The Hope pioneer., 1922-11-30
CONSERVATION OF
FORESTS GROWING
Lumber Producer, Once Most
Ncr.orious Waster, Is Becom-
inq Provdent and Canny.
FEAR PERIL OF WOOD famine

chanec-Remnants Of the Virgin
Stands Of Pine in the South
Viii! Be Cut in Ten Years.
WnshingtOn.-ln no great American
industry. not even meat packing, in
which by common repute everything
is utilized hut the hogs squeal, is con
servation to-day receiving greater at,
tention than in the lumber industry,
The lumber producer. once of al our
Industrial giants the greatest and
most notorious wastrel, has begun to
he providcnt and canny. The indus
try has been forced to 1t. Its alterna
tive is 10 change methods or prepare
for the end of greatness. And what
Is now being done to change methods
coi flutes one of the most interest.
ing stories in modern Industrial
science.
Tile fact is that America is nearing
the en,; "f her timber resources. Even
ten ye:,rs ago the prediction that tho
end WAS nigh was secuted as the out
cry of the professional alarmist. But
expanding population, the enormous
delnand of the war for lumber, the
ceasrless forest fires, all have done
their work America faces the un.
pleasant fact that her once seemingl,
ii,nNlnust'hle forests. which stretched
across 3.GM miles with only q break
for tie Great Plains. are nearing ex.
hauSti0n
Already the pinch is ing felt, es-
pesially in the Fast. The rising prices
tell part OF the story. The consulnp.
tion "f lumber has dropped from an
average per capita use of 500 board
feet in 1906 to SIG board feet in 19aG
I'll drop of 81 per cent in il years.
Carry this out to tho end, and the
Coz assumption of lumber would cease
altogether about the year 1870 The
remnants of the virgin stands of pine
In the Southern states will be cut out
In another ten years. That will leave
the Pacific Northwest as. the sole re.
mnning chief source of lumber and
lumber prices in the East will he based
upon Oregon nna Washington prices
pl"s The freight rate across the con.
tinent. rate that is greater sum
per 1000 board feet than Fasteners
had to pay for lumber itself, includ-
In" the hauling charge, few years
ago.
Government First conservator.
The government was first to realize
the impending doom of the American
forests, and to combat 1t established
the United States forest service to
protect and luain,,iln the tlnbered
areas of the public domain, set aside
In perpetnity as national forests.
Certain states followed the govern.
ment's example, establishing stare for
est services. A little over ten years
a;:'' the forest service established at
Madison, Wis. the forest products
laboratory to study the problems Of
tie industry scientifically. devoting
special attention to the conservation
Of wood after 1t is cut. The industry
al that time may have looked askance
nj this innovation as being another
one ct ''thnse governmental bureaus"
Il" that as 1t may, when the labOra.
tory celebrated it's tenth birthday re
Gently, lumbermen Travelled thousands
Of miles to he there and a-sis; with
tE"ir presence. The laboratory ha;
already saved millions to the industry,
and 1t has only just begun to show
what 1t can do.
. Finally, the lumber industry itself
took up the campaign of conservation
Through its own organization, the Ma
tional Lumber Manufacturers asso.
'..a:ion, it is cooperating with the
.'arious official bodies as well as p,ir.
suing Its own lines of research
A Two.FoId Problem.
There Is room here oEly TO outline
a few of the methods whereby the
timber supply OF the United States is
to be saved. The problem is two"fold,
although both halves are interknit-
the conservation in forests themselves
and, secondly, conservation in the
mills and in the use Of lumber.
In the woods the greatest problem
is fire. Even with today's diminished
per capita use Of lumber we are cut
eAhS uO"H tlCCS lOuI tLltitS us I0SC rs
nature can grow new wood; but In
spite Of all the systems of protection.
the forest fire continues to be even
more destructive than the woodsman'.
AK. The solution of the fire problem
seems to be more elaborate system
of fire protection and greater co.opera
tion with state and national fire BRO
lection services on the part Of pri.
vate owners of timber land.
" Of the more than $4,000 forest fires
annually, lightning starts about one.
fifth Of them and human carelessness
the rest. The tobacco smoker is the
chief offender A strong effort is be.
Ing made to induce tobacco manufac.
turers to print fire warnings on all
packages OF cigars. cigarettes and
pipe t0bncco.