Evening star., 1933-08-20


the relatively good land.
a. That the forest problem ranks as one of
oar major national problems" The chief
recommendations for the solution Of the forest
problem are briefly stated as: Il. A large
extension Of public ownership Of forest lands,
and g. More intensive management on all
publicly owned lands"
With this outline summary, we have but the
skeleton of the report which Is itself veritable
encyclopedia of forestry. What the private
owner does with his forest land (and he owns
nearly 400 million acres Of commercial forest
land, aside from the 270 million IN industrial
holdings and the 127 million in farm wood
lands) appears to be the business Of the Gov
ernment, at least much as it Is his own
business for tax delinquency IN such private
ownership has become very great. The cut
out -and-get-out policy" practiced by many
private owners has wrecked the productivity
Of the land" and is resulting in inability of
owners to pay taxes on non productive lands"
So through abandonment of privately owned
forests because of tax delinquency and through
donations of forest land to public agencies,
public ownership of huge acreages is coming
about without Government initiative. National
planning for foSests, as for industry, would
seem to be indicated by this thorough investi-
CATION Of the Forest Service. Cooperation
among the Federal Government, State Govern
ments, and privatefore land owners covering
all major forest activities-the preservation of
wild life, the stimulation of demand for forest
products, the utilization Of marginal land.
watershed protection forest recreation forest
ranges, and the organization of intensive forest
management-ts undoubtedly the most efficient.
economical and altogether satisfactory method
Of handling our forest problem
MELONS MILLIONS The Biography Of q
IRA, -
Mellon By Harvey O'Connor. New York:
The John Day Co.
lT would be a misnomer to call this q SYM
pathetic biography. Mr.. OConnor, q newspa-
per man of experience resident of Pittsburgh, has
evidently spent a vast amount Of time in COL
lecting the fact.,al material the accuracy Of
which is disputed by Mr.. Mellon, for this good
sized volume. In his method of handling his
material, his Interpretation Of 1t, his style Of
writing, he Is perhaps not . typical millionaire
batter, but he very obviously does not consider
Mr.. Mellon as one Of the greatest benefactors
Of his country and its citizens He attributes
TO him unusual single -mindedneSs- almost un-
divided attention to the making and manipu-
lation of money. Though acknowledging the
wartime patriotism Of Andrew Mellon and his
brother In subscribing huge sums to bond issues,
Mr.. OConnor points out that the example of
their fellow-townsman, Carnegie, was not fol-
lowed by the Melons. They have never tossed
away millions in the grand manner like Car
negie for public good and private philanthropic
satisfaction. They founded in 1918, the Mellon
Institute of Industrial Research, whose main
purpose was to benefit American manufacturers
through the practical cooperation Of science
and industry" Mr.. OConnor continues satiri-
caliy: The institute solved admirably the re-
search problems of the Mellon corporations"
. The quiet growth Of the Mellon fortune
through many channels before the Mellon name
ives known to the public outside financial and
industrial circles is emphasized. Coal coke gas,
aluminium, steel, plate glass, paint gasoline, oil,
lumber, as well as banking, all contributed to
the Mellon millions. The pages Of the foreword
which show how a large proportion of the
articles and services Of every household have paid
toll to Mellon companies or their subsidiaries
are very interesting. The story of how these
numerous companies we're built up and inter-
locked, of the integration Of the fortune through
Union Trust banking institution claiming the
worlds highest dividend rate (200 per cent an
nually), of the shooting up Of the fortune dur
ing the World War; is an absorbing one and
carries the conviction Of genius at work. Mellon
as q cabinet officer was in a new role. In it he
acted with his usual Quietness, almost silence,
but with a definite and insistent plan of taxa
ton, a plan by which, when it accom-
plished, "the man with the million dollar in
con,e VINO mao peen paying Soo3,OOO INTO the
Federal Treasury when Mellon assumed charge
five years ago, was now asked to pay a trihe
under 5000. .000." Melons ambassadorship to
England is discussed, following the chapter.
"The Crash under the heading, Exile in
England" No. this is not sympathetic bog-
raphy. 1t is too satirical to be even impartial,
but it is not colorless. It is perhaps to be
classified under what a recent newspaper edi-
tnral termed biographical racketeering.'
u J. ~