill seeks to strengthen and re-
wise the forestry laws of the state so
as to give better protection to the
forests of the state. 1t provides a.
mong other things for forester of
the requisite education, training and
experience who under the direction of
the State Game and Forest Warden
shall have charge of the forests of
West Virginia. The bill clothes the
Forester with authority to fully pro-
tect the timbered regions and to SUI
pervise the work of reforesting the
state which is contemplated through
the gifts of the waste land to the
commonwealth.
The bill also increases the severity
of the penalty for wilfully and malici-
ously setting out fires which in the
past have burned over great areas of
property destroying everything in
their wake. Under the Thompson bill
it will become felony to set out fires
where it is now only a misdemeanor.
Those who in cleaning off their lands
burn brush and other timber are re-
quired to take the precaution of see
ing that the fire so started by them
does not escape to adjoining property.
If such fire does escape to adjoining
property it is considerd prima facie
evidence of guilt.
Another important provision in the
bill is that which makes the rate of
pay for fighting fire uniform through
out the state at $1.50 per day. That
there may be no undue delay in set
Ting claims for fire fighting county
courts are required to pay the same
at the next regular term of the court
following. the time at which the SER
vice was rendered, provided claims
submitted to the court have first been
audited by the Forester, thus reliev-
ing the courts of what has proved to
be task of magnitude in the past.
The regular appropriation bill is
expected to make provision for the
$4,000 which the Federal govern
ment requires to be appropriated be-
fore $4,000 for forest protection con-
tributed by the Government becomes
available.
If the proposed bill becomes law,
as it is believed it will, West Virginia
will rank among those lumber pro-
ducing states who have taken steps
to preserve their forests against the
ravags of fire, which have been so
costly in this state as we'll as else
where
Sentiment for better forest protec-
ton has taken very concrete form
within the last year or two but not
until the state had suffered severe
losses from fires in the woodlands.
The spectacular features of burning
woods in the past have impressed
themselves upon the people more than
the heavy loss the state was sustain
ing. But with realization of how
rapidly one of the states greatest
resources was being depleted through
preventable causes has come a de-
sire to see conditions remedied by
adequate and proper legislation. The
Governor in his biennial message
pointed out the necessity for further
forest legislation if the forests were
to be preserved to posterity and there
is at the present time very favor
able sentiment, therefore, among
members of the legislature for forest
legislature o. the character proposed.
SCHOOL REPORT.