The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., March 01, 1925, Page 16, Image 16

THE UNITED AMERICAN
Page Eighteen
MARCH, 1925
States Can Get Help to Save Forests
on the region, they may be lumberjacks,
ranchers, summer resort employees,
water company men, road crews’ section
hands, from the railroads, Mexican
lative session.
There are fourteen states which have laborers, prospectors, cowboys, or just
no forestry departments. The most ordinary men from towns and cities,
heavily timbered of these 'are Florida, out on a vacation or drafted under one
South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and or an either of the state laws as able-
bodied.
Arkansas.
Who leads them ? The forest ranger ?
As the owner of one-third of our re­
maining forests in this country, the In most cases, yes; but there are
farmer is recognized along with the scarely more than 2,500 rangers in the
lumberman in the recently enacted whole fire-stricken region, and many a
Clarke-McNary Bill. He is to be given hardy rancher, lean engineer, or mine
encouragement in the growing of timber or section foreman has- to take a hand.
In some parts of the West fire-fighters
as a crop.
Through the ages, wood from the must walk long distances, carrying
forest has been the lever by which man ■heavy packs and tools, to get to a bad
has lifted himself up the ladder of fire. Sometimes early in the fight they
knowledge. With limbs and leaves from can rest a little, making the attack at
ithe trees he learned to kindle fire, and dawn with the hope of beating the late
with the tough and straight-grained forenoon winds; more often they must
wood from certain species he learned to start work at once, even travel. At
make the bow and arrow. Therewith he best, if the crew reaches the fire by
rescued himself from a state of savagery, truck, with plenty of water, provisions,
by mastering the arts of supplying him­ and tools, there -are long, strenuous
self with food and clothing. With easily ■hours of quickly planned cutting of
workable wood, he stumbled upon the lines with the hope of starving out the
principle of the wheel which is basic oncoming flames in the cases of a
to almost every machine or mechanical ground fire, or backfiring when the
conveyance of the present age. He situation is more serious. Brush hooks
learned the art of plowing the soil and and axes for cutting, and shovels for
pursue more intensive agricultural de­ cleaving 'the .ground of needles or duff
velopment through the 'happy discovery — these are useful in the hands of
that wood could be easily fashioned into strong and determined men, only, who,
when there is no crew to relieve, catch
crude plows.
Modern electricity sprang from Pliny’s a few winks as they -can and stay on the
discovery that fossil resin from pre­ the job.
Not the least difficulty is in maintain­
historic coniferous forests possessed the
inexplaanable power of attracting straws ing morale. It is not easy to overcome
when rubbed. Trough the simple and the -discouragement which follows when
ready adaptability of wood, man learned a fire jumps a man-made line, a stream,
the art of home-building and archi­ or other! natural feature upon which the
tecture, to bridge rivers, to construct crew has pinned its faith. Lots of bread,
ships and master the seas, and now, meat,-strong coffee and tobacco help, but
within a decade, he has conquered the morale plays a big part.
The thanks of the American public
air by the initial knowledge acquired
through the handcraft of forest ma­ should go to the men who do the actual
hard, -grinding work on the fire lines.
terials.
Recently thirty students of the Holly­
Although the airplane body may be
built out of metal, the wings are con­ wood, Calif., High School' made a trip
structed of wood in almost all the newer into the Angeles National Forest, built
types, and .many designers and manufac­ camp fires, and left 'several of them un­
turers still use. wood everywhere in extinguished. The local forest super­
preference to metal. The world’s largest visor, upon complaint from one of the
airplane, the Barling bomber, which was rangers, addressed a letter -to the
assembled at Fairfield, Ohio, in 1923, principal of the high school, calling his
is built altogether of spruce. The attention to the -seriousness of the
Barling bomber is 120 feet broad from offense, and of the necessity of im­
wing-tip to wing-tip. It is driven by pressing care of fire on high school
six Liberty engines and carries 2,200 adults. The letter was read to the boys
gallons of gasoline. It can carry a load in the party, who -immediately inaugu­
of 10,000 pounds of passengers or rated a fire prevention week of their
freight. The smallest airplamjes fever own at -the -high school to square them­
selves. Every one of them soberly as­
built are also made of wood.
We who in the summer months com­ sumed responsibility and put before the
plain of hot days in our homes, or school some angle of fire prevention or
offices, or stores, or whose work take us .suppression every day for one week. This
into the heat of shop or field, know was -long after the proclamation for a
little of the toiling, red-eyed, choking National F-orest Fire Prevention Week.
army of forest fire-fighters who put Fortunately for the boys and the
in the long desperate hours to save the Angeles National Forest, the fires which
woods, waters, industries, and even were left did not escape control. The
homes and human lives, from the hand campaign staged in the high school is
convincing evidence that one fire pre-
of carelessness.
(Continued on Page 19)
Who are these fighters? Depending
LAWS of many states must be providing for a state forestry depart­
changed if they as commonwealths ment and a forest fire protection system,
T HE
are to qualify for help in prevention and may be passed during the present legis­
suppression of forest fires, under the
Clarke-McNary Act passed during the
closing hours of the last Congress. The
new law authorizes the expenditure by
the national government of a sum not to
exceed $2,500,000 annually in co-operat­
ing with states which have adopted
efficiency methods of handling forest
fires, and for the purpose of studying
systems of forest taxation. The object of
the study is to establish more equitable
principles for taxing growing forests.
This should have a far-reaching effect
in making the growing of timber a
profitable business, according to the
American Forestry Association, which
has started a campaign to encourage
appropriate state legislation looking to­
ward country-wide application of the
'Clarke-McNary Law.
In the November election the citizens
of California voted on a constitutional
amendment placing immature forest
growth in the same class with fruit
trees and nut-bearing trees, which are
exempt from taxation for the first four
years after planting in orchard.
Wisconsin voted' on an amendment
to her constitution providing for the
participation of the state in acquiring,
preserving and developing of forests,
and for appropriating money for this
purpose within certain limits. This
amends the accepted policy of Wis­
consin against state participation in
“works of internal improvement.” It
is the second exception to that policy.
The other one, which was voted in 1908,
affected highway construction.
A committee of prominent men tn
South Carolina, including representa­
tives from lumbering, agricultural and
other industries have fostered the intro­
duction of a bill in the present session
of the legislature of that state which
provides for a state forestry department
to be supported by a severance tax on
forest products.
Pennsylvania voted in the last elec­
tion upon the issuance of $25,000,000
in bonds to be used for the purchase of
more state forests. A conservation
council made up of interested organiza­
tions is pushing this issue as a sound
measure for the strengthening of one
of the best state forestry systems in
the country.
In Oregon the state land board is
expected to approve the exchange of
numerous isolated sections of timbered
school land for a single tract now under
control of the federal forest service.
The area contains 70,000 acres and will
be designated as a state forest.
Idaho chambers of commerce are at
work on a campaign for a state forest
policy which will secure federal co­
operation under the Clarke-McNary law.
A bill embodying their recommendations
was recently introduced in the current
session of the Idaho legislature. Similar
activity is under way in Arkansas.
In Georgia the Rountree-Haddock Bill,