The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-08-14
SAVE THE FORESTS
SAYS N. B. HURLEY
Nj. b. HURLEY OF PINE CITY,
MEMBER OF NATIONAL AMERI-
CANISM COMMISSION TALKS AT
INDIANAPOLIS ON THE USE OF
TREES.

TREES.
In presenting an argument in favor
of American Legion posts throughout
the land taking up the conservation of
natural resources as community SER
vice, M b. Hurley of Minnesota, a
member of the National Americanism
Commission, gave some interesting
figures regarding the use of trees.
Following his address, made before the
commission at a meeting in Indianap-
oils, the Anericanism Commission ap-
proved of conservation as a worth
while program for Legion posts to per-
form.
1T is said that our civilization de-
ponds largely upon wood" Hurley told
the commission. Some Of us are &C
cuStomed to think of wood only in the
sense of trees being cut and used for
such things as lumber for the con-
struction of buildings and furniture
and things of that character, but the
means of transportation and the means
of communication call for very large
amount of forest products.
THE railroads, for example, require
three thousand ties for every mile Of
road. These ties last generally about
lines require some five million poles,
each of which must have been an en-
tire tree, each year. These are simply
some of the uses to which the trees
are put. 1t is said that each year we
use 50,O00,0 900 of average size to meet
our needs. The number of trees would
cover an area equivalent to the COM
bined states of Massachusetts,, Con-
necticut and New Jersey.
Half of Forests Gone.
Some years ago, in fact, when the
Irfian roamed about this territory un-
m .csted, we had more than 800,000,000
&C IS CT virgin forest. Now we have
less than half that area of forest,
250, COO,Oo0 acres of which are second
g. cwth forest, leaving us something
less than 15O,0OO,OO0 acres of virgin
forest. If that were the whole pic
ture it might look rather discouraging
because in addition to that there are
the trees have been removed and which
at the present time are wholly Idle.
"The brighter side of the picture Is
that now, for some seventy-five years,
or probably only since 1876, which is
100 years after our Declaration of In
dependence, the national government
has taken some steps to remedy our
cit 10 u
not forestry school in the land. To-
day we have large number of schools,
colleges and universities which have
well-equipped forestry schools. The
federal government has taken over and
is preserving, protecting and reforest-
ing an area as national forests greater
than the combined area of the states
of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
West Virginia and Maryland.
GAS I understand, the states of New
York and Pennsylvania each have
state forests comprising something
over 1000 acres, which the states alone,
apart from the federal government
are maintaining as state forests
Municipal forests have been provided.
Forest rays It's way.
"Fitchburg, Massachusetts,, as I un-
derstand, has the first municipal forest
that pays its own way, as these forests
generally are intended to do. How
ever, they can not pay their way in
installments. They can not pay their
way until the crop is harvested. 1t is
matter of working it out so that in
dividual property owners who have
forest lands and wish to reforest them
may do SO with benefit to the state
as well as a fair degree of profit to
themselves. The taxing methods must
be revised so that instead of paying
an annual tax, which would be like
paying weekly or monthly tax on a
crop of grain, the annual tax will be
eliminated and some plan devised
whereby the tax is fully paid when the
crop is harvested. That brings up one
of the difficulties to any plan, but it is
difficulty that is being overcome be-
communities find for overcoming it.
There are certain things at work
against reforestation, such as fire, in
sects and disease. In the year 1927,
for which figures are available, an
area the size of the state of New York
was burned over. 1t is said that In
the history of the nation we have lost
more timber through burning than we
have used. In the year 1927 the value
| of the timber destroyed per day was
said to be 100000. Most of the fires
that are man-made, and some of course
are caused by lightning. Most Of the
Means for eliminating them, of course,
developed in practically every state
where they have any forestry problem
at all"