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Show I OFJPUBUG; Protection Against Losses by Fire Discussed at Conference. Lumber Business to Expand in West, Chief H. S. Graves Says. Th-. ;. loi-ifs br forest fire? " as ;iu- ,-::c; stit.jo-t discussed yesturday 'lC tin) op.:niHi,' o-sslon of the conference of I l.artiir,- officials of tie V:nu-d Stalest j forest rvl. in t.. NVwhoiiiW '?,,, T!:.- iviitio:i opened by Colon, ir s t;rav.-s of Wasliiwrtoti. L. ... of tli- foi cut srvl'-c. In KiunnuirixinR t.n-mncinsions t.n-mncinsions r-aWi! In tho discussion o. the forest firo pruhlcn:, he sulii: "Th,- i-ruclnl tiufstlon is what thc.P'J)-wants. thc.P'J)-wants. We have just come thrown the w..n fit'-' -season ever Known since. m-ani."(l m-ani."(l for. sl protection bei;an. WW ulfil''Uhi".s rltte both to drouth oonch-tlons oonch-tlons and labor .scarcity v.-ere hnce. and f,e cost of fire flKhtitts over ,flOO.OvO. on he whi.l- the nroperlv losses were well cold rtovn. but we cannot protect the Mibilc jirope'.ty without the publics aid. Many Blazes Unnecessary. "T'-e most danerons feature of the sil'iailun at the present time in the nun'.-it nun'.-it of nnncesstirr fires. Some of these .,re due to a deliberate setting ot fires i.y men who v. ant to be hired to put them out Such firehim-.s are of course criminals, to he claasei with those who .set fires m tlieir own stores to icut insurance, money, tut f;u- more dangerous, because harder to cmbat. arc the people who save en-.ourasenient en-.ourasenient to a las public opinion re-c'ariin's re-c'ariin's forest protection. " "The countrv n. eds its forests. It needs (hem foe timber supplies, for water, lor r.-c i ea tion u.sc. for manv Kinds of benefits bene-fits J do not believe that the sober final j ti.ouebt of the country will fail to demand de-mand the continuance of foresls. 'We are on Ihe verue of a tremendous . veansiou of the lumber business in the one portion of the country where virgin supplies have as vet not been s-riously diminished t ho Pacific coast and Inland empire rririong. Lar.ro hoidltm's are being built up bv far-sighted investors. ' A marked concetitrHt ion of timiter owncrsiiip is in progress on the 'aciflc. coast. Must Cope With Opposition. "Some of the lumbermen and other iur- owners in California are now al-tntlntr al-tntlntr tm'alnst efficient protection of for-'sts for-'sts "on the ground that bv frequently burning tite land over disastrous fires will be staved off. Naturally, it is to Pieiv interest to spend as little as possible pos-sible for tlie perpetuation of forests, as disliiiKtiished from protecting the mature limber which thev expect to cut. '"Public opinion must demand in no tin- .-:( nin manner that forests are not to be destroved throuith fro'inent fires which kill off the younir growth. It is a poor time for lumbermen who are looking forward for-ward to euttintr off their timber rapidly in order to dispose of it at present liiph prices to advocate a policy which increases in-creases the burden of proteeflne; the pub-'ic pub-'ic forests and insures the ultimate conversion con-version of a lai'Ko part of the private "loldine-s to wortliless waste. The public will not be content to sit idly by and let this hapiH-n." Subjects Announced. The subjects to come before the trafh-erintr trafh-erintr today are organization and person-pel. person-pel. TIefo'rc adjournment of the conference confer-ence other topics to be discussed are finance, fi-nance, equipment. Improvements and miscellaneous mis-cellaneous subjects. Those present at the conference are n. S'. Graves of the forest service: Assistant Chief W. B. (.Ireeley. Assistant ' "nief Key Headley, D. 71. lironson. Fire Inspector Herbert A. Smith, in ehartre of information, till from Washing Ion, D. C. ; district forester, eastern district. F. W. Itecu. Assistant H. o. Statler: from Missoula. Mis-soula. Mont.. R. II. P.utledKC. district foresier, anil assistants, ,1. F. Preston and 'ien A. Smith; from the Denver office for the Pocky .Mountain district. Fred Morsel', Mor-sel', and 0. -M. ('".ranser: from Albuquer-; Albuquer-; oce. N. for the soutiiwest district, Percster P. C. W. Pooler, and assistant 'oresters. Ahio Leopold and Ward Shep-srd: Shep-srd: from ugden. Oistrict Forester I... F. iCueipp and assistants,, Charles D. Simpson Simp-son ;md James C. Scott: from San Fran-' Fran-' isco. Paul (!. T;cddin!?ton, Lon Johnston John-ston ar.d !'. !-:. Thachfnrd ; from Portland, jo.- the North Pacific district. George H. i '":! and A. f). Waha. |