The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1919-01-11

terests and to see that they are
not handicapped in any way
Judge Gutenberg could have
done much better while on the
! job. He should have secured a
serum from some lumber camp
doctor which \ would be a. sure
cure for the germ of swe!led-head
and then put a goodly supply in
the hands of the state forestry
office, to be taken when needed,
| by whom needed.
The law that Mr.. Cox is cred
tied with asking of the present
legislature surely will be well
coined by the returning soldiers
who are expected to fall over one
another in grabbing for those
burned-over lands which we are
told will support a large number
Of sheppard goats.
I could write columns and pages
Of highly interesting accounts of
the efficiency" of state forester
Cox and his assistants as forest
conservators, The main issue at
this time, however, is to place be-
fore the coming legislature, many
members of which are not &C.
quainted with the real facts, suf-
ficient proof to make them in
quire somewhat further than the
alleged Duluth investigation,
held by the confidential lawyer
for the Weyerhaeuser interests
and the lawyers for the D. w. &
P. Railway.
My information is that many
men were shown over the burned
area by Mr.. Cox and his assistants
but nothing was shown as to the
conditions in that area before the
fire. Ample evidence as to that
abounds on every hand, quite
near the burned area. Slashings
and brush piles from two to six
feet high through goodly portions
Of many forties. are not consid-
cred dangerous by the state for
ester.
If the legislature acts wisely, it
will repeal the present law, leav-
ing the present forestry board
and foresters high and dry. A law
then should be passed, similar to
the one emasculated by Hon.
Henry Gutenberg, making manda-
tory the burning of brush and
slachings, with penalties attached.
A new board should be created
with members from all walks of
life, giving the lumbermen one
representative. Regulations for
the forester and his assistants
should be sound enough and suffi-
cient to compel attendance on
duty and to ban politics and the
formation Of political machine, at
expense Of state money and time.
The law should make it posi-
BILE to have a state forester with
experience, capacity and ability
to advise settlers when and how
to clear their lands safely and
with proper conservation. With
all this done, there will be a min
imum of danger from fires SINH
lar to those in October and the
earlier one at Hinckley.
There are two periods in the year
when settlers can safely burn
stumps and slashings-one from
early June until about July 10.
During that time, everything is
green and there are heavy dews,
almost amounting to rain, falling
every night, without fail. Fires
started anywhere from 5 to 7 o.
clock p. m. will completely burn
out stumps and brush piles before
morning, leaving only Drowned
grass from two to four feet from
the fire. The other time for burn
ing is when frost falls, late in Oct
ober and early in November. Fires
set at night will be completely
burned out by morning. Frost
remains on the ground until 10 a.
m. and there is small danger, in
deed, of fires spreading.
If state forester Cox's proposed
law passes, inside Of twelve
months many Of the settlers must
move. 1t would be worse than a
plague of locusts. When settlers
leave, the villages must 60 also.
With that accomplished, Mr.. Cox
and the lumbermen can chase
squirrels at will, robbing them Of
their winter stores Of pine cones
and driving them out, also.
AUSTIN j. MEAGHER.
The Rip-saw has moved from