The spectator., 1920-09-14

| Forest fires have begun that sweep. Airplanes are helping fight forest fires in some parts of the country, but that l is no reason why the public should re- lax its vigilance and do great part of the fire fighting by not having | any fires. A big move is on to join the national parks with a good road system and it's up to the public to | join in the fight with a will. Camp CTS are blamed for many of the fires | and now that the tourists are out in the open the forestry association calls on them to remember:
 Not to throw your match away un- til you are sure 1t is out.
 Not to drop cigarette or cigar butts until the glow is extinguist.ed. Not to knock out your pipe ashes | while hot or where they fall into dry leaves or other infammable material. l Not 10 build a camp fire any larger than Is necessary.
 Not to leave fire until you are l sure it is out; smother il with earth O. water
 Not to burn brush or refuse in or near the woods
 Not to be idle when you discover fire in the woods If you cannot put is out yourself. get help. Where forest guard. ranger or state fire warden can be reached call him up on the nearest telephone YOU can find.
 Do not forget that human thought lessnesS and negligence are the cause of more than half of the forest fires in this country. and that sbe smallest spark may start confagration that will result in loss of life and destruc- tion of timber and young growth. valu- able not only fer timber but for their influence in helping to prevent flood. erosion and drought,
 But what is nature doingi Here is one example of her aid to man. just reported to the American Forestry as- Socation Experts say 1920 is an un- usual seed year for the long leaf pine in Southern states This report is confirmed by local lumbermen pretty widely throughout the range of the tree, which iS roughly. from North
 
 gulf coastal plain to eastern Texas. The occurrence is particularly note- worthy because the species natures full seed crops no oftener than about every six or eight years.
 Plan to Capture Sea Trade.
 President Wilson has not vet ap- pointed the new shipping board pro- vided for under the merchant ma rine act approved June ]. this year. but the old board created under the shipping act of 1916. with Admiral Benson at It's head. is actively en- gagged in administering the new law. This board has set out to develop a worthwhile American merchant ma rine IL Is reasonably certain that Admiral Benson will bo II the head of the new board when it is created,
 The board al the present time is en- gagged in allocatinC ships to various trade routes, in selling ships which Il purchased or built during the world war, in Investigating possible new trade routes and in encouraging capt. talists to rut money into the new mer- chant marine
 The real test of the new merchant marine legislation. it is understood. will come later when the shipping board. under the provisions of section 2S of the merchant marine act. seeks through the medium of preferential rates as to both freight and paSSen- gers to crowd the chipping of com petinC countries or the seas IL will not be possible to use section 2S of the law as weapon against com petitorS il Is pointed put until plenty of ships are available. This section authorized the interstate commerce. commission to suspend preferential rates in ease II decided shipping fa- cilitieS were inadequate and the com mission has suspended such rates in- definitely Its first order provided for a suspension of CD days and now It has suspended the rates indefinitely.
 First Contest in the .Pacific.
 The first contest for ocean Suprem- aCy Is to came in the Pacific, unless the permanent shipping board shah set aside the plans of the present board The board has already allo- cated to the Pacific routes large number of ships now building It will be more than n year. possibly nearer two years, the board believes, before an the ships under construction and assigned to the Pacific will he ready for the service Meantime the provi- slons of section 2S. which. when they become operative, give shippers and passengers large advantage in rates in case they uSe vessels of American registry, will he inopera- tive.
 II is m interesting fact that this first real effort of the United States to crowd competing shipping off the seas has met with disfavor in some quarters The Pacific coast Is object ing most strenuously to the boards