The Daily Alaska empire., 1927-12-21
CRITICISM OF
 TIMBER POLICY
 GIVEN ANSWER
Greeley Refutes Critics of Northwest on Local
 Development Policy


 The development of the pulp and paper manufacturing industry in Alaska will not compete ser: ously with the industry in Oregon and Washington, declared Unitel States Forester w. B. Greeley i'll his annual report to the Secretary of Agriculture, recently made pub lic He takes the position that the Alaskan industry will pri- marily be engaged in the manl- fracture of newsprint while that product will not be a major ele ment in the industry in Greg on and Washington
 Col. Greeley pointed out that the efforts of the Forest Service to establish the industry in Alas ka are in accord with it's estab- lished policy of conservative de- velopment as opposed to forced exploitation.
 Meets With Criticism
 In his report, commenting oa the Alaskan situation, he said III part: Considerable criticism of these sales has arisen, particular ly in the Pacific Northwest. The economic soundness of making such large tracts of Government timber available at this time has been questioned. The claim has been made that the Forest Service in placing these enormous virgin tracts of pulp wood on the mar | ket is in a large measure making impossible the utilization uf waste from the logging and mill ing operations in Oregon and Washington, and that the develop ment of the newsprint industry | in Alaska should be postponed until the wood waste in the lum- Der operations in the Pacific l Northwest is more largely utiliz- ed for supplying the wants of the paper industry.
 | competition Not Likely
 Tt is not probable that the paper-manufacturing industry all. ticipated in Alaska will seriously | compete with the industry as it is now developing in Oregon and | Washington. The spruce and hemlock of Alaska will be in the large-scale production of news print, while the waste from tn } logging camps and sawmills in Washington and Oregon may oe utilized for variety. of papers and fiber boards, including news print but not as major producf. Generally speaking, the setups as to water power, quantity of raw material, marine transportation, etc.. necessary to compete with the offerings in Canada for large scale newsprint production unde" present conditions are to be founl in larger degree in Alaska than in the Western States. Today oyer 50 per cent of the paper consumed in the United States, IT of the raw material from which it is manufactured, is imported.
 Responsibility Is Felt
 "The Forest Service feels a spe- cial responsibility to aid in the development of Alaska. It also believes that Alaska should have an opportunity to get this indus try now if economic conditions invite it. All of Alaska's mopt valuable coastal timber has been withdrawn, and, unlike the situa- ton in our Pacific Coast States, there is no opportunity to create forest industries except by using national forest resources. The | Forest Service has been under fire many times for it's policy of conservation in Alaska, which many people have regarded as a locking up of resources. It has always pointed out that, when economic conditions permit, Alas ka would get her forest industries and get them under type of de velopment that would make therI permanent. Now that the oppor- tunity has arrived, Alaska should be helped rather than hindered in this economic development. Fur thermore, as custodian of public property, the Forest Service has a responsibility to bring about the utilization of immense quantities of mature timber now going to waste in Alaskan forests"