The Promise of Industrial Forestry

Address by Colonel W. B. Greeley. Chairman of the Board, American Forest Products Industries, Inc., at Dinner Given in His Honor by National Forestry and Forest lndustry Leaders, Portland, January 25,1946

I don't know what an ordinary guy is expected to say or do under circumstances like these. The only way I can express my feeling is to tell you a story. It was the most effective lesson in humility that I have ever had in fortyodd years of active contact with other men.

Early days in the Forest Service come to mind when I had to lay down the law to a bunch of cattle men that were grazing in a national forest. They had been over-grazing' I had to fix the numbers of stock they would be permitted to range on their particular limits. It provoked quite an argument; and several of the stock men called my attention to the fact that other national forests allowed more cattle per section than I was setting up for this particular grazing area. Finally to settle the argument, I said a bit warmly that I didn't care what was being done in other national forests, in "my" national forest you are going to graze such and such numbers of stock. Well, before the discussion was over, one of the oldest men there, a gr\zzled pioneer with tobacco juice trickling down the corners of his mouth, cut himself a fresh cud of tobacco, put his feet up on the table and said to the crowd in generalhe didn't say it to me, he said it to the n'hole room full"When this young supervisor was telling us just nort' about 'his national forest,' he reminded me of the time rvhen old Satan took Jesus Christ up to the top of a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth. 'All these will be yours, if you 'ivill rvorship me,' he saicl. "And the Son of a Gun didn't own a damned acre !"

I rvant to assure you that I appreciate all the things you have said tonight, but I am going to take them u'ith the same large dose of salt which I have learned to take on other occasions.

I have had the wonderful experience of being one of the West Coast lumbermen, and it has been a very gratifying one. After all has been said, my greatest reward has been the intimate acquaintance I have had with many of you men, your intimate friendship year after year, the manv occasions when we could get together and talk things over with absolute freedom. I keep thinking of those days during the depression when we were all struggling for survival, and when the characters of men'ivere tested as they seldom nre during days of greater prosperity. I shall always think of the friendships and associations that rve made during those days.

Another great reward I have had is the opportunity to see the West Coast forest industry shake off the depression; to see.it grow into a great industry of national proportions; to see it assume the strength and self-reliance of a great industry. You are a great industry. Certainly your war record is sufficient proof of that. You are a great indus- try today as you face another period of peace; you are a great industry in your aggressive approach to your own future. You are writing your own new rules; you are not waiting for them to be written by others.

A few weeks ago I 'talked with a very shrewd and able gentleman who made a tour of West Coast saw and pulp mills, preparing material for magazine articles. On his last night here one thing he said impressed me very much. "As I have talked with West Coast operators during the last two or three weeks, I find everyone is trying something new. Every one of them is working on something newa new type of forestry, relogging his old slashings, new operating devices and machines in his mill. The West Coast lumber industry has the spirit of progress."

You are writing you own new rules of the game, and rve begin to see how these rules are taking shape for the postwar period. You are writing nell. rules on forestry; you are setting up tree farms and sustained yield. The industry has become convinced that it pays to grow trees. And you are creating your own future by assuring- your own tir-nber supply. You are rvriting nerv rules in the utilization of logging wastes. There has been a vast improvement in tl-re past ten years in that respect, and today all kinds of net. ideas and devices are coming into the utilization picture. You are writing new rules on fabrication, on new products and nelv processes.

I envy my successor, H'al Simpson, because of the picture of forest industry in the next 10 or 15 years that I see taking shape, with all of these neu' ideas, neu, outlooks, new industrial processes and uses of 'lvood surging into the forefront. We are going to see here a great alchemy-of forestry----of utilization-of new products, all based upon the marvelous gror'ving' power of the Douglas fir forest. The Pacific Northwest will develop the most outstanding forest economy vet seen in the history of the world.

I am glad that the dinner this evening has not ended as a graveyard ceremony. At least you are not going to sprinkle anv dirt on my coffin tonight. I have the rare opportunity to retire from the hard work, leaving that on younger and abler shoulders. But I can still help West Coast lumbermen grow trees. And nolv an opportunity has been made available by the A.F.P.I. to take part in the foru'ard movernent of American forest industry generally tou'ard our Number One job of assuring a future supply. There is nothing more indicative of the spirit of progress in the forest industries nationallv than the Code that is included in your program. It is a platform for united action in perpetuating our supply of timber.

We all know how much the war has focused oublic con(Contintred on Page 22)