Evening star., 1921-04-17


~ Average Newspaper Reader
be advised that this story is
going to give him shock.
But he needn't be alarmed. 1t isn't a
Kind of shock that will hurt. Indeed.
tho sensation is calculated to be
wholly pleasurable and gratifying.
Way back in the days Immediately
| following the Spanish war a fellow
OF the name of clifford Iinchot came
to Washington with n hobby and he
| rode IT so hard that he came to be
looked upon as good deal Of n
| nuisance. AS "A generality this hobby
| was conservation of natural re-
! sources" and It particularly was
forest preservation" a lot of peo-
pie. In and out of Congress. didn't
like Pinchot. and they liked his hobby
still less. They believed the true ma
| ttonal economic policy was to cash
! in on natural resources as rapidly as
the cashing process could be achiev-
ed. and they didn't think the then
present generation should be required
| to dig down into its jeans to confer
more or less doubtful benefit on
posterity. Their chief and most tell
Ing argument was that the Pinchot
program would cost a lot of money.
with slim chance that any Of it ever
would be returned in the way of
benefits.
Had Mr.. Pinchot and his supporters
had the hardihood to predict that
within the lifetimes Of men than liv-
| Ing the national forests would be-
come a source Of net revenue to the
government disbelief and derision
| would have overwhelmed them. But
that is the promise now held out.
lated to give Mr.. Average Newspaper
| Reader pleasurable and gratifying
sensations.
| At the Washington headquarters
of the forest service they are very
reluctant about making claims as to
future profits, but they produce the
| figures and tell the inquirer to draw
his own conclusions. Here are some
| of them:
In 1918 sale of timber and other
| products from the national forests
aggregated $3.574,93O. In 1919 it,
was $4.35S.414 and in 1920 the total
| reached $4.7s3.4s2. This shows an
| average increase in receipts Of about
$600.000 year. But national forest
timber sales are only beginning to
be developed and as yet there has
been only scratching of the sur
| face of possibilities. On the 1885,
000,0 acres Of national forest res
ervations there is about one fourth
Of the standing timber in the United
| States. the vast bulk of it in areas
which are only beginning to be made
accessible. As privately owned tim
ber lands are denuded this govern
| ment timber will become more and
more in demand and more and more
valuable. And so. it is figured by
| the forest experts. the increase in
receipts from sales will be an ac-
CELEBRATED one.- Soon it will be jump
| ing a million dollars a year. and
! before long the yearly jumps will
be two or three million dollars.
| ever, until the expenses are taken
! into account and examined. There
! will be net profit from the national
! forests only when receipts have
| caught up with and passed the ex-
| penses of administration. The sig
recent years Of rapidly increasing
| receipts the administration expenses
have remained practically stationary.
| In 1920 the direct cost of admins
! tering the national forests. not count
! ing permanent improvements. such
as roads, telephone lines and the
like. was $3.74S.236, or a million dollars
less than was received from the sale OF
| products from those forests
In addition to the direct admins
! tration expense. there is an "over-
head" charge of in the neighborhood
! Of a million dollars a year, and a
variable cost of emergency fire-fght-
ing. which last year amounted to
about three million dollars. The
Overhead" il for maintenan nee of the
! ONCE of the forester in Washington
and of the offices OF the eight dis
| trict foresters. Only a part of this
is properly chargeable to the ma
tional forests. for good deal Of the
| outlay results from assistance given
| private forestering ventures. The
! cost Of emergency fire lighting can
never be told in advance, but three
| million dollars a year is high
Adding ono million dollars for