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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



VOL. XXIII 



OCTOBER 1917 



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NO. 286 



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A RELIEF AND COMFORT FUND 



yr^ ITH the entry of the regiments of foresters, woods- 

 ^J^ men and lumbermen into service in the European 

 SfiSa war zone there arises urgent need for providing 

 definite relief for families of its members requiring assist- 

 ance while they are on service, or if they are killed or 

 wounded, and for affording field comforts for the men 

 themselves. To meet both phases of this need the Ameri- 

 can Forestry Relief and Comfort Fund has been organ- 

 ized. Through the operation of this fund it is believed 

 that much can be accomplished in behalf of the men and 

 their dependent families. 



That this enterprise will commend itself to the indi- 

 vidual membership of the American Forestry Association 

 is certain. Every man and woman interested in the wood- 

 land wealth of America will have a direct interest in the 

 men who have gone into the forests of devastated France. 

 A common love for the open places of the great out-of- 

 doors cements the two classes into a brotherhood of sym- 

 pathy and understanding. The members of the Tenth 

 Engineers (Forest) are doing a work which appeals to 

 all those to whom it has been given to know the message 

 of the forest. They are doing this work in answer to the 

 urgent call of their country and the vital needs of the al- 

 lied nations joined with America in the fight for the per- 

 petuation of Democratic institutions. Those of us who 

 remain at home have no duty more imperative than to 

 show them that their patriotism is appreciated and their 

 sacrifices met with adequate response. To achieve this 

 nothing will be so effective as to give them assurance 

 that their loved-ones will not suffer and that their own 

 welfare in the war-zone will be looked after by the people 

 back home. 



in sending the Tenth Engineers (Forest) to France the 

 War Department has made only a beginning. Another 

 regiment is now in process of formation and within a 

 shoit time there will be 9200 men in these organizations 

 in French territory. With the increased number will 

 come increased needs. In order that adequate provision 

 may be made for these needs it is important that the Re- 

 lief and Comfort Fund shall make headway as rapidly 

 as possible. 



The primary purpose of the Fund will be to look to 



the needs of dependent families. Among the thousands 

 who answer the country's call for forest workers it is in- 

 evitable that there should be some who are illy prepared 

 to leave their families properly provided for. The pay of 

 a soldier does not go very far toward meeting the re- 

 quirements of a household left without its usual means 

 of support. If there be illness or other misfortune the 

 deficit is emphasized. With the haunting fear that his 

 loved ones are not properly cared for the soldier forester 

 will be sadly handicapped in his work. That he should 

 labor under this handicap is manifestly unfair. The peo- 

 ple of a grateful nation are under a patriotic obligation 

 to remove this source of worry from the man who has 

 gone to France to contribute his skill and to risk his life 

 in the interests of the cause of freedom. The aim of the 

 fund is to make provision for such dependent families, to 

 assist the man and his household in the event of injury 

 and to provide insurance money in the event of death. 

 In making these things possible the generous people of 

 America will be doing that which is not only a duty but 

 a privilege as well. 



The personal comfort and entertainment of the men in 

 France will be another important consideration of the 

 Fund. The man who undertakes the man-sized job of a 

 woodsman needs all the comfort and relaxation he can 

 find. This is true even when he is in his own woods in 

 his own country. When he is taken from his native en- 

 vironment and transplanted to the battle-torn forests of 

 an alien land, among the people of an alien tongue, his 

 needs are vastly multiplied. He will want every form of 

 comfort that can be provided. For relaxation and men- 

 tal stimulus he will want books and periodicals from 

 home. These things are especially important, as is at- 

 tested by all army men who have had experience in field 

 and camp. As a panacea for strained nerves and home- 

 sickness he will want his pipe and tobacco, through the 

 medium of which to reap peace and contentment other- 

 wise lacking. For his bodily comfort he will need sleeve- 

 less sweaters and mufflers with which to protect himself 

 from the chill winds of the French winter. For his recre- 

 ation he will need phonographs and records with which 

 to beguile the hours of leisure that otherwise would hang 

 heavily on his hands. For these things he will look to 

 the American Forestry Relief and Comfort Fund. 



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