178 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



April 



the activity of Representative Charles 

 Lafayette Bartlett, to the Committee 

 on Judiciary of the House. A hear- 

 ing on the constitutional features of 

 the bill was had before thai: committee 

 on February 27. In March it was an- 

 nounced that the Judiciary Committee 

 would hold, on the 20th, an executive 

 session to consider the question of the 

 Appalachian bill. March 20 came, 

 however, and passed, leaving the bill 

 still slumbering in the committee 

 pigeonhole, with no day announced 

 for its consideration. 



December, January, February and 

 March have now almost worn away. 

 A snowstorm of letters, telegrams, 

 resolutions and petitions, begging, 

 pleading and praying for, and de- 

 manding the passage of the Appa- 

 lachian bill, has poured down upon 

 Congress. A member writes the Sec- 

 retary of the Association that these 

 communications have com*; in "by the 

 millions." The secretary of another 

 Congressman, when asked whether 

 members had received any communi- 

 cation from their constituents on 

 this subject, repUed : "Have they? 

 Well, I should say so ! They've been 

 flooded with them." 



Stand-pat-ism, however, still domi- 

 nates Congress. Last year the session 

 was "too short ;" this year the Presi- 

 dential election is coming on ; next 

 year a lot of members will probably 

 have lost their seats, and the Sixtieth 

 Congress will be waiting for its death 

 knell to toll at high noon on INIarch 

 4; hence nothing can be done then. 

 And so it goes. 



How long will a much-suffering 

 people endure this travesty on popular 

 government? Why do they elect 

 Congressmen, pay them $7,500 a 

 year, and provide for them secretaries 

 and palatial buildings in which to 

 work? Why not provide, instead, 

 tennis courts, bowling alleys, swim- 

 ming pools, running tracks, "dia- 

 monds. " "gridirons," g>'mnasiums 

 and other paraphernalia for sports, 

 and send them to Washington to play? 

 It is not long since the President fired 



a bombshell, in the shape of a special 

 message, into Congress, with the hope 

 of arousing it to action. How much 

 action has followed? Will he try an- 

 other. Says the Atlanta Constitution, 

 "If the President sends in a second 

 special message, as is now rumored,. . 

 insisting on definite action toward, 

 materializing many of the recommen- 

 dations in his message of last fall, it is- 

 to be hoped he will not overlook the 

 forestry bill in his list of specifica- 

 tions."^ 



Yes, this is to be hoped. But,, 

 meanwhile, let the friends of that 

 measure redouble their efiforts. Let 

 them continue to pour in their letters, 

 telegrams, resolutions, petitions and 

 editorials, demanding the protection 

 of their heritage. And let them make- 

 clear to members that if votes are 

 wanted, the only way to get them is- 

 through the performance of plain; 

 duty. 



Who Is Block- On the 20th, Mr. Henrv 

 ing the Appa- ^^ Barker, Chairman of 

 lachianBill? ^^^ ^p^^j^j committee 



on National Forests of the American 

 Civic Association, wrote Speaker Can- 

 non a searching letter as to the atti- 

 tude of the latter on the Appalachian 

 Bill. The Speaker, as usual, disclaims 

 responsibility and puts the matter up to 

 the Committee on Agriculture, appar- 

 ently forgetting that that committee 

 is waiting on the Committee on Judi- 

 ciary. 



While answering questions, the 

 Speaker might also state, ( i ) whether 

 or not, as reported, he criticised the 

 chairman of the Agricultural Commit- 

 tee of the 59th Congress for reporting 

 the Appalachian Bill favorably; (2) 

 whether, in organizing the Committee 

 on Agriculture of the 60th Congress, 

 he sought to injure the prospects of the 

 Appalachian Bill; and (3) how the 

 friends of forest conservation are ta 

 harmonize his remarks at the banquet 

 of the National Wholesale Lumber 

 Dealers' Association on the evening of 

 ]\Iarch 1 2th with the theory that he 

 can be expected to look with favor, or 



