Northwest Lumb ermen Oppose Transler of Forest Service from Department of Agriculture

The Trustees of the West Coast Lumbermen's Associa_ tion strongly oppose two provisions of Senate Bill ZZn, on Reorganization of the Public Service.

Section 2O3 of this Bill directs the president: ..To fill any vacancy in any office or position which the president finds is policy-determining in character.',

The activities of the Federal Government are constantly expanding. More and more powerfully do they afiect all industry, and particularly industries utilizing natural resources. It is more urgent than ever before that Government employees be able, conscientious and free from political bias. These arc the objects of the Civil Service System of recruiting and promotion.

The proposal in the pending Bill destroys the basis of public service founded upon merit and efficiency. It would make the President sole judge as to what Federal positions may be taken out of the Civil Service. Plausible grounds could readily be found for extending Presidential appointment to all Federal employees except those of a purely clerical or routine character. At least as to all responsible positions in every Federal establishment, political preferment would displace merit as the primary qualification for appointment and advancement.

We are opposed to this reversal of the merit system in public business, without regard to any political party or political personality. It would be as dangerous in the hands of one political party as another. It would wreck the morale of the Public Service and do irreparable injury to the splendid professional and technical rvork now done by many Federal departments. A means would be created for concentrating personal political power in the hands of any Chief Executive who chose to exercise it such as has not existed in the United States for many years. It would throw open the whole scientific and engineering functions of the Government to the spoils system. It is opposed to a stable and efficient administration of public business, now more necessary than ever as the functions of Government expand.

Section 2 of the Reorganization Bill authorizes the President to transfer, break up or abolish any Federal agency, with certain named exceptions. It is an understood purpose of the legislation to transfer the United States Forest Service, in whole or in part, from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior. This is a practical issue of Reorganization.

The lumber industry of the Pacific Northwest has been closely associated with and powerfully influenced by the activities oI the Government in forest conservation. It has cooperated directly with them. With its background of experience, tle industry is strongly opposed to shifting the Forest Service out of the Department of Agriculture.

In 1905, Congress placed all major forestry activities in this Department. It did so because forestry is the productive use of land for growing timber crops. It is applicable to one-quarter of the soil in the United States. It is a national undertaking in the use of land, second only to farmit g.

At least half a dozen bureans in the Department of Agriculture have an active part in forestry. These include Soil Conservation, the Bureau of Entomology in dealing with destructive insects, the Bureau of Plant Ind.ustry in dealing with tree diseases and cultural methods and the Agricultural Extension Service which deals with farm woodlands, over one-third of the forests in the United States. The work of all these forest agencies must be closely coordinated to deal efficiently with the forest problems of the country as a whole.

The growth and vitality of forestry in the United States date from this concentration of Federal activities in the Department of Agriculture. Since 1905, national undertakings in forestry have been greatly extended. The Weeks Act of 1911 instituted purchases of land for National Forests where required for the most effective use of land resources. The Clarke-McNary Act of 1925 set up a nationwide policy of cooperation with the States in the prevention of forest fires, in forest planting on farms and in the study of forest taxation-all for the purpose of extending forestry by State and private agencies. The McNary-McSweeney Act of 1928 established a comprehensive program of research in forestry, forest utilization and forest economics.

These and other basic Federal statutes are administered by the Forest Service; but only as part of the all-round function of the Department of Agriculture to develop forestry as a use of land. As Federal activities enlarge, there is all the gteater need for their coordination under the Federal Department which deals with the productive use of land.

The Forest Service studies timber culture and timber utilization, cooperates with the States in forest protection, tree planting and the enlargement of State Forests, educates forest owners in timber-growing practices and administers the National Forests. These different jobs are all parts of one whole. They should all be directed to the common end of progressive national forestry" To parcel them out among different administrative agencies would break down the effectiveness of the national undertaking.

As lumbermen in the Pacific Northwest, where productive use of land and stable employment depend more upon forestry than anything else, we believe the Reorganization Bill should exclude the United States Forest Service from permissible transfer, dismemberment or abolishment. This course is followed as to some other Federal agencies. The place of forestry in the Government structure is of sufficient importance to likewise be fixed by Congress itself.

The Trustees of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association. By h.esolution Adopted September 21,1937.

.W. B. Greeley, Secretary-Manager.

Redwood Panels Used For Settings in M-G-M'S Production "Conquest"

bine adaptability with the beauty desired in the Napoleon suite at Castle Finckenstein. In all of the elaborate settings, in which Clarence Brown directed Garbo and Boyer, natural Redwood paneling, rubbed down only with wax, and huge doors of the same material gave an unusual effect, desired to depict the splendor which Napoleon is known to have enjoyed..

A blend of natural redwood and white was found to be a successful combination for photographic effects. Casement windows with small panes are in white enamel, walls are in white paneling and white paper, and white is used in fireplace, shrine and such details. Heavy velvet draperies of the period separate the rooms, and Persian rugs are used on polished floors. The furniture is all in the period of 18O9, including a walnut, bronze-trimmed desk brought from France, and which was once actually used by Napoleon at his chateau in Fontainbleau. Candelabra, carved four-poster bed, tapestried window hangings, were all in authentic period, the entire set being worked out from intensive research by Cedric Gibbons with his associates, William Horning and Edwin Wallis of the M. G. M. staff.

Reports Improvement In Business

No phase of motion picture pro<iuction draws more attention from directors and producers than the authenticity of sets and the materials used to depict the locale of a story. Hence it is of unusual interest that California Redwood panels served as the basic material for the elaborate settings in Metro-Goldrvyn-Mayer's current super-production, "Con: quest," starring Garbo and Charles Boyer in the roles of Countess Walewska and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Naturally California Redwood panels were not in use at the time of Napoleon but to lend the desired authenticity it was necessary to call upon the wood which could com-

Lee H. Eubank, of L. H. Eubank & Son, manufacturers of cabinets and millwork, 1010 E. Hyde Park Boulevard, Inglewood, Calif., reports a steady improvement in his firm's business in the last 6O days.

This concern manufactures the well known Eubank Ironing Board, which it is claimed will wear indefinitely, having only two moving parts, both made of metal. The cast iron swivel is so constructed that the brace slides in the swivel, instead of the usual practice of the brace sliding in grooves in the wood.

All Eubank ironing boards are built up of two or more pieces of Ponderosa Pine, making a board that will not warp or split.

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