Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-19
TASHINGTON, D. c., July IA
" strong effort is being made to make

Wv strong effort is being made to make
congress realize the Importance of
a definite forest policy for the United States.
There has already been introduced in the
house by Repr~ sentative Smell, of New
York, bill which would accomplish this,
and Senator Mccormick, offs Illinois, has
sponsored the measure in the senate
At present America has it's United States
Forest Service, and few national forests.
But what interested men Ind women are
clamoring for is forest policy which would
put to work the 100000 acres of idle
land in the United States, now practically
good for nothing.
Inc American Forestry association is &C
lively pushing the Smell bill. The chamber Of
commerce of the United States has taken up
the question, too, and commission of it's ap-
pontment is now on the Way to the Pacific
coast, making a survey OF the forest situa-
ton throughout the nation. The far-reach-
ing Importance of adequate lumber supply
is beginning to be realized i'll all it's branch
es. 1t is fact that the cost of forest prod
ucts has an influence on the price of house
or of a dozen eggs. The egg crate must be
considered, and the forests enter into con-
sideration if you intend to build a castle or
a dog kennel. The price of the newspaper
you reading is directly affected.
A survey of the situation as present con-
ditions affecting it shows that the CEN
ter of the lumber industry-Where the lum-
Der is secured-is moving steadily toward
the Pacific Coast. This means that 4 great
east of the Mississippi river, where the ma
jority of the manufacturing establishments
are, and this shipment means additional
costs through freight rates. Once again the
finished product must be shipped, with ad-
ditional freight charges upon it. Nearly ev-
erywhere the timber is becoming exhausted
New England has an eighth of the timber it
had originall;, and New York manufacturers
now cut about tenth of the requirements
of the people of that state alone. The lum-
her pnt in ic han no
amount consumed in the Pittsburg district.
Elsewhere the same situation exists The
Great Lakes states, which for thirty years
supplied most O. the eastern and central re-
gions with soft wooC lumtwr, now cut less
than an eighth of their former production
and are forced to import soft wood from the
Pacific Coast. The cut of southern pine the
standard lumber of the east for the past
1 5 years, is falling off fast. In ten years.
it is estimated, it will not be sufficient to
supply the needs of the south alone.
Cutting down the timber supply is not
the only loss. Forest fires have destroyed
SIS, 900 worth of standin,, timber in the
past five years. 1t is seldom that the con-
nection is seen, but big fire in city means
the replacement of the destroyed buildings,
and therefore takes just that much more
lumber.
Importance of Forests
| The American Forestry association puts
| the matter in this way. Before you every
|
you must not thank forest products. The
| breakfast table itself, the butter that reach
| ed town in wooden tubs. your grapefruit
was shipped in a wooden box your eggs
were Grated for shipment, and yoLr breakfast
| food WAS packed in paper containers en-
cased in turn in wooden boxes. Your break
fast stops when the forests disappear.
The situation in regard to the trees from
| which newsprint paper is made is alarming.
| In less than twenty years 95 per cent of
the pulp and paper mills Ct the country,
mainly those in the east, have exhausted
| practically their entire supplies of fir,
s2ruce, and hemlock-the principal woods
| is made.
England and New York is oout 3,262, 900
cords, and at this rate the supply will last
II years. The yearly cutting in the Lake
states is 100000 cords, and there is left
only a supply sufficient for Is years Penn
| sylvania, Maryland. Virginia, and North
Carolina have smaller supplies, the annual
cutting amounting to 1,470,000, and at this
| rate the supply in these states will last only
| 10 years. Only in Alaska Washington, Ore
| gon and California are the reserves in no
| immediate danger of exhaustion providing
that the cutting proceeds at the present
| yearly rate of about 2,218,0O0 cords.
| Again the freight rate enters. When the
supplies Of timber for newsprint p;s er in the
| East and Middle West are exhausted, it
will mean the shipment across the continent
! of the wood for making the paper. This is
necessary because about 95 per cent of the