The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-02-20

cessity of living more and more with
in themselves.
Whatever else may happen, it is
very certain that for long thine the
merchant fleets of the world will be
woefully inadequate to the task set
for them. Will private capital be will
ing to uphDWDK ib bRFGDHDWKtb
ing to build new fleets subject to the
great danger that another submarine
campaign may be directed against
them within few years? If private
capital is unwilling to undertake a
task in face Of such menace, will
bankrupt governments be more able to
assume the burden? If adequate fleets
be the effect on the intcrcommunal re-
lations, social, intellectual, cultural
and business, Of the whole world /?
These are speculations which many
Tar seeing men are nowadays irdulg-
ing.
1t is interesting to observe how such
speculations have influenced the pro-
grams that are being put forward for
recstablishing industry, and projects
of production on the after war basis.
For instance, the British Reconstruct
ton Commission has been VIC king a
long time on q scheme to make Brit
ain comparatively independent in the
matter of forest products. One can
not read the argument with which the
commission was all the time thinking
about the submarine, about the posi-
bllity that for decades to come the
submarine will be real menace to the
freedom of the sea highways
! Th subcommittee which has pro-
duced the afforestation plan was set
at work in July, 1916, and has just is
sued its report. 1t was directed TO
consider and report upon "the best
means of conserving and developing
the woodland and forest resources of
the Kingdom, having regard to the cX-
pcriencc gained during the war"
I The lesult of this consideration is a
scheme of State trcn planting which in
an emergency wouyld enable the coun-
try to supply its own timber for pc
rlod of three years at the present rate
of consumption, which is very high.
/ Reserve Only Sough
1t is recognized that the necessity of
bringing timber to these islands has
constituted one of he great strains on
the available shipping capacity.
therefore the project looks to giving
the country timber reserve from
which it could draw supplies in the
event of future war. There is no
serious proposal to attempt making
the country permanently independent
OF imported imber supplies, bu merely
TO Dulld up reserve against the pos
slbilltles of extraordinary demands at
Tune when war might interfere with
shipping facilities.
! The commission finds that 90 per
cent of the timber imported into the
country is the produc of recs hat
Nm. 4
1916 the country paid for imported
timber $185,000,000 in excess of the
peace time value Of the same amount
of timber.
! such sum-" the committee finds,
would cover several times over any
possible loss that could be incurred on
scheme"
! What it means to be compelled to
import practically the entire timber
supply Of he counry for a series of
years is suggested by the statement
that the amount of onnage absorbed
by hcse imports alone aggregated
) 100000 net tons Of shipping, cuuiva-
lent to approximately 100000 tons
dcadweight.
! As a result of this survey of the
timber producing possibilities of the
country the commission circulacs
that there are from 100000 to 5,0OO,-
600 acres of land now utilized for
rough grazing but capable Of growing
the best timber. TO put this land un-
der timber would withdraw it from
grazing, but its value for grazing
purposes is so small that this would
not appreciably affect the live stock
situation.
1t is proposed, therefore, to start a
project to develop State forests on I =
10000 acres. Taking cighy years as
the average rotation, two thirds of
this area would be planted in the first
forty years; after the fifteenth year
the quicker growing varieties of trees
would begin to provide mine pit props,
and by the fortjeth year the earliest