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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 1911)
TIJE STTNDAY OREGON'TAX. rOKTLAXD. AUGUST 6, 1911. FIRE PATROL SYSTEM IN OREGON FORESTS PROVES SAVING TO STATE Million, of Dollars' Worth of Timber Is Preserved Annually Through Efforts of Men mo Battle With Confla grations With Spade, Ax and Gunnysack. k. ...T- -X ' - I II jMMI M ns" Tn1 if ' n nTn II nf ' . . i u-i : irrr ;i MPett: : illya w ; v-" j TSTZf ZZAjSaCSfS &CS?1SSSG BT FRANKLIN S. ALLEN. SPRINGFIELD. Or.. Au. t (Spe cial). Oregon h one-flfth of the ttndtng timber In the United States, or about 600.000.000.000 feet. Thli timber la worth on the (tump not lea than 0.000.000, and manufac tured It will brlnn In to this state over I. oo. 000.000 of outslie m"Pr. Ore fon's forests already distribute more wealth in the state than apples, fish, wool and wheat combined, and of the revenue received from lumber iO per cent lines for labor and supplies. And I cuttlns; has hardly begun. To protect this timber the most per fect syatem of fire patrol and the best means of protection ever employed are now In force. To maintain this, prl vate owners In this state are spending flio.ooo a year, the Federal Govern ment, for patrol, S150.O00. and the state of Oreon for protection has I SO. 000 available for two years. Oregon's timbered area Is approxi mately IS.000.000 acres, and at pres ent practically every acre of this Is under the eye of some forest ranker. I'pon ths crest of some hlah moun tain he la stationed, where he can watch the smoke from even the camp ers' Ores as they are kindled in some open place where there ts no dancer of sparks spreading. The Area of last year taue-hl the public a lesson and there Is ttiia year a better public spirit toward the safety of the forests. ratrol Is Thorough. Early In the Fprlnir. from February hrouah May and even until the middle of June If the season Is late, the it rest lumber corporations send their rangers ind crews Into the woods to burn- out all the rubbislt and waste matter of the forests. Lane County having; more standlna- timber on It than any other of equal sise In the world, may be used as a typical example to show the way tn which the forests are being given proper care. In the fprlnir the ranters a-o through the forests, particularly where the tim ber has already been cut losa-ed-off areas and all that la Inflammable Is burned In brush fires. This minimizes the possibility of fires spreading; or vn starting- In the green timber dur lnc the dry season. The Booth-Kelly Company, one of the largest timber corporations In the rnlted States, owning 170.000 acres of timber In Lane County, has employed 24 men ever since the snow melted, at work cleaning the woods. - After the - Summer season begins these men are divided among the sev eral districts. These districts cover four or five square miles and can be easily wstched from some one piece. The rangers not only watch for fires and direct fire fighters, but they warn campers, berry pickers and hunters and KN KrA' '"; v vv i 77 "fr. -; i I1' -.m -a , t t 'f'r T ' I - A-- -Ar i - ?' $ 'J A I -Ai J:S - ! render any assistance or Information needed. v But the Government system tn the Forest Reserve Is even more perfect In the Cascade Keserve are stationed six rangers. II guards and three as sistant rangers. In addition to 30 trail builders and 10 telephone builders. In the Summer the trail builders are at work building paths which enable the Ore wardens to reach any place In the reserve m the least possible time. When a Ore Is discovered a crew of men with pack horses loaded with shovels, axes, mattocks and food, la sent over these trails. Every rsngers station Is connected to mala trunk telephone lines that are run from the head supervisor's office In Eugene, and the Instant that a fire Is discovered the whole force of rang ers and crews can be notified and In structions given from the supervisor as he sits tn hi office. Trunk lines are built along the roads into the forests and from these the line Is run along the ground. Number IS coppr wire Is strung along for miles over the floor of the forests and connects every por tion of the great reserve. At the end of the aeason this wire is rewound and stored away. A new system Is being tried this year by C. R. Soltx. supervisor, which he call bis trlangulatlon system. In ad dition to the rangers and guards he has established fire lookout points, where five men are stationed with in struments. These men by the aid of trigonometry and a map of the reserve are able to find almost exactly the lo cation of a fire. This news is trans mitted by telephone to the rangers, who take men and proceed to the place where the fire was reported. These guards are atatloned so as to cover one another's territory, so that If a fire is O ' o o o overlooked by one it will be seen by the other. The men In charpe of these station, "umpire guards." as they are called by Sir. Scitx, are students from local schools of forestry, who are given practical experience in the woods. "Crown. Fire" lYored. There are two kinds of fires. . One can be fought and coped with.' but the other, like a terrible disease, generally must be allowed to run its course. The "ground fire" la the first result of a fire that has started from a spark or cam per ' fire, and Is the type that Is most easily handled. It doea no dam age except to kill the second growth timber and burn the windfalls. The danger of the ground fire is its devel opment Into a "crown fire." the type that is dreaded, by the timbermcn and the forest rangers. In this case the fire leaps through the top of the timber and like the sh-h-h-h-h-h of a skyrocket runs through the great trees on the wings of the wind. Nothing can live botore it, and it travekj with a speed that .a horse cannot escape. On a warm and windy day this fire murt run until it reaches the top of the ridge or to where there is no more timber to burn. The ground fire trav els slowly, probably only a mile or two a day. and it can be managed by the firefighters. Tho method of fighting this fire Is by surrounding it with a trail or ditch of dirt, across which it will not ordi narily Jump. It Is when this fire be gins to Jump acro this dirt "fence" that the fighters lose heart and realize that the fire is beyond their control. While in the city the flreflghtlng heroes work before huge crowds and use expensive machinery, the tool of the forest firefighter Is a shovel or mattock, or perhaps a wet sack and a bucket of water. But the ax and the shovel do the most good. When the fire Is found and Its elzs judged by the ranger, his crew begins the construc tion of the ditch about the fire. When this is completed, and it may be crossed time and again by the fire, necessitat ing a new trail farther away, it is continually patroled by the men with buckets and wet sacks. Xlght Pots Fire Asleep. The time to fight the fire is between midnight and 10 o'clock In the morning. During this period the fire sleeps with the .wind and makes no progress. A forest fire without wind is not possible. Crown fires are sometimes fought by chopping down the timber in a path similar to the dirt trail used for the ground fire, but without a great force of men and with any wind this is Im practicable. It Is a great error to believe that the forest fires wipe out the trees from an area completely and leave the terri tory as nude as a barn floor. Even a crown fire only sears the trees and passes on. The great trees are left standing, blackened and dead, and the wood is burned, if at all, only to a depth of a fraction of an Inch. As the tree etands it rots, is warm eaten and falls. In the end leaving the moun tain bare. A great portion of the losses reported from the fires last year can be saved If the timber is cut at once. The Booth-Kelly Lumber Company la building eeveral miles of railroad and has purchased the largest logging en gine in the world In order to save 100, 000,000 feet of burned timber. G. X. Wendling, of San Francisco, will build 60 miles of railroad Into the western portion of Lane County to cut an Immense acreage of burned timber before it is useless for the market. The United States Government Is selling the timber that has been burned over In Its reserves, and many speculators are buying large areas, especially In the Crater Lake Reserve, In Southern Oregon, with the expectation of logging It at once. Fresh Air Is Needed by New Ycrk Mothers Careworn Parents ana Anaemle Chll. ores la New York's Congested Tenement Districts Call Forth Tre mendoua Effort to Relieve Sufferers. NEW YORK. Aug. 5. (Special.) Can you Imagine what a wretcned existence one must endure who never gets a breath of cool, fresh air? There are, fortunately, few cities in the world where such conditions exist. New York is one of the exceptions. In the congested tenement districts of the metropolis there are thousands of poor families who do not know what a vaca tion is and to whom a breath of fresh air Is a luxury, much longed for, but seldom enjoyed. With a fire escape or a tin roof for a playground, living quar ters consisting of a few stuffy rooms, surrounded by baking brick walls, siz zling pavements and the familiar en semble of ash cans, these thousands of care-worn mothers and anaemic chil dren spend their Summers with never a hope of a change. The- recent record-breaking hfat wave resulted in Intense suffering in these tenement districts. It cannot be described; to appreciate its Intensity one must either make a tour of the congested tenements on a day when the thermometer shoots above the 90 degree mark, or listen to the pathetic appeals of the victims for fresh air relief. To relieve as much suffering as pos sible during these protracted heat periods and to provide a rest period for thousands of mothers and children who never before have experienced the Joy of anticipation of, or the benefits to be derived from a day or week at the seashore or in the country, a vast machine Is constantly moving In New York. It Is operated by several philan thropic organizations, the greatest of which Is the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, more familiarly known In the metrop olis as the A. I. C. P. Through the efforts of these organizations thousands of babies are saved every Summer, tlred-out mothers are invigorated and strengthened and children are made sturdy and fit for the coming year's school work. The A. I. C. P. alone takes to the seashore or the country In the course of a Summer over 30,000 poor mothers and children. There they remain for from one day to two weeks, according to their physical condition. To carry on this beneficial work on so large a soale the association maintains a fresh air home, called Sea Breeze, at Coney Island. Junior Sea Breeze, at Sixty fourth street and East River, and Caro line Rest, at Ilartsdale. Over 50.000 i a year, obtained entirely by voluntary subscriptions received from persons llvlnjr in every state in the Union, Is spent for this work. No city or state aid is received. From July 6 until September 1, on every Monday, Tuesday. Thursday and Friday a party of not less than 600 poor mothers and their children from the tenement district gather at the Battery and are taken by ferry and In special trolley-cars to Sea- Breeze, where they spend the day enjoying the sea breeze, bathing in the ocean and various other forms of recreation. On Wednesday of each week a party of about 300 sickly mothers and their children are taken to Sea Breeze, where they remain the guests of the associa tion for a week or longer. In the course of the season three parties of colored mothers and children enjoy outings. Last year the association aent 25.000 persons to Sea Breeze. It expects to do the same this year. Per sons who desire to make others happy know that every 25 cents they con tribute will send one mother or child to Sea Breeze. Many persons have paid the entire cost of a day's outing for 500 persons whlc.i Is 1125. To many of these poor, persons a day's outing like this Is their only vacation, the memories of which linger for months and sometimes for years. It Is at Junior Sea Breeze where the battle for the lives of children is carried on. Last year 146 babies were treated. Since the protracted heat period in early July this year the in stitution has been exceptionally busy. At Caroline Rest last year 347 wo men. 296 babies and 294 children, all sickly and residents of New York's congested districts, were cared for. So well organised is the Summer relief work conducted by the blw- re lief societies that there are practical ly no duplications and no, funds wasted. As a demonstration of its perfect system the association for Improving the condition of the poor haa reduced Its appeals for gifts to what It cnooses to call "fresh air recipes.' Here is the schedule: Twenty-five cents gives a mother or child one glorious day of freedom, sweet cool air, good food and fun in the sand and surf; fl lets a little family enjoy it all together; 11.60 will give a whole week of new life and cheer to a worn-out' mother, an aged toller, an under-nourished working girl, or a convalescent; $5 gives to a teeth ing baby and its "little mother" of ten, a cool, healthful week: $10 gives four run-down school children a fresh start for next year; $25 sends a carload of careworn people off for the day and brings them back with new courage; 1125 gives a happy excursion to 600 mothers and children for many, their only outing. To the question "How many will you send?" hundreds have responded with large and small gifts. , WAR MANEUVERS GIVE INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE TO NAVAL MILITIAMEN Recent Demonstration by Big Ships of North Atlantic Squadron Said to Have Resulted in Theoretical Captnre of New York and Attack on Boston. , ' . t . : mil ' 1 . - ; -s-ri i . A .-- a. ' I ; A V Vf Vvwnj 'X. -n--' ir- ; v j.7(g? 1 S. i.j ! V i - ", ... : - -vr Aft wa fr? i XjanMssmi.. rrnini in iii iwinmiinpMg-Ml I I m iril 1 inn nl Mi ir ygggg" -hi k . tj7fi i'Af I 4iM ' A .'-- vJr-,- " j--r h 'j i H IS i AZr -t -U; J I CsA.AjA VfV A .71 hM 1 sv!Vv-' j . SsA- -lfi r . 'fdX r- 7 f"rt tvfr i A W A . . V .S: . - AYl 'A M- - A aa hH--- Z ,s ". l-w...-: Si: McSfAmm0A fAA. m:A:- xA:c: ' A AAtfMmei anannnnnnnnnssajsnnnn 1 tanxa.nnnannnnnnnnajannnM.nnMann C3-. C3. ajEW YORK. Km. S. (Special.) The annual war maneuvers by the Navy have been completed. The naval militia from most of the Eastern states and the District of Columbia have spent one week on the big ships of th North Atlantic squadron. These ships divided into two fleets have attacked and defended New York. According to unofficial reports. New York City was captured by the attacking fleet and it was reported that a force had been landed and started toward Boston. All these theoretical results will be worked out on paper and reported to the President. The practical result of the maneuvers was to give the members of . i til,!,. v.ln.hla .vnprlptlCfl H ine DdVttl JIlAlilc a. varna... - of life aboard ship. NEW ZEALAND AIDS CAUSE People of Islands Give Money to Help Irish Home Rule. WELLINGTON. N. Z., July 29. (Spe cial.) W. A. Redmond, M. P., for East Tyrone. Richard Hazleton, M. P.. for North Galway, and J. T. Donovan, of Belfast, Irish envoys who are on a visit to the Antipodes to raise money for the home rule cause, arrived here from London several days ago. The last home rule delegation that visited New Zealand in 1906 succeeded in raising $25,000 in New Zealand and $90,000 in Australia. On this occasion it is safe to assert that the subscrip tions will be still larger. The Irish home rule envoys are always sure of a hearty welcome from their compa triots in New Zealand, and from a considerable number of Liberals of English, but more particularly of Scot tish, descent. The ' first meeting of the present Australasian tour was held in the Town Hall here, and though the hall was not full, there was nevertheless a large and enthusiastic audience of be tween 1700 and 1S0O men and women present to listen to addresses by the delegates. Of the three speakers Mr. Hazleton made decidedly the best impression. WOMAN MAKES GOOD IN DOUGLAS COUNTY OFFICE Juvenile Charges Are Given Chance to Prove Goodness Before They Are Punished Ij Deputy District Attorney. ROSEBCRO. Or., Aug. E. (Special.) "Miss Mabel Albright, Douglas County's woman Deputy District At torney, has made good and I doubt whether her conduct of the Important office she occupies could be improved," said District Attorney George M. Brown when commenting upon the manner In which the affairs of the Juvenile Court are being handled. Miss Albright's appointment as Deputy District Attorney was an experiment, for the reason that Mr. Brown enter tained fear that her ' tender heart might get the best of her judicial Judgment when passing sentence on her charges. Such fear was dispelled early In her term, however, and she will remain at the head of Douglas County's Juvenile Department during the remainder of Mr. Brown's term as District Attorney. . "I dislike notoriety," said Miss Al bright on the day she received her ap pointment. . Fully vested with the power of the office to which she was appointed. Miss Albright immediately set to work to devise methods whereby she might handle her wards with the best pos sible results. In this she succeeded, and today she is considered one of the most efficient Deputy District At torneys Douglas County ever had. A few days after her appointment. Miss Albright was called to dispose of her initial case, the charge being a girl of minor years. Unlike many District Attorneys whose hearts have become chilled by the tales of hardened crim inals, she listened to the evidence of the complainants and to tho story of the chfld. Possessed of an affection for children, she refrained from or dering the usual commitment and re sorted to the use of moral persuasion. She decided that it was better to give the charge a chance than to commit it to a home. Today the chijd is happy, and in older years may credit its use fulness to a woman whose mission is to save and not condemn. In many cases Miss Albright has been compelled to consider the evi dence, at length, and at times she has been forced to resort to threats of punishment. In not one instance, how ever, has she committed ,her charge, feeling that a trial cannot result in harm. At the present time Miss Al bright has a number of children under her guardianship, and in . many in stances these charges are compelled to report to her monthly. Unlike the busy District Attorney, whose time is fully occupied in enforcing the laws of his state, she lays aside her work upon the intrusion of these children, and with a smile welcomes them. Not until she is fully satisfied that they are exerting thei.- best efforts to ful fill the provisions of their imaginary parole, does she allow them to depart. Keeping them under her care in this manner, she finds little difficulty in avoiding the unpleasant task of sep arating them from parents and frTends. District Attorney George M. Brown, who is responsible for Miss Albright's appointment, is pleased with the man net in which the office is being con ducted. Happiness and Democracy. Max Eastman, in the Atlantic. The disorder, the indignity and Ir regularity, the scattered extravagance, squabbling and mud-slinging, and gen eral uncertainty all these aspects of our Government which make it unsat isfactory to contemplate are signs that it is doing well. Democracy does not aim to produce a government as complete and regular and satisfying to the cultivated mind as possible; it aims to produce a government some what loose and dirty, in which the citizens are great as individuals. R member that a republican government is a continuous education, and you will not expect to find In It the virtues of a graduation ceremony. You will ex pect to find the children kicking out upon all sides, overturning things the moment they begin to run smooth, forever putting up Irrelevant ques tions and in general making it appear that nothing is being accomplished. If there is anything in this world that looks like a complete failure, it is a successful kindergarten. And much the same thing is true of a successful experiment in self-government. The success is inside of individuals. It is happiness, and experimental knowl edge, and moral Independence, and humility. Thoughtful Ball-Manners. Philadelphia Dispatch. Ed M. Sticklin. a Justice of the Peace in Harrisburg, Pa., posted the follow ing notice on his office door: "All parties having business with me next week, and those desiring to be united in marirage in my office will please call in the forenoon, beginning Mon day and continuing all week. a I will be at the ball game each afternoon,