A Brief History of Forestry. / In Europe, the United States and Other Countries

by B. E. Fernow

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.

1. Forest Conditions.

Three extensive mountain systems, running north and south, give rise to at least eight topographic subdivisions of the country, going from east to west.