The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-20
REAL WORKERS AT
THE NAIONAL CAPITAL

Il n HI i NH4Nx
WASHINGTON, ID. c., April 19.---
One of these days We as a people
will be as smart as the -swedes. Oh
at least, we may be-. Chief Forester
William B. Greeley points out that
we are beginning to brighten up. Ths
national noodle Is, so to say, belni
rubbed on the grindstone OF necessity
Shiny spots are beginning to appeai
on it. It Is only matter Of TIME
This is by no means . literal rem
dering Of the chief forester's remarks
No person holding an Appointire posi-
ten under the national government
could By any possibility be 30 frank
There would be dirt farmer In hi
place in no time. Yet the coAclusier
that We are by no means a. smart
people a. we think ourselves, but that
we are getting Anaarter might, ] think
be drawn from Colonel Greeley's state
ments.
1--WE are learning" he said. Again
this il net a literal quotation. mot
as fast as we might. But learning
Studied Trees And knews Them
He meant about the value OF trees
Of course. Trees have occupied the
major portion Of Colonel Greeley's
waking thoughts since as child he
was taken cut Of the wsik-around chair
and given an az to play with. He
was born in Osweso, New York, in
1870, and New York was In touch, al
least, with the great northern forests
Then he went to California and lived
among the biz trees a. boy Of 10
Yale forest school put i finishing touch
to his education and then he headed for
the big woods again. 90 he came to
be chief forester Of the Forestry bureau
in good time. But the point ID that
he loves trees.
Let's get back to the Swedes. Swe-
den is a rocky, cold,l inclernent coun-
try. There are large parts OF it where
the soil is SO very poor that farmer
cannot even raise a flag. A warm
summer in Sweden woald be consid.
red desperately early fall anywhere
else. Yet the Swedes have managed
TO live comfortably, raise large fami.
lies of pink and white children, and
maintain their independence for sew
eral centuries. One reason 10 that they
preserve their forests. We destroy our
forests. But Colonel Greeley says we
are learning better.
"Our eyes are bsng opened to the
cash value Of tree" says he.
Did valuable war Service
The Swedish forests will be an asset
to that small land forever. because
they are carefully managed. Tree
cutting is conducted under direction of
the government foresters and 80 is
tree planting. There ii no reason why
Sweden's most profitable crop should
not continue to bear in perpetuity.
During the war Chief Forester Greeley
was lieutenant colonel of that ex.
.pansible unit known as the forestry
section in Franee, when he directed
the operations of some light and port
able sawmills that could get under way
almost as quickly as q fire engine.
They were of immense value to the
American army, then in need of every.
sort of lumber from ENHANCEMENT stakes
to bungstafters in hurry.
But we had to, fell trees in the
government and city owned forests in
obedience to the rules of the French
foresters," said he. I'VE Americans
were only in France for the day-just
to win the war. The French proposed
to 60 on living there anu so they pre-
served their forests as carefully as
though war had never been heard Of.
We were SLOWED to cut five-yeafs
growth Of trees, where In peace time
we could have cut only enc years
growth. But the forests were pre-
served
French Forests A Good Investment
Well, there's reason. A French
forest ranks with a bank as gilt
edged investment One year with an
other they pay from four to six per
cent and will go on paying that diyi-
dend forever, because they are cared
for. About the time Of the war of
1870 French farmers went through
something the same experience that
our farmers are going through now.
No one would stay down on the farm,
after they had seen the Cafe de 10
Paix. Thousands of acres were per-
mitted to grow up in underbrush be-
cause there was no one to grub 1t out.
When the farm-h&nd returned to his
own again the farmers had discovered
that this woodland Yielded n better
profit, often, than the cropped land did.
So the trees stayed.
1t encouraged the planting of 2,OOO,-
600 acres of barren sand on the French
lands in trees. They were not worth
nickel a section before. Now they
bring in a fat six per cent year. 1t
will not be very long, Colonel Greeley
says, before we will realize the value
of the tree, for lumber ID now costing
almost as much in our eastern states
as it costs in Europe. Hence We will
soon be protecting and planting tre:s,
just as they do in Europe. There are
mighty few primeval forests in Eu-
rope. The trees there have largely
been planted, just as they are care
fully preserved.
Interesting U. S. Statistics