The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-10
AMERICAS TIMBER
 SUPPLY DWINDLING
|. A. Whipple. in Thrift Magazine.

c. A. Whipple, in Thrift Magazine.
 Looking at the quantity of remaining timber in this country, there is reason enough for apprehension and remedial laws are urgent to overcome the scarcity as far as possible at this late date. But another index to the se- riousness of timber depletion is found in the location and availability of the supply that re- mains
 The largest bodies of timber are in the far west; 61 per cent of all that remains is west of the Great Plains and slightly more than one-half is located in the three Pacific coast states. Two-thirds of the states are now large ly dependent on imported timber. It is es- tmated that within the next 10 or Is years the supply of the southern forests will no longer be sufficient to respond to outside de- mands, so the entire nation will have to look to California, Washington and Oregon.
 Seventy-seven per cent of our population resides in the states that are now importing timber. Four-fifths of our agricultural areas are located in these states and 88 per cent of our manufactured products are made in these states. Dependence on timber 5000
 miles distant obviously means high freight charges dllQ AlGH piiSSo bO IuS S0uSuultI'
 Many states like New York could solve ths problem by planting their idle land that will grow nothing but forests. New York has an area of about 12,000,000 acres of such land. New England alone has nearly 25,000,000 acres of forest land which should be de- voted to intensive forestry more than 5,000,- 900 acres of which is totally unproductive, while over S,000,000 acres produces nothing but fuel wood and the remainder produces much less than it should if properly managed.
 The forest land of New York would pro- duce more than twice much raw material as is consumed by our woodworking ifl- dustries. These industries are importing about 60 per cent of the wood they nse and the scarcity of wood has been the chief cause in the loss of 35 per cent of the woodworking industries of New York during the last seven years.
 New York has a larger investment in Wood working industries than any other state, ap- proximately $2S0, 1000, ,OoO, and the aggregate annual value of their products is $275,000,- GOO; they employ 137,545 persons. If this industry is to be kept within the state it must be supplied with raw materials from home. The pulp mills import two-thirds of their pulp wood for pulp from Canada and result our manufacturers have to pay $5.9S more per cord for raw material than the average price paid in the United States.
 Economic conditions throughout the coun- try require that lands unfit for agriculture and suitable only for timber growing be put to work. Land that produce only forests at reasonable profit should be made to yield such crops since idle land is a detriment to the commonwealth as well as to the private owner, the taxpayer and wood consumer, which includes every man, woman and child. No state can reach it's industrial possibilities until the land is producing it's maximum profit It is practicable to plant the land of many states and bring them back into the self-suss taining column in the matter of wood. We don't have to go 5000 miles for potatoes; if we did what furious protest would be heard. Why get our wood supply from the Pacific coast? And why contemplate the situation complacently?