The Coolidge examiner., 1936-01-17

I, partment of agriculture was created, Hough was
appointed as its chief and he served in that ca
pacity from 1876 to 1888.
Meanwhile certain events had been taking
place which should have been warning to the
whole nation but which were, for the most part,
dSregarded. In the West terrible forest fires
had been raging almost every summer but little
attention paid in the East to the reports
of these confagrations. Now and then Hough
and other far-seeing men declared that our fu-
ture timber supply was in danger unless steps
were taken to replace the trees destroyed by
these fires or by the numbering methods then in
vogue. But America, evidently believing that
our forests, like some of our other natural re-
sources, were inexhaustible, laughed at these
"cranks' and went merrily on it's wasteful way.
Strangely enough the great Chicago fire of
1871 helped turn the thought of the nation to
forest resources. That was the summer of one
of the greatest drouthS in the history of the
country. From July to October g. with the
exception of two small showers in September
no rain fell in the ma jOr portion of the Middle
West. Forest fires swept over a great part of
northern Michigan and Wisconsin and ragged un-
hindered through the country where streams
ponds and marsh lands had dried up
The East heard again about forest fires but it
didn't worry much about them Why wonder
about few thousand trees anyway? Ships
were to be built of iron and buildings Of brick,
and coal was the fuel of the future, they said.
Then in october, 1871, the whole problem of
drouth and fire was dramatiZed in the great
tragedy in Chicago and 1t helped turn the ma
tonal consciousness to our future timber supply.
The direct result that congress appropriate
ed $1,000 and employed Hough to investigate
timber conditions in the United States. Out of
his report, sent to congress by President r. B.
which
although slow in developing has made constant
progress during the last 60 years. The success
sive steps in that development have been as fol-
lows:
1S66-Act creating division of forestry in De-
partment of Agriculture June 80.
1S91-Presdent authorized to establish forest
reserves March 3. Yellowstone Park Timberland
reserve proclaimed by President Harrison on
March 80.
1S97-Present National Forest act passed
June 4.
1901-Divison of forestry becomes bureau of
forestry July l.
19O5-Bureau of forestry becomes forest serv-
ice February l.
1911-Weeks law passed March 1.
1924-Clarke-McNary bill signed June Z.
1925 -McNary-Woo act signed April 30
92S-McSweeney-M -McNary act signed May %.
1933-President Roosevelt sends forest work
relief message to congress March q.
1933-First Civilian Forest Conservation corps
camp established April II.
In commenting upon the forest fires back in
the seventies which brought to the American peo-
pie realization of the need for conservation of
timber supply President Pack of the Ameri-
can Tree association said recently:
"Those and the many forest fires to follow
have cost the nation millions of dollars But
things are on the mend. Little did Hough ever
think that a forest army known as the Civilian
Conservation corps would ever put in 1,S41,OOO
man days fighting forest fires. Hough never
dreamed 3,459 miles of telephone lines would
be built into these forest areas to help keep
down the fire loss. Hough knew nothing of for
est fire lookout towers and aeroplane spoilers
watching thousands of square miles of forests
for the first sign of curling smoke He could
not vision the radio call of fire. giving the ap-
proximate location to the nearest station, this
to be followed by the Shrek of the fire siren and
hundreds of men going into action in motor
trucks.
"But HOugh had one vision, such the thou
sands of tree planting members of the American
Tree association have. That was that we must
look ahead and in his report forwarded to the
congress by President Hayes he said
"'In looking forward to the possibilities of
future supply of timber we cannot expect (unless
so far may be derived from Canada) any
sstance worth noticing from foreign countries,
and must substantially depend upon ourselves
for what ever we may require to meet the vast
and varied wants of our population. Although
in some instance the consumption may become
less, as of the substitution of iron in civil and
naval architecture of mineral coal for fuel,
we scarcely expect that the general demand
will ever decrease; but it will steadily advance
with increase in wealth and numbers and
that its supply must depend upon growth within
our own territory, and, the native timber is
exhausted, it must be re-reared under the care
and direction of man.-It is indeed true that
timber will grow through mans neglect where
ever the soil and climate do not forbid, but with