Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-08-26

these four states enough forest land to supply In
full the needs of these industries stands idle
Concerning the general situation he says
1--WE are cutting our timber probably four times
as fast timber is being grown. 1t is useless to
decry the generous use which American industry
has made of our forests. 1t has contributed pow
erfully to the industrial development and COM
mercial supremacy of the United States The for
estry problem does not result from the liberal use
of our forests, but from failure to use our
CORRESPONDING land. There is an ample of
land in this country, which is not tillabe, to sup
port all of timber requirements, all of our
wood manufactures, all of our home building and
agricultural use of lumber, indeed even larger
export trade than at present, if that land can be
kept at work growing timber.
"Reforestation has not been taken seriously by
the average business man in the United States.
Reforestation has been looked upon as fad quite
removed from the practical interests of the manu-
facturer as something more concerned with parks
or shade trees or rose bushes Nevertheless, re-
forestation has now become commercial neces-
sity of the United States"
Here is how particular state is affected says
Prof p S. Lovejoy of the Forestry faculty, Uni
versity Of Michigan:
"a third of Michigan virtually is bankrupt, I'M
able to pay it's way with schools and roads, get
ing poorer instead of richer from year to year pro-
ducng less and less of value. This third of Michi-
gan takes 100000 acres or so, the most of it
the rest in the Upper Peninsula. The bulk Of
these bankrupt lands originally in pine for
est From 1870 to 1900 Michigan led the world
in the quantity quality and value of its timber
exports Today Michigan is tremendous inn
porter of timber and other forest products This
is unusual but not in itself proof that anything
is radically wrong. Ohio, Also was covered
originally with timber and is now great i'm
porter and u.s. nevertheless, prosperous and thriv-
ing.
.But in the case of Ohio, the remova; of the
forests was followed promptly by intensive agr-
cultural developments; the land went from
lower to higher kind of use.
.eNTichigan-grown hemlock, shipped 200 miles,
sells at the same price in Detroit as does fir grown
On the Pacific coast and shipped 1000 miles, The
hickory for the wheels of Michigan automobiles IS
coming from Arkansas and Mississippi. TIE oak
for Grand Rapids furniture is being cut in Louisi-
ana and Tennessee Michigan does not even supply
itself with enough telephone poles and railroad
ties, but imports poles from Idaho and ties from
Virginia. Much of the paper on which our news
napers are being printed is made from Canadian
spruce Box-boards are being shipped in from
PENNSYLVANIA and Arkansas and California. The
state imports much more timber than it cuts and
cuts much more timber than it grows, constantly
grows and cuts less and constantly imports more.
.rbe freight bill on imported lumber alone is
costing Michigan around 100000 year, and,
each year the freight bill is due to increase great
" as the sources of supply recede with the steady
devastation of the forests of the South and West.
Meanwhile Michigan continues to support 10000
600 acres or so of idle lands which few years
ago were producing the most generally useful
kinds of timber the world ever had. White pine
lumber practically is out of the market. There is
not a town of 5000 in the state which does not
import yellow pine from the Gulf states.
Forest fires in the United States annually de-
stroy more than 2O00OOO,000 feet of timber.
More than 100000 forest fires have occurred in
the United States during the past five years, 80
per cent of which were due to human agencies and
therefore preventable. These confagrations burned
over 564S8,000 acres-an area greater than that
included within the states of Ohio and Pennsylva-
nia-and destroyed $85,7OO,OO0 worth Of timber
and property.