THE APPALACHIAN-WHITE MOUNTAIN HEARING 



103 



It IS doubtful whether the hearing on 

 December 9th has given them any new 

 insight, or has presented any strictly 

 new phases of a subject that has been 

 so strongly and so forcibly presented 

 many times before, on which a patri- 

 otic committee may base remedial ac- 

 tion, though rarely has the matter been 

 more earnestly presented and the real 

 need and the real sentiment of the peo- 

 ple so clearly shown. 



The Committee on Agriculture was 

 seemingly much impressed with the tes- 

 timony presented and with the earnest- 

 ness and disinterestedness of the peti- 

 tioners — who were there as Mr. Tomp- 

 kins well said, "not in advocacy of any 

 particular measure or methods, but 

 were there to urge that a start should 

 be made towards doing a thing that 

 was a national duty — that ultimately 

 the Nation had to perform, in justice 

 to itself for its own protection." That 

 meant "if the Brandegee bill was the 

 right one, and the proper plan, it should 

 be reported by the committee — if a bet- 

 ter bill could be framed by the commit- 

 tee, let the committee frame it Action 

 of some kind was imperative along the 

 broadest possible lines that would in 

 time make possible the preservation 

 of all forest areas that may be "consti- 

 tutionally" established either under the 

 commerce clause as atTecting "naviga- 

 tion" or the "general welfare" clause as 

 affecting the Nation's life, whether they 

 be in the Southern Appalachian or New 

 England or in Kansas, under a definite 

 and systematic and progressive National 

 forest policy ! Surely there must be a 

 beginning of National sanity in this re- 

 gard, and this beginning should be made 

 at the most critical point — where the 

 most damage is involved — and this 

 area seems to be the Southern Appa- 

 lachian and White Mountains beyond a 

 question of doubt. 



The Nation is rapidly grasping the 

 underlying principles of the "Conserva- 

 tion idea," and the sound, common sense 

 that is its foundation ; there is rapidly 

 growing in the mind and conscience of 

 the Nation the belief that conservation 



of the natural resources is a duty owed 

 to ourselves and to posterity, that the 

 Nation and the State, and the individual 

 cannot evade. 



As the keystone of the conservation 

 movement lies the forest question and 

 the reason is perfectly obvious to all 

 who give the matter thought so that the 

 demand for immediate action on the 

 Appalachian-White Mountain Eorest 

 Reserve, as the fi^rst thing to be done, 

 voiced so splendidly by President Roose- 

 velt in his Belasco Theater address, and 

 confirmed by the National Conserva- 

 tion Commission in its report, is based 

 on the realization of its fundamental im- 

 portance to, and its intimate connection 

 with, the co-related matters covered in 

 the conservation idea. That forest pres- 

 ervation is one of the largest economic 

 questions faced by the Nation, and that 

 their perpetuation must ultimately be 

 undertaken by the Nation admits of no 

 question. 



It ought not to be difficult for a com- 

 mittee composed of thoughtful and 

 patriotic men, as is this committee, tO' 

 grasp the real situation and to suggest, 

 not a makeshift, but an effective remedy 

 that can be at once applied. 



Our own experience with the Na- 

 tional Forests in the West points to the 

 only effective way — a prompt purchase 

 of all the area possible to acquire in both 

 regions, their eft'ective management and 

 use under restriction of the Forest Serv- 

 ice as a start towards a forest policy 

 that will lead the States and individuals 

 into a hearty and effective cooperation 

 with the Federal Government, and ulti- 

 mately make possible their complete 

 preservation. 



It ought not to be difficult for the Ag- 

 ricultural Committee to see that dollars 

 spent now will mean the saving of 

 hundreds required later for systematic 

 reforestation, such as France is doing 

 as an absolutely necessary step in saving 

 the nation from disaster. It ought not 

 to be difficult for the Agricultural Com- 

 mittee to see the real profitableness of 

 scientific forestry as a National invest- 



