1908 



HEARING ON THE APPALACHIAN BILL 85 



the leading business men. On January 

 loth a notable conference was held by 

 representatives of the great textile 

 mills of New England for the purpose 

 of taking some effective action with 

 regard to the bill now in Congress. 

 Ex-Governor Rollins, of New Hamp- 

 shire, presided, and the meeting was 

 attended by the ablest business men 

 among the textile manufacturers. The 

 result was the appointment of commit- 

 tees to work in the most effective way 

 to secure a proper representation of 

 business men at the conference on the 

 30th. 



Great Activ- Never before has such 

 S^ Th profound and widespread 



interest in this measure 

 existed in the South. From the or- 

 ganization of the Appalachian Nation- 

 al Forest Association, early in the 

 winter, not a day has passed but that 

 many Southern papers have given 

 large attention to the need of preserv- 

 ing the forests of the Southern Moun- 

 tains. No subject of general National 

 interest is to-day receiving more intel- 

 ligent consideration in the South than 

 that of the proposed National Forest. 

 Many strong articles have appeared by 

 writers who speak with authority on 

 the various phases of the question. 

 Hundreds of editorials have been pub- 

 lished in Southern papers during the 

 past month. At this writing, January 

 1 6th, there is being held in Atlanta, 

 Ga., under the auspices of the above- 

 named association, the American In- 

 stitute of Electrical Engineers, and the 

 Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs, 

 a great forestry mass meeting. This 

 meeting is presided over by Governor 

 Smith, and has as one of it.'=' represent- 

 atives Governor Glenn, of North Car- 

 olina. All phases of the National For- 

 est question are being discussed, and 

 one result will be to secure the attend- 

 ance of the Governors of various 

 Southern States and of the leading 

 business men of the South at the hear- 

 ing in Washington on the 30th. As a 

 result of this meeting it is expected 

 that the ablest men of the South will 



be in attendance, and that the number 

 coming will reach into the hundreds. 



Ot^h?r^'°"' During the fight in the 

 Sources '^^^ Congress New Eng- 



land and the South stood 

 side by side, but now help is coming 

 from other sources. First among the 

 new sources of aid is the American 

 Civic Association, which has called an 

 executive meeting in Washington on 

 the 30th, to aid in connection with the 

 hearing. A large representation of 

 the members of the Civic Association 

 will be here. The magnificent and ef- 

 fective fight made by this organization 

 to save Niagara from total devastation 

 by water power companies will be re- 

 membered. This Association expects 

 during the coming year to make the 

 x\ppalachian-White Mountain Nation- 

 al Forest Bill one of its main objects of 

 attention. But other help is coming as 

 well. The American Institute of Elec- 

 trical Engineers will be represented. 

 The members of the Institute know 

 well the damage resulting to water 

 power from clearing away the for- 

 ests on the mountain slopes. 



Within the last year it has been 

 found how terrible is the effect of 

 clearing the forests from the high wa- 

 tershed of the Monongahela River. 

 The city of Pittsburg and other cities 

 on the river have suffered disastrous 

 floods, sustaining losses of almost ten 

 million dollars. On the recommenda- 

 tion of the Pittsburg Chamber of Com- 

 merce the Secretary of Agriculture 

 has included in his recommendation of 

 the area receiving attention, the Mo- 

 nongahela watershed. The Chamber 

 of Commerce will be well represented 

 at the hearing. In addition, it is like- 

 ly that other cities, afflicted by this 

 river, will have delegates at the hear- 

 ing. 



The American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, the organi- 

 zation which worked with the Ameri- 

 can Forestry Association for the bill 

 providing for the first forest reserves 

 in the West, will likewise be repre- 

 sented by a special committee, headed 



