The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-12-16
DAVY SAYS AMERICAS
TIMBER SUPPLY SHORT
Former Congressman Declares Forests
VIII Be Almoot Exhausted
in toA0.

New York. Dec l4.-Ths country
faces greet danger from the exhaus.
tion OF It's timber supply within the
next decade according TO Martin L..
Dayey, former member OF congress
from Ohio and an authority on tree
preservation, who yesterday issued a
warning to America at the annual con
servation congress OF the American
Game Protective association at the
Waldori-Astoria hotel BY l940, the
timber production per capita will be
but l79 square feet according to Mr..
Davey, who ia in touch With the for.
est question of the country.
The end OF the timber supply of
this country can plainly be seen he
said unless a vigorous national con
struct.ye policy for its conservation
Ia adopted. 1t will be only a few
years at the present rate timber IL
being cut before there will be no wood
left for construction and building pur
poses. More than this. the news
papers and other periodicals OF the
country will ind themselves without
paper owing to the ruthless manner
in which the forests are being de.
stroyed,
David l.. Gocdyille. chairman Of
the committee on conservation and
reforestatlon of the United States
chamber of commerce. recently put
the situation IN putshell wnen he
said that the total timber production
OF the country in 1910 was 7l3 board
feet per capita while that OF 1920 was
only 52l feet. At the present rate he
stimated that In l940 the production
could only be 179 board feet per cap
tia.
Time For Action, Not TAX.
"The time has come to stop talk.
ing about crest destruction aud act.
A conservative, scientific program OF
forest conservation must be laid out
and hack Of II there must be placed
all the legal aud executive authority
that is necessary to make the program
effective. The indiscriminate drain
age OF swamp lands and lakes. which
Is increasing to an a arming extent,
is greatly to be deplored. These re-
clamAtion schemes are fine when
there Is a corresponding gan to agri-
culture, but during the last few years
thousands OF acres OF land have been
drained only to make available land
entirely united for cultivation.
These mistakes are almost Grim
inal when It is known that In many
instances the drainage projects have
resulted in the killing OF great for
ests through depriving them OF an
adequate water supply, More than
this, reservoirs OF the utmost value
In the conservation Of water supply
and az a protection to the washing
out of lands In heavy downpours have
been destroyed. Concrete example;
of this are given in the Adirondack
where New York taxpayers have beer
forced to build huge reservoirs tt
hold back floods and regulate the nov
of streams. in order to Obtain wate'
for their city.
There is only right way to &
about a drainage project, You mus
analyze the soil before you decide Il
drain and must also consider th
value Of the body of water as
source of moisture to the adjacen
forests and as a safety reservoir T.
prevent food and other damage
Mr.. Davey said further that the dc
partment OF agriculture had gone O
record tor the statement that ther
are more than 4O,000000 acres Of VI
used lands between Washington, /
c. and New Orleans, which we're pei
fectly adapted to agricultural pu