Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-07-28
FIRST STEPS FOR
FORESTRY POLICY
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE
is APPOINTED TO STUDY
THE BIG PROBLEM.
HAUGEN OF IOWA Is CHAIRMAN
Representatives of Especially Inter-
ested Industries consuIted-Secre-
tary WaIlace's Program Is Basis for
Congressional Legislation.
BY JAMES P. HoRNADAY

BY JAMES P. HoRNADAY
Washington. Steps toward the
adoption through legislation of a
definite national forestry policy have
been taken. Chairman G. N. Haugen
of the house committee on agriculture
has announced the appointment of a
subcommittee on forestry, consisting
of Representative G. N. Haugen,
Iowa; J. G. Mclaughlin, Michigan /;
J. D. Clarke, New York; J. w. Rainey,
Illinois, and M. Jones, Texas. This
action was taken after conference
with Representative Bertrand II. Smell
of New York, the forestry specialist
of the house, members of the agricul-
ture committee, representatives of the
National Lumber Manufacturers as
ISOLATION, the pulp and paper makers,
the newspapers and others Industrial
ly interested in the conservative utiliza-
tion of the forests of the country.
It represents an effort to get away
from the differences of opinion that
have hitherto blocked progress toward
the adoption of public forestry policy,
and to attempt to find common ground
on which all advocates of such policy
can agree.
One group Of forestry advocates has
favored a centralized national policy
of control of private forest lands. Its
proposal to accomplish this end
through exercise of the federal tax
ing power has, however, become an
academic question since the Supreme
court has directly held that the taxing
power may not be used as a disguise
for regulation which is beyond the
power of congress.
The other group has the sympathy
of the forestry service, as being more
practical and would seek to encourage
reproductive methods of numbering
and adequate forest fire protection
through voluntary cooperation of
owners and state governments with
financial aid from the federal govern
ment. The national government, in
conference with representatives of the
states and owner of timber would, ac-
cording to this plan, give financial sup
port to the states adopting desirable
program Of forest administration and
protection. Both groups favor extern
sion of the nationally owned forests by
further acquisition from the unre-
served public domain and by purchase,
and also the encouragement of tree
planting.
Secretary WaIlace's Program.
Secretary Wallace has taken much
interest in the realization of some sort
of legislation that would tend to put
American forests on a permanent ex-
istence basis, and it is the hope Of
Chairman Haugen that the sub-com-
mittee on forestry will be able to draft
and ere long get favorable congress
sional action on the program advo-
Gated by the secretary of agriculture
in his recent statement to Senator
Norris of the senate committee on
agriculture, namely:
~ Extension Of the existing fed
eral cooperation with the states in
forest fire protection;
(2) Initiation of federal cooperation
with the states in growing or distrib-
uting forest trees OF seeds for plant
Ing;
go Extension of Che national for
ests.
Present financial cooperation be-
tween the national and state govern
ments is limited to the distribution of
100000 annually among the state
governments which themselves make
some provision for protecting forests
from fire. The purchase Of national
forest extensions received only $780,
600 from congress this year. No pro-
vision exists for the further extension
of the national forests by inclusion of
timbered areas of the unreserved pub
lie domain. Eighty per cent of all the
timber area of Alaska, for example,
is still without forestry supervision,
protection or administration.
Fire Protection Most important.
The three features, Of Secretary
Wallace's program are considered es-
sential to any sound national policy.
If they are properly developed they
will, according to expert opinion, solve
not less than so per cent of the prob
lem. The rest can await later devel-
opment as additional information is
secured. The protection of timber
lands from fires will be a great adj
vance in forestry, as lumbermen and
foresters agree that if fires could be
kept out of the forests nature would
attend to rs to 90 per cent of refor-
esting. There have been about $4,000
forest fires annually in the United
States; and they burn over from
100000 to 100000 acres, or twice
the area that is cut over by the lum-
bermen.
In connection with the problem Of
protecting the standing forests. the
question of taxation will naturally
come up, and, with national and state
authorities as well as timber owners
studying it without bias, it may be
expected that a formula of taxation
will be evolved suitable to land that
produces a complete crop but once in
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