The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1921-03-03


commercial advantage which their un-
i regulated Ownership Of these huge
forest areas bring with L. Accord
ingly, they have undertaken 70 secure
! the passage in Congress Of the Smell
+ BHl Oh r. 1927, and are conducting
Tor that purpose an extensive propa-
ganda.
Briefly. the Smell bill Gin addition 70
various appropriations for general
. forest purposes. mostly desirable)
provides that IF a State with forests
still uncut (which so far as our inter
ests go. will soon mean Washington,
! Oregon, and California;. will pass
laws to control forest devastation sat
isfactory to the Secretary Of Agrieul-
ture, and IF il viii enforce them TO
his satisfaction, then the United
States will bear a part Of the expense.
i provided the State itself will expend
an equal amount
Regulated numbering costs more
than unregulated The legislature Of
] any State would hesitate long before
passing laws that would put men in
business in that State at a disadvan-
tage as against their competitors in
an adjoining State where no such laws
had been passed
The lumbermen know, Of course,
that they could block. in the legisla-
lures Of Washington, Oregon, and Cal
ifornia, the passage of any legisla-
tion hostile to their interests. They
know, therefore that the passage Of
the Smell bill would leave them free
TO continue the practice Of forest de-
vaS.ation which has made them rich
while it has brought the United States
face to face with poverty in forest
supplies. Knowing this, the timber
land owners are not only supporting
the bill, but are spending considerable F
sums of money to bring others TO sup
port il also.
They ask US to believe they are sup
porting the Smell bill because they
want TO be controlled. If so, here is a
monopolistic special interest actively
working to get itself prevented from
pursuing its own advantage in its own
way; which, if true, is worth remem-
bering.
There are too many offs" between
the Smell bill and an end to forest
devastation. Clearly, it offers nothing
more than a distant possibility Of re
lief, with no assurance that any State
would ever conform TO the conditions
It proposes. It leaves Pennsylvania
and other timber importing states
wholly at the mercy Of the legisla- /
lures Of the Pacific Coast States.
The fact is that the business Of tho {
owners is National in the !
full sense Of the word; that like other ]
great Nationwide monopoligtic bust s
nesses, it is beyond effective state t
control; that National Control is the :
'nly control the big timberland hold !
FRS fear; and that for them State con t
.rol means no control at all e
The Smell bill grew out Of plan o
or public control advanced by Colonel f
Graves while he was head Of the U. S. +
Forest Service. At that time it was o
vigorously opposed by the great tim n
,erland holders. Later these interests u
Jaw that il could be used by them to v
heir own advantage. The Smell bill. n
therefore,, has behind it the interested &
upport of the lumbermen, and the a
incere, but | believe mistaken, back h
ng of the present head of the Forest h
service, who himself admits the e
uperior effectiveness of Federal con- "
rol, but doubts that it can be secured Il
which do not). c.
1t has also the support Of Mr.. e. Il
'ert II. Baker, Chairman of the Com "
nittee on National Forest Resources G
4 the A. N. P. A. Mr.. Bakers letter n
f January 22nd in support Of the Il
nell bill fails to describe the provi- D
ions Of the bill, as a reading Of the c
opy he sent you will show, and is mis- n
AIKEN as to the Capper bill. The lat H
err was not prepared by me, but by a t.
of the Society Of American II
'oresters, and il emphatically does
OF undertake to have the Govern al
AXE over all standing timber Of every II
ort and kind" What it does propose q
such an effective National control b,
yer the lumber monopolists as will g,
revent them from continuing TO de- 81
troy the productive capacity Of their "
orest lands; and this is right. a,
| regret most deeply the necessity hi
'r opposing any plan supported by 81
olonel Greeley, the present Chief Of cl
he Forest Service in Washington, and
y Mr.. Baker, but I cannot remain ell
lent when a mistake. however we'll Sc
cant, threatens 70 bring upon the NJ
'ation the very serious punishment Of Of