Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-10-22


signs that the people con-
vinced that the distress signal is cry of wolf r.
And there are further signs of a nationwide
response to the stern warning of President Cool
idge, who said in his American Forest Week proc
lamation:
1T is not enough that the federal, state and
local governments take the lead. There must be
change in national attitude. Our industries,
our landowners, our farmers all our citizens must
learn to treat forests as crops to be used
but also to be renewed"
The giant tree pictured herewith stands near
Bloomfield Ind. 1t is AZ feet inches in crcum-
ference and 125 feet high Estimates Of it's age are
guesses. 1t commands the admiration and even
affection of the whole countryside Picnic parties
are held in its enormous hollow 1t is freak tree.
Nobody would want forest Of such trees. Yet 1t
Is a symbol Of large significance. For one thing,
Ii stands close to the population center of the
United States Right there has it stood for three
centuries while the American people have marched
across the continent, destroying the forests with
ak and saw and fire as they marched And its
shelteriug hollow suggests what the tree ard the
forest and timber mean to American life and home
and industry. If we do not act promptly the end
of our forests is in sight Fire leads 1.-THE Four
Horsemen." He is already in and burning right
and left Without forests Flood and Drought will
have their will of u.s. aud Famine follows hard on
Flood and Drought.
Here in brief are some features Of the present
situation-it would take volume to set forth
oil It's. phases
OF the original forest land of 100000 acres
there now remain 13S,OO0OOO acres of virgin
forest; 250000000 acres of secondgrowth or third
growth forest Of poor quality and little merchant
able value, and 81, 100000 acres Of burnt and
logged-over land idle, unproductive and mostly
unfit for farming. Timber still standing amounts
to 745000,000,O00 cubic feet; the annual cut is
25,000000,000 cubic feet; the annual growth is
6O00,O00000 cubic feet OF the original forest
there is left in area one-sixth and in bulk of timber
less than one-third. In the states comprising the
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions are con-
centrated IS per cent of the virgin growth and
60 per cent Of all the disable wood.
The East and Middle West are supplied by the
South and West with respective average rail-
road haul Of 1,200 and 1850 miles, The freight
bill is between $3.50, 100000 and $3OO0OOOOO yearly
Excessive profits have forced prices all out of pro-
portion. A decrease in per capita consumption has
been offset by Increase in population. The total
of building operations increases yearly.
We annually cut 25O00,000O00 cubic feet Our
present average annual growth is 1913 cubic feet
acre. So to make cut and growth equal would
require more than the total land area of the
United States To grow this twenty-five billion
cubic feet annually on our present area of forest
land would require growth of 52S cubic feet an
acre. France grows 1854 cubic feet an acre and
Germany so cubic feet
The paper-makers sell us paper in excess of
100000 tons year-more than all the rest of
the world uses. They are now cutting about Co.,
100000 cubic feet Of wood here and importing
the equivalent of as much more in materials. They
talk glibly of 100000 to 100000 tons of paper
to be used in 1850 and hope to be able to use
several kinds of hardwood
Our annual forest losses by fire are appalling
The American Tree association estimates them at
100000 acres in 1924-an area about as big as
the state OF Pennsylvania. Guess the money loss
for yourself; then add the incalculable intangible
losses
In the national forests in 1923 fires burned 373-
214 acres with loss in timber and property of
$494965,00o. The year 1924 was worse. There
were, according to the United States forester
S,247 fires which burned "four-tenths of one per
cent of the total acreage" Since there are 1570OO