A PERSONAL WORD 



By THOMAS ELMER WILL 



ON SEPTEMBER i, iqo6, the cial reports and synopses of bills; press 



writer entered the service of bulletins have been issued to fifteen 



the American Forestry Associa- hundred newspapers ; articles have been 



tion as its Secretary. written for numerous publications, in- 



With the purchase, in the following eluding the World's Work, Review of 



December, of Forestry and Irrigation. Reviezvs, Independent, Popular Science 



he became, also, the editor of that pub- Monthly, McClure's, Journal of the 



lication Franklin Institute, Vick's Magazine, 



During the period of his connection Journal of the Merchants and \lanu- 



with this office he has sought, as much facturers' Association, American In- 



as in him lay, to strengthen the organ- du^i^'^^^> and others, and the gospel of 



ization, enlarge its influence, and ad- ^'P^f "^^ and conservation has been car- 



^ , ried bv lectures to North Carohna, 



vance its propaganda. c +u " r- r r- • ^^ u 



T ^ ■ r ,^ o South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 



_ In his first two years, as Secretary, Kentucky, West Virginia, District of 



It was his privilege to conduct mem- Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 



bership work which brought to the As- ^ew York. Maine, Ohio, Illinois, Wis- 



sociation 3.532 new members, or more consin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and 



than half of the total membership which Missouri. In a single season, sixty-four 



the organization, in the twenty-eight Chautauquas were addressed, whereby, 



years of its life, has acquired. by a conservative estimate, 65,000 peo- 



These members not only paid, dur- pie were reached with the oral mes- 

 ing the first year of their connection, sage and twice that many more by the 

 the entire cost of their acquisition, but accompanying press reports. 

 a surplus of $6,447.46; in addition to With the appearance of this issue of 

 which they pledged, for an indefinite American Forestry, the writer's con- 

 period, annual payments of $8,063 to nection with the work of the Amer- 

 the work of the Association. " ican Forestry Association ends. His 



From January, 1907, when the ed- interest, however, in the cause to which 



itorial department of this magazine was '^ l^ committed abates not a jot. 



established by himself, until April. . In that movement in fact, he recog- 



T^^Q ^.,^1 ^^^- r T\/r u 4.•^ at nizes but a phase of that broader and 

 1908, and again, from March until No- , ^ , . i- 1 1 i- .l j 

 , , ^ ,, , ,. . , deeper movement m which he enlisted 

 vember of 1909, all the editorials ap- ^^j^j^^ ^j^^ conservation movement was 

 pearing in its columns were his work ^3 ^ ^^^^^orn, and forestry in America 

 as have been most of those published ^^^ -^^ -^^ swaddling clothes-the move- 

 since the latter date ^^^^^^ ^j^^^^ ^^^^ j^ ^^^ conservation of 

 In every practicable way he has ^^e equal rights, liberties, and oppor- 

 sought to embody in living realities the tunities of all the people, and the es- 

 ideals to which the organization has tablishment and maintenance of con- 

 been committed. The Appalachian Na- ditions under which the least and lowest 

 tional Forest work has received spe- niay live an unfearing and complete 

 cial attention. Resolutions by the score, life. 



written by his hand, have been adopted As never before, the country to-day 



at his instance, and a fusillade of let- is ready to hear and heed the appeal 



ters and petitions has swept the halls for the' conservation of our common 



of Congress. A heavy correspondence heritage and government, and as never 



has been built up from nothing, friends before the people are ready to organize 



of the movement have been kept in- to effect this end. 



formed of its progress by frequent spe- Spontaneously, though uncalled, they 



III 



