The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1922-04-22
Protection Of the
Nations Forests
Week Devoted to Education
7On Necessity of Timber
Protection

SET aSlue ny pfOclamaClOn IN every
state in the union as Forest Protec-
tion week. 1t is intended or expect
ed that this week be observed all
over the United States, in every
town, in every hamlet.
The program of the week is for
the purpose of educating the public
to the necessity of the protection of
our forests, state and national, from
the vast destruction and consequent
economical loss incurred annually as
a result of forest fires. 1t is be-
lieved that when the American
people are awakened to the needs, to
the actual conditions existing, their
support and cooperation can be count
ed upon, the battle nearly won. 1t
is for this purpose that this article
is offered.
We should understand that it
takes one half of all the wood used
to supply the farmer. 1t therefore
takes about one half of our total
consumption to grow our food, then
after it has been grown it has to be
shipped by rail. You can not ship
a pound of meat without the help of
the forests, you cannot load box
car, you cannot get out a tie, you
cannot mine a ton of coal or a ton
of pig-iron without the forests.
About half of the sawed timber
used in the world is used in the Uni
ted States. We use timber more
lavishly than any other country in
the world. Our standard of living,
our whole business and commercial
organization is based on the use of
about 300 board feet per capita,
where other nations of the world use
only half as much. We are using
our timber about times as fast as
it is growing. All the big nations
of Europe with the exception per-
haps of Russia, Sweden, Norway and
Finland are unable to supply their
own needs. There is nothing we can
expect from these countries when
our pail goes dry. At the present
rate of consumption and destruction
by forest fires our supply will last
less than 20 years.
Now the above being true, we are
as a nation coming right up against
the place where we can not get what
we have not at home anywhere else
in the world.
The bulk of our remaining timber
supply now lies in the Pacific north
west, Idaho, California, Oregon,
Washington and Alaska.
Thirty-three of our states includ-
ing the most populous ones such as
Michigan, Illinois, New York, Ohio,
Indiana, Pennsylvania and Iowa are
dependent upon other states for their
timber supply.
Many of these states contained
seemingly inexhaustible supplies of
timber less than 8 decades ago; now
the freight bill for imported lumber is
greater than the entire cost of their
timber 25 or 80 years ago, a large
part of which is shipped from our
Pacific northwest, including our
state of Washington.
Washington is now cutting more
of its timber per year than any other
state in the union. The present an
nual cut is estimated at four and
one half billion board feet.
The lumber business in our state
constitutes more than 500 of our in
dustry, it is in fact the back bone OF
our state industrial and commercial
welfare. Our forests are to our
commonwealth a vast and rich heri-
tage without which our industries
would be irreparably crippled and
our wonderful state become like a
stagnant pool. 1t is obvious to any
one who has made a study of the
situation that with the immense de-
mand being made for export by east
ern states, and other countries OF
the world, and unless the APPALLING
destruction, and waste as a result of
forest fires is stopped and stopped
soon our once magnificent forests
will be gone.
Four million, acres of timber in
Oregon and one third of Washing
toms original supply has already
been destroyed by fire.
Forest fires in 1920 destroyed
property in these two states valued
at $814,942. Bear in mind this is
but a patch besides the loss to in
dustry, wages, business, had this tim
ber been saved to future use. In
Oregon alone the state and private
owners expended over $240,O0O to
suppress and prevent fires. The
United States Forest service spent
$278,OOO, during the same time for
the same purpose in Oregon and