Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-28
Helping France
Ry Frederic J. HAskin

Millions Of plants and seeds are now
collected hy the American Forestry
Association 10 be sent 20 France, 10 ald
IN the work of rcforcstatio The state
of Pennsylvania has contributed 100
pounds of white pine seed and so POUNDS
oi Douglas fir seed Minnesota has sent
100 pounds OF white pine seed Bu' tnu,n oi
more is needed France can use 'oo
pounds of these seeds.
The request for American seed 'a',io
from the French Forest service 10 ulo
United States Forest Service, hu'' "n,o
the American organization was am,
10 scnd large quantities of plants and
seeds that II happened To have on hand'
" had no approprla atiou with when I"
buy additional seed for France ." u
turned the request over tn me Ahl'r''"'
Forestry Association prNatt ,'E""i
ganiyation of great wealth ana lhi'hehr"-
Percival y RIdsdale secretary :" 'n'
association j. now IN France lhV'~u-
eating forestry conditions WIN w"
To placing the assis, anco oi ms a'N,Ni"-
,,o,, ubcrc II will do the most good.
The condition of the French forests
TODAY * so had that u has crilstcd the
interest 81 forcstcrS all over the WorlV
Nor, than i25O 600 acres oi French
forest were actually demolshci hy the
war while over 60 per cent oi the re
naming mcrchantahle timber had To he
c,,t IN the cause vi defense THIS would
h. a heavy blow To any nation, b NJ 20
France who had worked over and cher
shed her forests for the past fifty wears,
4 is nothing short of \ national calamity
rRANCr's sorry srrhrs.
In America wood is a common mater ~.
There IL plenty OF A. and only rc entiy
has II ever been suggested that the supply
la
WAS not ineXhaustIblc. Only rcc'h',N
has "a forest conservation propaganda
been launched But IN Franco. dcVas-
tatei bv many wars wood Wa not plentl-
ful even AZ tho outbreak ct tho war
The nation had to import onc-thrd ~ US
humber Hence. the strictcst KIND ot
conservation was both preached and
nract,ced and every effort was made 10
,ncrcas, The forcstcd land la hundred
wears. France succeeded m creating forests
where formerly there were oniN SANDY
wastes, IN planting trees on harTch noun,
tam slopes, and in establishing na'i"hsi
timber resource that surprised the neigh
horing nations.
over twelve per cent ~ the French
forests Il owned by the government.
F0rtV-thrcc per cent y owned and regu-
lated hv conmunes and public institutions,
and the rest l. privately owned Fvcn
the timber IN the hands of the communcs
and private own r. Is partially controlled
by the government
Il may H. imagined. therefore. that
after nouriShing It's woodland so vIgIlantiN,
Franrr tossed il IN the arena ot war only
with great pam and scn-sacriiicc. The
srst demand was from tho French army
Barracks. factories. glnstocks, machinery,
and mile~ and miles oi trench boards had
- H. Supphcd \ French wood service
div,sion Was created under the Ministry
ot Munitions. which obtained rs ilmher
Suprhel onlv with tho PERMISSION nt tho
French Forest Service lis work was
made extremely difficult by the almost
immediate occupation n the enemy
Who's. forces were shifted from poini -
r.pint just A. the French army located
a lumber mill AZ a point approved hy
fhe Forest Service, and pitched itS tents
and machinery for = week or two 81 hard
work the German guns wcrc certain 70
disturb operations.
voKF Lossrs
Then arrived the British army. II
-, needed timber for barracks stables
and railroad ties and u could not want for
supnlle. "a be shipped acros the channel
With y sigh of despair the French Forest
service presented the Pnush amy with
passports 10 certain sturdy pine forests
somc 81 them containing trr4ss hundred
or more wears old Next cane tho Anadl-
ans with a separate iorcstry regiment ~
their own ard more passports were lsT'ieC
And ~ lest. came the Americans. with
Their fearful rrputatIors Tor cNtravagance-
II began 10 look ~ Il there would be
vrcaf deal nf confusion and resulting m
efficiency from the overlapping den ards ~
Frarre> Niles = an lufcrallicd Council
f,r Wood Products Tor War Needs was
established with headquarters IN a famous
old residence oppoTltc the statue q
George " Washington IN The l1ace dfS
Etats-I ms .rited states Place n Farls
Uere the Alht- settled their timber dis
t,lft- agreed on certGln isolated terrlt"-
pe~ ard ordered the movements OF their
forertrN regiments
Nearflne the forests n the northern
proylrcer " France were ~ tho hards Of
The enemy rather What was LETT o'
,hcu The Germans had made them their
sr.c,al target becsuse they knew that
they concealed the movement OF trooS.
the positIon OF hattene@ and macfIne
xunS ard even machinery and ann uniuor
housed m temporary structures The very
tb,cknese of the tn bcE q the urdcr-
brush which made them su"h admirable
coverings for defense operations. also
oade hem conspcuous targets fr the
enemy.
ALMOST No SALVAGE.
When forest was under severe
h-e saws Colonel Henry ; Graves
Chief 81 tn, nted states Forest SerVloe
who has Iust returned from duty abroad,
sth, danag, vas - great that there was
almost no salvage What u-ss not split.
cked ~ mashed Was filled with shrnpnel,
SD tiers making = impossible 70 saw
ri ~ cfoostlr In some places d lev
.naps sultnierrd stumpS. shattered trunks
md llInus ar. d that are left - what was
once dersc Tor SIS
An American author who recently
returned from France saN- that he has
never seen such disnay written on any
human countruancr H. that on the face
~ a French FORESTRY ufhcer who escorted
him through "a stup % TERRITORY Just
vacated by thc cnenS Behold the
work and care ni eentury-It l. gone'
We can not Do IL again N q hundred
wear SAID tho officer
This depletion ~ thr French forests
has grave econoul, aspects For il
means the vlrtua' dos ructiou If France
nome wood indusirie> Nhich beior, the
war supported hundred, ~ people.
Throughout tho fureetcd regions before
the war there vcTc numerous settlements
--communlues ~ which every house