562 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



increase and perpetuate the natural 

 attractions of this region, furnish a 

 pleasure ground for all people, and put 

 the resort business on a permanent 

 basis. 



The private and local interests that 

 have been affected by the forest reserve 

 are the following: Land dealers and 

 speculators had been charging $15 or $16 

 per acre for lands in the forest reserve 

 region. When the State began to buy 

 large tracts at prices that averaged 

 only $3.32 per acre, the land men were 

 aroused and claimed that the character 

 of the lands in that vicinity had been 

 grossly misrepresented, and that settlers 

 did not care to buy because the forest 

 reserve was being developed in that 

 region. It was found, also, that private 

 interests desired to get possession of 

 lands and lake frontage in the reserve. 

 At least one limibering interest is 

 believed to be working to obtain posses- 

 sion of timberland that composes part 

 of the reserve. These private interests 

 are worldng against forestry ostensibly 

 for the purpose of forwarding settle- 

 ment in their community; are, in fact, 

 using the same argmiients that were 

 used 18 years ago to get the State Park 

 lands on the market. The only just 

 grievance local interests ever had, was 

 the removal from the tax rolls of land 

 purchased by the State. 



No legitimate private interest is 

 really affected. Good agricultural lands 

 in tracts of sufficient size will be sold, 

 lake frontage is available for camps or 

 cottages by lease, and mature or 

 deteriorating timber is sold. 



It would seem that Wisconsin should 

 have a settled forestry policy by this 

 time, when its Forestry Department 

 has been in existence nearly 12 years; 

 but the hand of the opposition is still 

 busy trying to shape the public destiny 

 into conformity with a few, a very few, 

 individual interests. 



Six years ago a legislative investiga- 

 tion was made, necessarily at great 

 expense, of forestry, waterpowers and 

 drainage, which resulted in a report that 



was unanimous in favor of the forestry 

 work. And yet again, 2 years ago, the 

 expense of another legislative investiga- 

 tion of forestry was foisted upon the 

 State by local influences, which desired 

 to hinder forestry work; and the 

 legislature was induced also to halt 

 purchases of land as additions to the 

 forest reserve until a soil survey of the 

 region could be made. Again there 

 has been a report favorable to the con- 

 tinuance of forestry work. The best 

 citizens of the State of all political parties 

 are in favor of the forestry work. The 

 Wisconsin branch of the German- 

 American Alliance has declared itself 

 in favor of the forestry work. And 

 still an organized effort is being made 

 to influence the legislature. 



The legislature is now in possession 

 of full information secured by its own 

 representatives, in regard to the public 

 need of forest preservation and in regard 

 to the progress already made in the 

 State of Wisconsin. It seems incredible 

 that a legislature of the present day, 

 with the expensive mistakes of the past 

 before them, should again sacrifice the 

 welfare of the public at the behest of a 

 handful of men who are seeking personal 

 benefits behind the thin mask of seeking 

 local welfare. 



RESULT OF THE DECISION 



The recent decision of the Supreme 

 Court was outlined in American For- 

 estry for March. It is almost impossi- 

 ble at this time to say what the residt 

 of the Court's deci-sion will be. The 

 legislature must decide whether the 

 375,000 acres of land shall continue to 

 be managed as a forest reserve, the 

 income to be paid into the school fund, 

 or if the entire forest reserve, which it 

 has taken 10 years to build up, shall be 

 thrown upon the market and sold. 

 The land specidators are working to 

 secure the sale of the lands, but it does 

 not seem possible that the legislature 

 will again sacrifice the interests of the 

 people in order to enrich a few land 

 agents and speculators. 



