Show RELIEF WORK ON NATIONAL FOREST FORESTI TO EMPLOY MANY MANYIn I J JIn In Iii the following article Secretary of f Agriculture Henry A A. A Wallace explains the work to be done on our ouri i forests t. t The procedure will probably be belike ber r like this An Any bodied man f now unemployed wishing employment employment employment employ employ- ment will first be enrolled Iby by representatives representatives rep rep- of lof the Dep Department of ot Labor Once enrolled and equipped If it necessary with suitable work clothing the new recruit swill m bo be transported ted either directly to the place of work worIe or to an army as- as assembly as assembly assembly camp nearby Then the departments of Agriculture and Interior and the State foresters will step Into the picture for they know where the work needs to be bedone bedone done and how man many men will be needed for each job The men will be classified accordIng according according accord accord- ing to the work they are best fitted to perform and will be assigned asfar as asfar asfar far as possible to jobs more or less lessIn lessin In their own line line The screws crews crews willbe will willbe be directed by trained foresters and construction foremen The men will live In camps as close to the Jobs as possible and with all the facilities ne necessary essary for proper care and comfort Their work will Fill entitle entitle entitle en en- title them to meals and lodging and cash compensation in addition You may be curious to know what r sort of work needs to 10 be done in ina ina a forest and h how w it will be possible to employ upwards of men doing it In general four kinds of lobs need doing One Involves protecting protect protect- ing our forests against fires tires fires Another Another Another An An- other involves the unending fight r against the insects and diseases that attack trees and cause so gigantic f a a loss loss A third job Involves flood control and the prevention of soil soU erosion The fourth kind of job has to do with making our forests t r more productive As the forests have grown without with with- t i out Interference from man the thel l young trees on hundreds of acres have formed thickets so dense that the competition for moisture and sunlight has seriously Retarded growth growth Under-nourished Under and defective defective de dEr trees tree have prevented sound young trees from progressing at their normal rate One Job then Is to thin out the undesirable trees and In various other ways to provide the conditions necessary if jf the forest Is to mature a valuable crop of timber Umber permit recreation end and remain a great national resource re re- re- re source source Perhaps one of the most anost urgent jobs of all Is to protect our forests from tire fire Ure We Ve can not prevent all forest forest fires but we can prevent t some of them Those that do start ti j r can can an by use of the foresters forester's I f art be kept down to a 13 minimum p Continued on last p page ge R Work On National Forest To Employ Many Continued from page one of damage We can get rid of or the dead standing trees and the In Inflammable inflammable In in- flammable debris that presents a constant fire rIre hazard We Ve can cnn build new roads and trails which will enable our forest fire fighters to fight fires more anoro successfully We Ve can Install new now fire guard stations new lookout posts on high ridges I necessary telephone lines and emerI emergency emergency emer emer- gency geney landing fields for airplanes I We lean can do those and nd many other essential jobs to protect a cherished cherish cherish- ed cd national asset The men will be able to do 10 yeoman yeoman yeoman yeo yeo- man service in waging battle on the costly Insects and diseases that damage forest trees There Is the theall theall theall all too famous gypsy moth to fight In New England's forests and find the western pine beetle to battle out West West By routing out some of these plant enemies entirely by checking the spread and the damage dam age of others we shall preserve Intact in intact intact In- In tact our investment In the forests Finall Finally there Is work to be bedone belone lone done to prevent soil erosion and to forestall If possible disastrous floods On the Ithe watersheds of many of our rivers serious soil erosion ha has been caused by tho the removal of or tho the protective forest cover the Invaluable Invaluable invaluable able sponge Heavy rains unchecked uncheck ed have gouged ugly gullies have havo taken to the rivers countless tons of fertile soil have haye left both a soil and a flood problem in their wake Wo We shall have to build what are called raIled check dams in the deeply erod eroded gullies and anti plant bare sid hlll-sid s with brusi an and trees treta to hold the tho soil in place n Elsewhere Elsewhere Elsewhere Else Else- where the Job will be to plant trees to replace those that have been cut ut or lost by fire and to plant trees on lands which nature always alwa's intended for the growing of trees At this moment as asI sl I know you OU realize our job is to get the men who need work to the Jobs which need men as speedily as possible This Is first of all all' a relief program Speed is essential Fortunately the work ork to be done on the tho National Forests Is already outlined in detail de de- de- de tail tail We Ve are just about ready to say how many men we need In a given forest and how long I expect expect ex ex- that that the tho plans of the state foresters will wiH not Ib Ibe be far behind I have invited the Governors of Hof the several States to send their foresters forest forest- ers en or other representatives to a conference with federal officials ls scheduled for next Thursday Shortly Short Short- ly after that no doubt the states will also be ready with detailed pro pro- This is primarily a relief program pro pro- gram ram The Government Go Is mobilizing mobilizing ing its resources for prompt effective effective effective tive relief of destitution The men who vho enroll are not seeking charity they want an opportunity to make their own way The labor they will perform in tho the forests will constitute constitute constitute con con- a lasting public service Above all it is our wish that this opportunity to live and 2nd work ii in inthe the forests may bring to thousands of our fell men fellow men w-men a new hope and an unshakable self |