_Report upon Forestry_, 1878-9, by Dr. F. B. Hough; contains
references to the earlier history of forest development.
_History of the Lumber Industry_, by J. E. Defebaugh, 1906-7; is
valuable as a reference to statistical matter.
_Report upon Forestry Investigations of the United States Department
of Agriculture_, 1877-1898, by B. E. Fernow. House Document No. 181,
55th Congress; contains amplifications of the matter contained in
this chapter.
Annual and other reports issued by the Department of Agriculture, by
the various State Forest Commissions, and Forestry Associations.
For latest developments, consult _Conservation (American Forestry)_
and _Forestry Quarterly_.
The great and exuberant republic of the United States, vast in extent
and rich in natural resources generally, excelled and still excels in
extent, importance and value of her timber resources; and, having only
lately begun to inaugurate rational forest policies, promises to become
of all-absorbing interest to foresters.
The marvelous growth of the nation, which from three million in 1780 had
attained to a population of 76 million in 1900, and, by the last Census
numbered around 92 million people, has been the wonder of the world by
reason of its rapid expansion; and yet the limit is far from being
reached. Annually some three-quarters of a million or more immigrants
from all parts of the world arrive, and there is still room and
comfortable living for at least another 100 million, if the resources
are properly treated.
The large land area of nearly two billion acres (over three million
square miles) is undoubtedly the richest contiguous domain of such size
in the world, located most favorably with reference to trade by virtue
of a coast line of over 20,000 miles, and diversified in climate so as
to permit the widest range of production.
While a simple mathematical relation would make the population at
present about 31 to the square mile, such a statement would give an
erroneous conception of economic conditions, for the distribution of the
population is most uneven, a condition which must eventually diversify
the application of forestry methods in different parts of the country.
In Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined, for instance, the density of
population is 428 to the square mile, exceeding that of the
similar-sized State of Würtemberg in Germany, while in the neighboring
State of Maine it is not 25; the Atlantic Coast States south of South
Carolina, a territory slightly larger than Germany, show about half, and
the Central agricultural States about one-third the density of that
densely populated country; on the other hand, some of the Western
States, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico have less than
three to the square mile.
Similar unevenness is found in the distribution of resources, especially
of timber wealth, and, to some extent at least, the present populational
distribution is explained by the uneven distribution of farm soils and
timber.
Outside of the unorganized territory of Alaska and the disfranchised
District of Columbia, the country is divided into 46 States and two
Territories which will eventually acquire statehood. In addition, there
are a number of insular possessions under the direct control of the
federal government. Each State being under the Constitution sovereign in
itself as far as its internal administration is concerned, it is evident
that no uniformity of policies can be expected, except so far as
imitativeness, in which the American citizen excels, may lead State
after State to repeat the experiment attempted by one. The federal
government has no direct jurisdiction in matters concerning the
management of resources within the States, except so far as it still
owns lands in the Western, so-called Public Land States, and a few
parcels in the Eastern States over which it still retains jurisdiction.
The severest test of democratic institutions is experienced when the
attempt is made to establish a policy which shall guard the interests of
the future at the expense of the demands and needs of the present.
Democracy produces attitudes and characteristics of the people which are
inimical to stable economic arrangements looking to the future, such as
are implied in a forest policy. The vast country with an unevenly
distributed and heterogeneous population presents the greatest variety
of natural, as well as of economic conditions; the immediate interests
of one section naturally do not coincide with those of other sections;
particularistic and individualistic tendencies of the true democrat are
antagonistic to anything which smacks of “paternalism,” the attitude
under which alone a persistent, farsighted policy can thrive. Frequent
change of administration, or at least the threat of such change, impedes
consistent execution of plans; fickle public opinion may subvert at any
time well laid plans which take time in maturing; the true democratic
doctrine of restricting State activity to police functions, and the
doctrine of non-interference with private rights, as well as the idea of
State rights in opposition to federal power and authority--all these
characteristics of a democratic government are impediments to a
concerted action and stable policy.
That, in spite of these antagonistic interests, conditions and
doctrines, substantial progress toward establishing at least a federal
forest policy has been made, is due to the fact that the American, in
spite of his reputation as a materialistic, selfish opportunist, is
really an idealist; that he responds readily to patriotic appeals; that,
in spite of his rabid nationalism, he is willing to learn from the
experiences of other nations; that, indeed, he is anxious to be
educated. Finally, much credit is due to the men who with single purpose
devoted their lives to the education of their fellow citizens in this
direction.
It must, to be sure, be added that remarkable changes in the political
attitude of the people have taken place in the last 30 years since the
propaganda of forestry began; changes, partly perhaps induced by that
propaganda, which have aided this movement, and which, if they persist,
promise much for the future development of forest policies. A decidedly
paternalistic, if not socialistic attitude has, lately been taken by the
federal government; and by skilful construction of the Constitution as
regards the right to regulate interstate relations, has led to an
expansion of federal power in various directions. A similar
paternalistic attitude has developed in the legislatures of several
States to a noticeable degree. Even the judiciary has taken up this new
spirit, and is ready to sanction interference with private property
rights to a degree which, a decade ago, would have been denounced as
undemocratic and tyrannical. Two courts have lately ruled that owners of
timberlands may be restricted, without compensation, as regards the size
of trees they may fell on their property, if the welfare of the State
demands such interference.
The argument of the Roman doctrine _utere tuo ne alterum noceas_, which
forestry propagandists have so strenuously used, seems finally to have
found favor, and the inclusion of the community at large, present and
future, as the possibly damaged party does not appear any more strained.
The idea of the _providential function_ of governments, as the writer
has called it, seems to have taken hold of the people. The democratic
doctrine of State rights, and restriction of government functions has,
even among Democrats, been weakened through the long continued reign of
the Republican party, the party of centralizing tendencies, to such an
extent that the latest Democratic platform of a Presidential campaign
(1908) outdid the Republican platform in centralizing and paternalistic
propositions.
It is proper to emphasize the growth of this socialistic attitude, as it
is bound to influence, and influence favorably, the further development
of forest policies.
Nevertheless, it is still necessary to keep in mind that the States are
autonomous, and that, while the federal government, in spite of the
antagonism in the Western States, in which the public lands are
situated, has been able to change its land policy from that of liberal
disposal to one of reservation, it alone cannot save the situation.
While a few of the States have made beginnings in working out a policy
to arrest the destruction of their forest resources, which are mostly in
private hands, still much water must flow down the Mississippi before
adequate measures will be taken to stave off the threatening timber
famine, and the energy of the various local and national Conservation
associations will need to be exercised to the utmost.