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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



I VOL. XXIII 



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NOVEMBER 1917 NO. 287 | 



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RELIEF FUND FOR THE FORESTRY REGIMENTS 



TO meet the needs of individual members of the 

 American Forest Regiments in France and their 

 dependent families, it is essential that prompt re- 

 sponse be made to the financial requirements of the Lum- 

 ber and Forest Regiments' Relief Fund. The American 

 Forestry Association, in making earnest appeal to its 

 members and its friends for contributions for this splen- 

 did cause, does so with an assurance and confidence based 

 on the intimate relationship which exists between forest 

 lovers and the men who are risking their lives in the 

 French war zone for the sake of the American flag. 



In a peculiar sense this Association has deep interest 

 and responsibility in the success of the fund. The plan 

 for relief for the men of the Forest Regiments found its 

 inception within the Association. Conceived as the 

 American Forestry Relief and Comfort Fund, the project 

 found rapid expansion until it was deemed desirable to 

 broaden its scope and influence as indicated by the name 

 with which it has been rechristened, the Lumber and 

 Forest Regiments' Relief Fund. In this form and under 

 its present scheme of organization it co-ordinates the 

 forces of various interests affiliated with forestry, lum- 

 bering and kindred industries. These allied influences 

 are equally impressed with the vital importance of the 

 undertaking and equally concerned with its successful 

 achievement. 



The need for a fund of this nature speaks for itself. 

 With the 10th Engineers (Forest) already in France, and 

 with the 20th Engineers (Forest) preparing to enter the 

 service, the United States will have more than 9,000 for- 

 esters and woodsmen in the French forests. These men 

 go oversea for a purpose in no degree less vital to mili- 

 tary success than that which takes our trench fighters and 

 other armed forces into the foreign zone of battle. With- 

 out the Forest regiments the fighters would be of little 

 avail. These men have not gone to France to serve per- 

 sonal ambition or to pursue any fanciful occupation of 

 doubtful worth. They are there because of the urgent 

 needs of the Allied armies for trench timbers and other 

 building material requisite to modern warfare. These 

 needs are universally recognized by the army leaders of 

 the Allied nations. It is at the insistent demand of these 

 leaders that the regiments have been ordered to the war 

 zone. 



In their voluntary enlistment in the Forest Regi- 

 ment thousands of red-blooded Americans have answered 

 the call of duty at great personal cost. The regiments 

 are made up of foresters, practical lumbermen and saw- 

 mill operators, men of engineering or military training. 



picked woodsmen, sawmill workers, skilled axmen, wood- 

 sawyers, crosscut-saw filers, tie-hewers, skidders, team- 

 sters, blacksmiths, millwrights, mill sawyers, circular- 

 saw filers, millhands, carpenters, machinists, charcoal 

 burners, motor truck and motorcycle operators and re- 

 pair men. These men are all trained workers. As such 

 they are capable of commanding high wages in their 

 daily work. In the service of their country privates in 

 foreign service draw monthly pay ranging from $33 to 

 $36.60 each. It involves no task in figures to realize the 

 sacrifice these men make in accepting the pay of private 

 soldiers at a time when home wages are higher than at 

 any time in the history of the world; and it requires no 

 flight of the fancy to realize that the pay given them for 

 their work in the French forests will be sadly deficient 

 for the needs of such families as may be left behind. 



It is in recognition of this condition that the relief 

 fund is created. That many of the men should leave their 

 families illy prepared to provide for themselves is inevi- 

 table. This circumstance makes it imperative that gen- 

 erous help should be swiftly given, to the end that no 

 suffering or hardship which could be prevented is per- 

 mitted to exist. The logical source of such helpfulness 

 is with the people of America who are interested in these 

 men through the kinship arising from mutual interest in 

 the woodland and lumber resources of the country. Those 

 whose interest in the forests is sentimental have common 

 cause with those who are concerned with the economic 

 wealth of the timberlands. Whether one's love for the 

 trees is based on the lure of the great outdoors or whether 

 it is purely commercial, the sacrifices of the men of the 

 woods and lumber camp must necessarily make direct ap- 

 peal. The cause is as broad as humanity; the results will 

 be both human and practical. 



As a part of the work a committee of women has been 

 organized by Mrs. Henry S. Graves, wife of United 

 States Forester Graves, who is now Lieutenant Colonel in 

 charge of forest work with the United States Expedi- 

 tionary Forces. This committee will assume the duty of 

 providing sweaters and other knitted garments for the 

 men of the Forest Regiments. Shortly letters will be 

 sent to women of America known to be interested in for- 

 estry, requesting co-operation in the knitting of these 

 garments. Wool will be furnished at cost to those work- 

 ers who prefer to pay for it and, as far as possible, with- 

 out charge to those who prefer to give their time only. 



Contributions for the Lumber and Forest Regiments' 

 Relief Fund should be sent to the American Forestry 

 Association, Maryland Building, Washington, D. C. 



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