Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-04-18
LUMBER INDUSTRY STILL UNSTABLE
 GRAVES STATES
Declares Forest Depletion Is Of Increasing
 Seriousness.

Chicago, April 1G.-A comprehan- aiVe program Of public ad to the 1 lumber industry, combined with the 1 enforcement of measures to protect the public interest in future timber supplies was advocated by Col ITen- 1 ry s. Graves Chief of the United states Forest Service, who spoke be- fore the American l.umber Congress 1 here today.
 Lumbermen, said Colonel Graves, are studying the needs of the indus try and are doing many construc- 1 tive things to increase it's efficiency 1 Nevertheless, the great fundamental 1 problems are not being solved The inductry is still essentially unstable, 1 labor conditions are unsatisfactory, forest depletion is of increasing se- ! riousness, and our public forest pol icy is incomplete.
 Forest Renewal Important. It was pointed out that the lumber Industry has been seeking govern ! lnent aid along various lines, to help I it get on more stable basis through cnrfallmcnt of prOduction relief from 1 methods of taxation, price standards. 1 and in other ways. In seeking such l help. however, the industry has fail cd to recognize any obligation to pro- 1 vide for forest replacement after cut 1 tlng. While the injury and loss l that accompany demoyalized indus trial conditions are necessarily of public concern, the question of for est renewal and growth on cut-over l lands now left unproductive is still more important.
 i Forest renewal is of vital interest, Colonel Graves appealed not only to ! the public but also to the owners of timberlands. "We. have enough non- agricultural land,' he said, ''to pro- duce for al timber in abundance, for ourselves and for export. The pub- lie must share with the owners both the responsibility and the burden of securing the essential objective. Those sought by the public are fun damentally the same as those needed for the permanent we'll being of the timber industry It is necessary to
 plan program broad enough to oc-
 complish them.
 1 Il am ready to advocate policy
 more far reaching in all respects
 than has generally been offered. I would afford whether public assist
 ance is needed to make possible the
 conservative handling of our forests,
 and I would then, fire protection l conservative production of lumber
 and right methods of removal a mat ter of requirement., with such pub- lie direction and control as is neo- essary to realize the aims desired by the public''
 Must Safeguard Public Interest A comprehensive. policy of forest development, said Colonel Graves would make for permanent mills, place timber on the market as it is
 needed, jrotect the present resource
 classify the lands, encourage agri- culture, and secure tree-grOwth on
 non-agricultural lands Timber-lands
 would be placed on a sound basis of management instead of a speculative
 basis and industrial plants given a permanent life. The resulting labor
 conditions would attract men who want to settle down instead of mi
 grate. The public would have timb- I CT in abundOnce, at reasonable prices
 It could afford to give it's financial
 credit and authority if its interests
 are safeguarded py adequate control
 in public hands.
 "We have the problems to solve,
 the speaker concluded, "and we can
 not continue to ignore them. Pub
 lie demand for action is increasingly
 urgent. It should be in accordance
 with broad constructive plans rath-
 CT than by piecemeal legislation by
 different states. I am asking for CO
 operation in laying the ground work
 for national policy, and have in.
 itiated series of conferences to this
 end. I hope that lumbermen will
 concur in the need of such move. ment, and will poin in the under.
 taking to work out constructive