The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-02-08
Saving The Forests.

'S<ttftt~ .Al1C>:E'OIt,StS.
/ Tn an address on "A National
| Forest Policy" before the Asricul-
tural Cenlercnce1at Washington. d.
] c.. on Thursday. January 2G. Gift
ford Pinchot said:
NO wood on the farm, no food
in the town. 1t takes more than
, half, the. wood consumed in Amer
! lea TO supply. the farms that pro-
dace. our food. The farm indus
Try is the greatest single use of
wood.
The farmer finds it harder and
harder 20 get building lumber at
reasonable cost. The reason is
clear. Five-siXths of our virgin
timber is gone. .Two-thirds, of all
the states. with eighty million peo-
pie and more than four-fifths of
the farm values OF the country de-
penG for timber on the few re-
manning states which still cut more
than they consume. Within ten
years the entire country will have
to depend on two or three states
for nearly all its softwood lumber
Moreover. what we can net sup
ply at home We can not secure
abroad. Far more than half the
nations of the world are dependent
for timber supplies upon forests
beyond their own boundaries Even
Mexico is an importer Of timber,
While the Canadians. il they should
give US all they have, coald meet
our needs for less than one gener-
alton.
The demands we make upon
our forests are gigantic. Moro than
half OF all the lumber used in the
world is consumed in the United
States. Meantime, we are replac-
ing by growth only one-fourth Of
what We cur. and our remaining
supplies arc dwindling TO any early
end 1t is clear that we must grow
what We need. Or go without
The iG0 600. 900 acres of timb
land which remains, if they pro-
duced fifty cubic feet per acre per
year. could almost meet our pres
ent needs. But they have been so
misfandled that fifteen cubic feet
is all they grow while our popu-
;ation is inceasing and the uses Of
wood are multiplying y higher
standard of living always means a
larger use of wood.
The public forests. national and
state. are reasonably Well handled.
but they furnish less than three
per cent OF our lumber. and can
never supply more than twenty.
Farm woodlo,s. scattered in
small tracts outside the lumber re-
sions viii always help the farm
ers, bu, can not grow the vast'
quantities Of saw timber we must
have TO live. They are in lit,lc
danger Of devastation
The pii"ately-owned CONNER
cial ci,nhcrlands which contain
most Of what timber wc have left
are being devastated more rapidly
and completely than ever before.
90 the incalulahlc injury Of the
whole nation.
When 4 house is on fire. the
first thing IS 10 stop the fire Re-
planting, fire prevention and the
saving OF what .iimbcrlands still
remain on the public domain anld
lilc Indian I:cscrvat ions are each of
Srfar importance, b':t the FIRST
hing is ~ put I'm end TO forcs;
devastation.
Since the states which do rot
lave forests must depend ON those
which do. THIS matter mus. BE- hun
died by the nation itself y nat
icnal law would become ercc: IKE
everywhere II once. while if saving
our commercial forests We're left TO
the individual states. it would un-
doubtcdly be years before those
. states which have large suppiic,; OF
saw timber would take action by
that sim" il might Well be TOO late.
Meanw hile, it is we'll TO rcmcm-
Der THAT the forest is a crop to bc
grown from the soil. not u mine
TO be exhausted ar,. &bandoned. rs
the lumbcrnl"n &. and that pro
posal 10 take t;tc United States
Forest Service out OF the Depart
mont Of Agriculture is in fact n
proposal 70 check the progress Of
forest preservation in America .
a-e-e--
Germany is Getting Demo
cratic. says; a headline. That story
must hay" been sci anoai by
France TO prejudice the Harding