114 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



In general, its methods and principles 

 commend themselves to the American 

 people, except to the few who are de- 

 prived of their unlimited enjoyment of 

 the use and profits of the public domain. 

 All this has been done in a wonder- 

 fully short time, and popular interest 

 and belief in the value of intelligent 

 forestry has grown correspondingly all 

 over the United States. The advantage 

 of this to the country is incalculable, 

 because its benefits are largely in the 

 future. No propaganda has ever been 

 more unselfish than this. Few of those 

 who have aided it had anything to gain 

 by it personally. We do not mean 

 to credit Mr. Pinchot with having done 

 all this, but he has for over ten years 

 been the active, central figure in this 

 great movement — its "evangelist," as a 

 western man well expressed it. When 

 criticisms of details of his acts and of 

 his management as a Government 

 official are made, these larger facts 

 should be kept well in mind. The 

 United States is immeasurably richer 

 and better for his work. Can that be 

 said of the work of his critics? 



Jt' i^ iH 



The New Forester 



THE general sentiment of the country 

 will applaud the appointment of Mr. 

 Graves as Forester of the United States. 

 The tribute to his personality and his 

 ability from his distinguished predeces- 

 sor, as expressed at the annual dinner 

 of The American Forestry Association, 

 is printed on another page of this maga- 

 zine. Nothing could be added to that 

 and nothing need be subtracted from 

 it. It was the plain statement of a 

 friend who knows him as well probably 

 as any man. There is a peculiar appro- 

 priateness in this succession to the office, 

 because of the close relation that Mr. 

 Pinchot and Mr. Graves have sustained 

 in the development of American for- 

 estry. They two have founded the pro- 

 fession of forestry in the United States, 

 and have contributed more largely than 

 any others to its tremendous develop- 

 ment during the last ten years. The 

 appointment of Mr. Graves is a guar- 

 antee that the policy of the Forest 



Service will remain practically un- 

 changed, that this department of the 

 Government service will lose nothing of 

 its strength and that the flurry that has 

 taken place in the official order of the 

 capital will not be allowed to endanger 

 this great public service. 



The National Forest Service has be- 

 fore it two distinct problems, eastern 

 and western. The successful adminis- 

 tration of the vast forest domains of 

 the West requires special methods of 

 treatment and understanding of the 

 country and its needs and temper ; but 

 the really vital forest problems of the 

 country are coming in the more popu- 

 lous states of the East, where the needs 

 of the people for the products of the 

 forest are continually increasing. The 

 new Forester is amply quaUfied by wide 

 acquaintance with American conditions 

 and by the highest professional skill to 

 deal with the extensive forestry of the 

 West and the intensive forestry of 

 the East. The appointment of Mr. 

 Potter as Associate Forester likewise 

 strengthens the Service, for his experi- 

 ence with Western conditions, and with 

 the local questions that confront the ad- 

 ministrators of the Western forests, will 

 make him a most valuable assistant to 

 his chief. Altogether, the country is to 

 be congratulated that the disturbance 

 which seemed to most people almost 

 revolutionary has turned out so well in 

 this respect. 



^ iii ^ 



The Men Behind the Movement 



THE recent changes in the Forest 

 Service lend an especial interest to 

 the reminiscent remarks of Gifl:'ord 

 Pinchot at the annual dinner of the 

 American Forestry Association. Intro- 

 duced by President Guild as a man 

 "who needs no official title, a private 

 citizen whom we know as the father 

 of forestry in the United States, and 

 what title could be higher?" Mr. 

 Pinchot, after a few words of acknowl- 

 edgment, said : 



"I have followed along the footsteps 

 of men, many of whom are here to- 

 night : and as I was sitting a few mo- 

 ments ago listening to the end of the 

 admirable speech that Senator Smoot 

 was making, and to the very wonderfu' 



