Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-09

From the New York Post.


today pays rs per cent more for lumber than
before the war; and his dealer will tell him
that peace has not brought the likelihood of
material reduction. Even if there were no in
sistent European demand for our lumber, the
home demand would be more than the mills
Henry S. Graves, chief of the federal forest
service. At both the New England forestry
conference and the Lumbermen's congress in
Chicago he pointed to the dangerous shrink
age of our forests. He quoted southern ex-
perts as saying that in ten years the original
supply of southern pine would be ali but ex-
hausted, and in six years 5000 mills would have
eaten themselves out of occupation. He pointed
to the fact that lake states have ceased to be
timber exporters and are becoming importers.
In Chicago he urged the public ownership of
forests as imperative The states must acquire
large forest areas. I'VE have enough non-agri-
cultural land to produce for all time lumber in
abundance for ourselves and export" he said;
the public must share with the owners both
their responsibility and the burden Of securing
the essential detectives"
Most OF us know vaguely that this continent
was originally richest Of ali in forests, and they
have been extensively cutaway. When we be-
came nation they covered about l000,00O,000
acres; in 1910, 550,000,000; today, little over
5OoOOO,oOO acres. 1t is the best half that has
gone. Only about 1900, when higher lumber
prices. provoked thought, did the nation begin
to- talk preserving and replacing its forests.
All but z per cent of the mills in this country
are cutting on lands not publicly owned These
lands were estimated by President Wan Hise
eight or nine years ago to contain 1000 billion
feet OF saw timber; and in 1918 we cut 44,O00,-
000O0O feet. At that rate, if there were no re-
planting we should exhaust the private forest in
40 years and would take all but inferior timber
| much sooner. But we are likely even to ex-
coed this rate of cutting. The Chicago congress
was eager in discussing the possibility Of de-
yeloping large export trade. That western
Europe. would have to obtain 7OOoOOO,OOO
feet OF lumber yearly was the Cheering
message" as the American Lumberman calls
it, brought by Roger E. Simmons. The Belgian
forests have been swept away; the French
have lost 100000 acres of timber; the British
voluntarily sacrt;ed an astonishing acreage, re-
ducing even Windsor forest from 1000 acres to
1000. Russia. which formerly exported a
greater bulk of timber than America-though not
greater value-it is said to have lost 100000
acres. Political turmoil there and in the Aus
tro-Hungarian region, formerly large ex-
porter, is expected to prevent any great ship
nents for years. In Europe destroyed build
lngs will consume vast amount of lumber, and
there, as in America, postponed building must
be carried through.
With the probability that our annual lumber
harvest will rise to nearly 500000000OO feet it is
time we looked forward to see whether such a
| pace would hurry us. We have been cutting
lumber over three times as fast as it grows. AS
| yet we have succeeded, despite the govern
! ments splendid activity since Harrison's admin
| lstration in forming forest reserves, in placing
only about one-htth our forest area under fed
| eral protection Half the states own forest
| lands-New Yorks the most valuable-but the
| total state area is drop in the bucket. We
cannot escape the conclusion that an effort must
| De made to bring privately owned lumber lands
under control which will enforce economical
and cautious numbering and effect their system
| attic reforestation We can recall when Michi-
gan was the great numbering centre; then Wis
| cconsln; then, as these forests melted away.
Minnesota; now it is the Pacific coast and the
south. Our loss by careless cutting is authorita-
| tlvely estimated at Is per cent and the gov
eminent has demonstrated in the national for
! ests that it can be reduced to 10 per cent.
| But steady reforestation must be our main
support If we are to supply timber to popula-
| ton that within a generation may reach $780,
ooOo00 As Mr.. Graves says, we have plenty of
land unfit for aught else The National Con
servation commission reported decade ago
| that proper remedial measures would give Amer
lea an annual growth of nearly 30,OO0OO0 cubic
| feet OF timber, one-fourth more than was then
beng used. Reforesting is not always cheap
| THIS year 57O'OOO trees being set out in
olympic National forest at a cost OF $3.50 an
acre But the south, with its warm, moist
climate, is admirably fitted for the rapid grow
ing. OF trees. California has found the Aus
trallan eucalyptus, a quick-growing tree of ex-
eeent wood profitable on even agricultural
land. Many large areas will reforest them
selves If properly cut over and given a little
subsequent care; many lightly forested can be
made to bear iull stand of trees But private
owners must be ready to welcome much more
OF governmental interference and control if
these results vital to the lumber industry are
to be effected.