Vol. XVII-No. 8

EDITORIALS.

An Official Transfer.

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HURSDAY

morning, March 12th, the

Whole Number 196

no Governor has been so distinctly outspoken in his appreciation of its vital importance to the prosperity of the Commonwealth, or of his desire to further its activities, as Governor Sproul. He has watched the movement pass from the

There was no surprise in this. It had been an open secret for months that a change was contemplated.

Mr. Conklin was simply transferred from the head of the Forestry Commission to the head of the Water Supply Commission, Governor Sproul himself volunteering the statement:

"There is no reflection upon Mr. Conklin in the change. I have stated to him that no criticism which has ever reached me of his department has reflected in any way upon his official integrity or his personal honor. I have transferred him to the Water Supply Commission, a place with which he is entirely familiar and which will be very agreeable to him, he being particularly well qualified for this work by long. experience."

There is no reason for considering this change in the light of a political move, for the Governor says that he and Mr. Pinchot have differed politically in the past and probably will do so in the future.

Mr. Conklin has a long, favorable record as an executive officer and under his administration a large forest reserve has grown up. Lands purchased at $2.50 an acre have developed into forests worth $15.00 per acre. There is a long list of things done which have added wealth to the State, and rescued for the inhabitants thereof health, happiness and strength in the outing grounds to which they may repair. There is no charge of extravagance, nor is there a penny of State money which has not been properly accounted for.

Yet, the Governor must have had a reason for his action. Whatever he does is (as was this act) carefully considered. Governor Pattison and every one who has succeeded him in office has been friendly to the forestry movement, but

an established fact demanding and receiving an ever-increasing public support. It is probably not too much to say that he has determined to make it one of the distinguishing constructive measures of his administration, and to associate it in importance with the good road question.

This, then, may be the explanation of the official transfer made. The Governor doubtless wishes to accelerate the State progress in forest restoration. Evidently he and Mr. Pinchot discovered that they were of one mind upon that question, and he determined that Mr. Pinchot should have a chance to show what he could do to lift the Forestry Department out of the ruts worn (it was alleged) by its own progress in a new field.

The Pennsylvania Forestry Association cordially tenders Mr. Pinchot its earnest support. It can not be so forgetful of its own mission as to do otherwise. There is no reason to doubt that the present Commissioner will have more liberal appropriations than were ever granted to the former Commissioner, and if, with his increased opportunities, he fails to make a more brilliant showing, it will reflect upon him. This must be remembered in our final assessment of values at the review of the two forest administrations. Every friend of forestry wishes Mr. Pinchot the most abundant success, for his own sake, and for that of the Commonwealth.

Mr. Pinchot is right in his contention that the one great disturbing element in our plans is forest fire. All foresters have known this for years, and have labored to suppress them, but with public indifference, and often with reluctant support of the courts, progress has been slow. There are vast areas to patrol, and inadequate help, and indeed, the open expression of opinion that forest fires were a benefit, because they cleared the way for production of a berry crop which was said to be of greater value than any timber that could be restored to such ground.

All this has been changed (or is changing) for the better.

The new Commissioner starts on the foundation created by the old Commissioner. "There is glory enough for both."

Mr. Pinchot comes to the task, for which he has been "commandeered," with a well-earned record of past achievements as head of the Federal Forest Bureau. "He has the courage of his convictions.'' It would not be characteristic of him if he did not enter upon his new duties with energy. He may count upon the support of this Association in whatever promises to increase the size, value and general usefulness of Pennsylvania forest area. J. T. R.

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LIPPINGS from the Pittsburgh Post which appear in this issue of Forest Leaves show that the question of future water supply for that city is fast becoming acute. There never has been a time when the Pennsylvania Forestry Commission lost sight of the need of abundant water supply for the western slope of the State. There were two conditions that confronted, the Commission when any attempt was made to purchase land for State Forest Reserves west of the mountains. The first and most important one was that the whole region was pre-eminently one of mineral wealth and land could not be purchased there within the price limit set by law. This limit has, to a certain extent, been removed. But for two or three dollars an acre land could still be purchased by hundreds of thousands of acres on the Delaware and Susquehanna slopes.

It was hard for the Commission under such conditions to pay ten dollars an acre for the surface right alone for land west of the Alleghenies, because it would probably diminish further purchases for land in fee in the East.

There are, however, some facts to bear in mind:

First-There is an enormous demand for mine props in the bituminous coal field, but the timber used is small sized, the growth of but a few years, and this alone would very shortly become a source of revenue to the State.

Second-It was the evident intention of those who framed and passed the act extending the price of land per acre from $5.00 for land in fee to $10.00 per acre for surface alone, that the price should be paid, when necessary, for desirable land.

Third-There is now a change in the administration of the State Forest Service. One of the last acts of the former forest administration was

to practically make a substantial addition to the limited forest holdings of the State on the Ohio water shed. It would surely be a most unfortunate thing if Mr. Pinchot and his associates should fail to keep at least the pace established by his predecessors in purchases of land.

Now is the time to provide water collecting forest area for the Pittsburgh slope. There is no reason to think it will ever be more easily or cheaply obtained. Every year the popular demand for outing grounds for the thousands who follow indoor vocations is becoming more insistent. Breathing space must be secured and protected for the coming race. J. T. R.

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HEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the owner of more than 1,000,000 acres of forest land, which it is protecting and developing for future usefulness, which already constitutes one of the most valuable assets of the State, and which will continually grow in beauty and utility as the years go by; and

"Whereas, In times not long gone by the forests of Pennsylvania were the glory of our Commonwealth and the most abundant source of its prosperity; and

"Whereas, To restore the productiveness of the land now devastated by fire and the ax is among the first duties of wise and patriotic statesmanship; and

"Whereas, One of the means of such restoration is by planting trees and protecting them when planted from forest fires, whose ravages are costly beyond computation; and

"Whereas, The custom of observing Arbor Day has become an established and beneficent practice among our people and latterly has been greatly stimulated by the planting of memorial trees in honor of gallant Pennsylvania soldiers who forfeited their lives in the World War, which custom is happily and widely observed throughout the nation: and since tree planting is needful for furnishing fuel and all other wood

products, for the restoration of forests and for the beautifying of parks, highways, school grounds, home grounds, and wherever a tree will lend value, variety or beauty to the landscape; "Therefore, I, William C. Sproul, Governor of the Commonwealth, do proclaim Friday, the 16th day of April, and Friday, the 23rd day of April, A. D. 1920, to be observed as Arbor Days throughout the Commonwealth, on which days all good citizens should feel under obligation to render what aid they may in this important work, thus conferring a benefit, not only upon us who observe the practice, but also upon those who shall follow us in the years to come.

"I commend to the pupils in our schools and to all our people not only the planting of trees in memory of our honored dead, of shade and ornamental trees, and near schools and dwellings and along country highways and city streets, but also and especially the planting of young forest trees upon our mountainsides and unused lands, so that in time they may protect the sources of our streams, supply wood for the use of our people and call down upon the heads of those who planted them the grateful thanks of succeeding generations. And what we have planted let us protect."

Resolution Adopted by the Council of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association at Their February Meeting, 1920.

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HEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Department of Forestry is the direct result of the movement commenced in 1886 and continued since then by the Pennsylvania Forestry Association.

AND WHEREAS, Distinguished forest authorities from outside the State have declared that in forestry Pennsylvania leads every other State in the Union:

Be it Resolved, That this Association expresses its entire confidence in the integrity, ability and zeal with which the Hon. Robert S. Conklin, State Commissioner of Forestry, has performed the duties of his office; that if mistakes have been made they have resulted from insufficient available funds, and from the volume of work thrust upon him, and such mistakes, if any, have been small compared with the great benefits which his incessant labors have brought to this Commonwealth.

Do all you can to prevent forest fires, the worst enemy of the forests.

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Beginning a Drive for a New Goal.

HE most important work ahead of the State Forestry Department for the next two months is the suppression of forest fires. Every other kind of work must give way to the elimination of this destructive curse of the forest. In order to get the best results the entire State has been divided into forty fire districts, each one of which is in charge of a trained forester, who will have direct supervision of fire wardens, patrolmen, observers and other employes. In order that the fire districts may be covered effectively, some of the foresters are being supplied with automobiles.

Special efforts are being put forth to eliminate fire hazards and to hold responsible all persons, who, through their carelessness or negligence, cause forest fires. The fire warning signs of the Department have been revised and a large number will be distributed all over the State in order to call attention to the enormous annual loss caused by forest fires.

A campaign of education has also been launched to crystallize public sentiment in favor of forest fire prevention and to point out to the people of the Commonwealth the real and urgent need of establishing upon the devastated areas of the Commonwealth, attractive, clean, and productive stands of valuable timber.

A timber marking hatchet has been devised with the keystone as the marking symbol. It has been registered and officially adopted by the Department and will be used in marking all trees which are to be cut, as well as the products derived from cutting operations.

A budget for the Department and for each individual State forest is in preparation. Upon its completion the work of the Department can be properly co-ordinated and the forester in charge of each forest will know in advance the amount of money which is available for each distinct line of work. This will enable him to plan his work judiciously and get the best results at a minimum of expense. Such a business procedure is especially recommendable in a Department which has so much work to do and so little money with which to do it.

A system of inspecting all forest activities and studying forest conditions has been decided upon. This will tend to systematize the various forest activities, promote efficiency and reduce misunderstandings between the personnel of the office at Harrisburg and the foresters in the field, and the public.

It has also been decided that no further tim

ber sales shall be made, except after advertisement, and then to the highest responsible bidder, and in all cases sales will be made only upon the report and recommendation of the State Forester in charge.

A regrouping of the State forests into units of approximately 50,000 acres each is under way. This will permit a more economical and efficient organization of the working force and reduce overhead charges.

A summer meeting of State Foresters is being arranged for at which many general and specific problems now confronting the Department will be considered. A committee of foresters appointed to revise the rules and regulations of the Department will submit their report at this meeting for discussion and amendment, if necessary. Plans are also being formulated to establish some medium of exchange between the foresters in the field, and to make possible the publication of at least some of their valuable experiences and worthy accomplishments.

The foregoing are some of the accomplishments and a few of the plans for the future. Too much must not be expected from a fortnight of effort. A good beginning has been made. The field ahead looks promising and good results will come forth if everyone works together and uses only the best methods.

J. S. Illick.

Forest Fire Proclamation.

66 'Whereas, The native forests of Pennsylvania, with proper care and protection from fire, would have supplied, by their recurring growth for generation after generation, the needs for wood of all our citizens; and

"Whereas, The destruction of our unrivaled woodlands by the axe and fire has reduced not less than one-sixth of all the land within our Commonwealth to barren and unproductive wastes; and

"Whereas, Our people, because of such destruction, must import almost all their supplies of lumber from outside the State at heavy and unnecessary cost; and

"Whereas, The cost and loss to our people, by reason of the fact that our denuded forest lands are prevented by fire from producing trees, include freight charges upon lumber imported into the State to an amount of not less than $25,000,000 each year; the cost of the imported lumber itself to an amount of $50,000,000 each year; the

loss of the product of wood-working industries now shut down or moved away, and loss from floods, loss to our farmers and merchants, and many other incidental costs, damages and losses; and

"Whereas, This tremendous yearly total, far in excess of the cost of our whole State government, constituting one of the heaviest burdens our people are called upon to bear, could have been avoided by reasonable care and protection, and can still be reduced or removed by restoring the growth of our forests through the prevention of forest fires.

"Therefore, I, William G. Sproul, Governor of the Commonwealth, do call upon all the good citizens of Pennsylvania to exercise watchful care against the starting of forest fires and to extinguish the same promptly when by mischance they occur, knowing that so to do is to perform one of the most important services that can be rendered to the present and future welfare of our State.

"Let teachers impress upon our boys and girls this duty. Let ministers instruct their congregations. Let associations, such as the Boy Scouts, granges, labor unions, patriotic and benevolent societies, chambers of commerce and the like join in the crusade to protect ourselves and our posterity. Let railroads take all steps needful to prevent or extinguish fires along their rights of way, let mines and factories see that no fires burn on or near their lands and lumbermen leave no fire traps after logging. Let fishermen and all who use the woods for health or recreation see to it that their camp fires are kept safe, and that carelessness does not endanger the forest they enjoy. Let all good citizens resolve to protect and restore to beauty and commercial prosperity our forest lands, now so largely desolate and unproductive, by preventing and suppressing forest fires and by giving information against those who criminally or thoughtlessly endanger our forests with fire, and so detract from the comeliness and prosperity of our beloved Commonwealth."

The Bureau of Forest Protection of the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry has just issued a blotter reading: "Help make and keep every acre of land productive. Waste land is a burden upon everyone. Forest Trees will grow on land not needed for Food Crops. Fire is keeping millions of acres in Pennsylvania non-productive. Be wise, use care. Prevent fire in the forest. Notify nearest forest-fire warden if fire occurs."