HARDWOOD RECORD 



43 



every tract of young stuCE less than fifty years 

 old, and the west is full of millions of acres 

 literally of young timber just about to come into 

 bearing, but at present just under merchantable 

 size and carrying — most of it — much less than 

 four thousand feet board measure to the acre. 

 It would cut out every mountain tract, every 

 watershed that was above the belt of heavy tim- 

 ber and all the timber land above the timber 

 line. In other words it would take the national 

 forests from a solid body of land that you can 

 handle and that has some value to protect the 

 water supply, that is good for the production of 

 timber, that is valuable for other purposes — and 

 cut it up into ribbons and make it absolutely 

 impossible to do anything with. To make that 

 statement clear I want to say if a rule of this 

 kind were applied to the very best managed 

 forests in the world — for example, it the Ger- 

 man state forests were cut up under a pro- 

 vision of this kind, or the French forests or the 

 Swiss or the Austrian forests, any of the models 

 that are models today for the rest of the world, 

 they would be destroyed with the same certainty 

 this amendment, if it is adopted, will destroj 

 the forests of the United States. 



So that the situation is serious and it is 

 mighty lucky for us who are interested in fores- 

 try, that you who are equally interested, should 

 be here today. The national forests are made 

 to be used. This amendment would absolutely 

 stop timber cutting on the forests unless you 

 would take out timber and leave still four thou- 

 sand feet to the acre, which in the vast ma- 

 jority of cases is absolutely impracticable. Of 

 course it was not intended to do anything but to 

 destroy the forests — we all know that, and it 

 was devised with great skill and submitted at a 

 time in the evening when many of the friends 

 of the national forests were away and it is an 

 admirable example of the way how, during the 

 last days of a session, things that ought not to 

 pass Congress, will be pushed through. Tou 

 gentlemen know what the fight has been ; your 

 reception of Professor Graves this morning — for 

 I saw him after he came away from here — indi- 

 cates what vou think about the national forests 

 and the work that is being done there, and I 

 am glad to be able to tell you about a thing of 

 this kind. Nobody who knows anything about 

 public opinion in the United States believes for 

 one second that in adopting this amendment the 

 Senate responded to any public sentiment of 

 any value anywhere, but to the sentiment of the 

 few men who want to grab what they ought not 

 to get and what the forest service has been 

 fairly successful in preventing them from get- 

 ting. 



It breaks up fire protection entirely. With 

 everything worse than a checkerboard and occa- 

 sionally a little patch here and there, with the 

 rest of it open and in private hands, it makes 

 fire protection enormously difficult. It would 

 lead to the destruction of the national forests 

 in whatever direction you followed the work up. 

 Just as an illustration of the way things are 

 done on the hill right now, I might add that 

 Senator Carter secured the adoption of an amend- 

 ment last night which forbids the Forest Service 

 to spend any money for the examination of min- 

 ing claims which do not contain merchantable 

 timber. One of the industries which the Forest 

 Service has most successfully interfered with is 

 the fraudulent mining business. For years past 

 many men have been in the habit of getting 

 mining claims, whether they have minerals on 

 them ^r not, and capitalizing and selling stock. 

 We have fought those men steadily and up to 

 now we have beateu them and hope to keep on 

 beating them. I sav "we" because I do not get 

 in the habit of thinking I do not belong to the 

 Forest Service. [Applause.] Now this amend- 

 ment preventing the examination of these claims 

 except where there is merchantable timber on 

 them is merely intended, or it will have the effect 

 anyhow — for I prefer not to impute motives but 

 to "show what etEect of action is — of turning loose 

 these fraudulent mining men in great numbers to 

 take up these claims and hold them in spite of 

 the service, and would permit mining claims to 

 be located over water power, fish ponds and areas 

 frotn which we have been having a hard time to 

 keep these grafters away. That is the effect of 

 the Carter amendment. The effect of the Hey- 

 burn amendment I have already described to you 

 and I should like to urge, and I don't think you 

 will need much urging, that this body take action 

 today on these two matters. 



Both amendments have passed the Senate and 

 are now in the hands of the conferees and Con- 

 gress will take them up this afternoon, and I 

 hope you will make your position exceedingly 

 clear on this subject, and if you can, make it 

 clear at the White House when you go there this 

 afternoon. [Applause.] 



Now gentlemen, I should have more pleasure 

 in talking about this thing if I weren't as angry 

 as I am. I think it is enough to make any 

 honest man pretty hot under the collar to have 

 amendments of this kind — obviously intended to 

 defeat the public interest — slip through the Sen- 

 ate of the United States as these have been, and 

 I think the only thing that any of us can do 

 about it is to say out loud exactly what we 

 think of the measures and the men who are re- 

 sponsible for them. I thank you very much for 

 your attention. [Applause.] 



The report of the Committee on Coastwise 

 Insurance, owing to the absence of Charles 

 Hill, chairman, was on motion omitted, but 

 ordered printed m the official report of the 

 association. 



Tlie same action was taken on the report 

 of Committee on Lalse Insurance, owing to the 

 absence of M. E. Prcisch, chairman. In sub- 

 stance the report was as follows: 



Report of Committee on Lake lusurance 



The report of the Committee on Lake In- 

 surance stated that it had been appointed too 

 late in the season in 1910 to take up the sug- 

 gestion of organizing a Mutual Marine In- 

 surance Company. While one such company 

 has existed very successfully in one of the 

 l;'ke cities, the report expresses the opinion 

 that the members of this company would 

 probaljly not look favorably upon enlarging 

 to embrace all lake ports, or towards partici- 

 pating iu the organization of such a com- 

 pany. Correspondence ivith members of the 

 committee, with a view of taking up the sug- 

 gestion for Iflll, disclosed a rather unfavor- 

 able sentiment as long as the premium rate of 

 the other company is not advanced beyond 

 last season 's figures. It is recommended by 

 the committee for these reasons that it would 

 be impossible to successfully organize a 

 Mutual JIarine Insurance Company among the 

 lumber dealers around the Great Lakes. At 

 the same time it suggests the necessity for 

 continuing a lake insurance committee of the 

 association for the general good. 



The committee on nomination of trustees 

 then reported as its choice: Lewis Dill, Bal- 

 timore; C. H. Prescott, Cleveland; B. Frank- 

 lin Betts, Philadelphia; E. L. Fisher, Cleve- 

 land; "W. W. Knight, Indianapolis; Frank 

 C. Kice, Springfield, Mass., and E. L. Vau- 

 dervoort of North Tonowanda, N. Y. 



A. J. Chestnut of Buffalo presented 

 for nomination in opposition to Mr. Vander- 

 voort the name of W. W. Beilly of Buffalo. 

 On suspension of the rules the secretary -was 

 authorized to cast the ballot for the first six 

 named trustees, who had no opposition, and 

 a ballot was cast between Messrs. Vander- 

 Toort and Eeilly, resulting in the majority 

 of votes for Mr. Vandervoort — sixty-five to 

 forty-two. The election of Mr. Vandervoort 

 ■nas made unanimous. 



Chairman Higbie announced that he w'as 

 not a candidate for re-election to the presi- 

 dency and invited an expression by members 

 of their choice for president for the ensuing 

 year. 



George F. Craig placed in nomination Fred 

 K. Babcock of Pittsburg, which motion was 

 seconded by Messrs. Hastings, Lippincott, 

 Diebold, Higbie and Underhill. An expression 

 of choice of this sort being paramount to an 

 election, Mr. Babcock was brought into the 

 room and acclaimed as the next president of 

 the organization. He -was welcomed by Be- 

 tiring-president Higbie and made a brief and 

 feeling address of thanks for the honor that 

 has been conferred upon him. 



The chair next appointed a committee to 

 draft a resolution on the matters presented 

 by Gifford Pinchot to both the president and 

 the various members of the House and Senate, 

 consisting of Messrs. Dill, Sykes and E. V. 



Babcock. This special committee presented 

 the following resolutions, which were adopted : 



Special Eesolutions 



Whereas. The Heyburn Amendment, pro- 

 viding that all land upon which there is grow-- 

 ing less than 4,000 feet of merchantable tim- 

 ber shall be excluded from the national for- 

 ests was adopted in the Senate last night, 

 and 



W'hereas, The effect of this amendment 

 would be to destroy the national forests by 

 excluding from them all planted areas, air 

 burnt areas, all land covered with young 

 growth, and all nontimbered lands under for- 

 est reproduction, would lay them open to rav- 

 ages of fire, prevent the practice of fore.stry 

 and defeat the purpose for w'hicli they were 

 created, namely, to protect the water supply 

 and produce timber, and 



,W"hereas, The Carter Amendment, adopted 

 at the same time, would prohibit the Forest 

 Service from interfering with fraudulent min- 

 ing claimants whose claims do not include 

 merchantable timber, would open the forests 

 to fraudulent appropriation and thereby in- 

 crease the risk of fire to an alarming extent, 

 and 



W'hereas. As practical lumbermen, operating 

 in thirty-two states of the Union, we know- 

 and approve the national forest policy and 

 realize the extreme danger which would re- 

 sult from the passage of these amendments; 

 therefore be it 



Resolved, That we. the National Wholesale 

 Lumber Dealers' Association, in convention 

 today, do protest most vigorously against the 

 passage of these amendments and call upon- 

 the President and our representatives in Con- 

 gress to see that these amendments are de- 

 feated. 



The regular Committee on Eesolutions then- 

 presented the following report, which was- 

 unanimously adopted : 



Report of Resolution Committee 



Resolved, That the members of this asso- 

 ciation, recognizing the desire and the neces- 

 sity for a single standard of inspection iix 

 hardwood lumber in the interest of the en- 

 tire trade, indorse the suggestions made in 

 the report of the Hardwood Inspection Com- 

 mittee and recommend that this report be- 

 adopted by the convention and that a com- 

 mittee as proposed in the report be appointed 

 or the matter be handled in such manner as 

 in the judgment of the president and Board 

 of Trustees may be most effective. 



Resolved. That the members tender to 

 President Higbie and his associate executive 

 officers appreciation of their efficient services 

 and successful handling of the association's- 

 interests during the year. 



Thereafter the meeting adjourned to at- 

 tend the reception of the President of th& 

 United States in the east room of the White- 

 House. 



Following the reception at the White House,, 

 the meetiug of the Board of Trustees took 

 place, at which F. E. Babcock was elected 

 president, Franklin E. Parker of Saginaw,. 

 Mich., first vice-president; Nelson H. Wal- 

 cott, second vice-president; Frederick W. 

 Cole, treasurer, and E. F. Perry, secretary. 



During the evening a reception, rausicale- 

 and dinner were tendered the ladies accom- 

 panying the delegates in the reel room of the- 

 New Willard hotel, and the banquet for the 

 men was held in the big banquet hall of the 

 hotel. These two functions were of the- 

 highest order, both from a gastronomical and 

 oratorical standpoint, and were largely at- 

 tended. 



Attendance 



F. U. Babcock. Pittsburg, Pa. : President E. V. 

 Babcock & Co., and Northwestern Lumber Deal- 

 ers' Association. 



It. D. Baker. Pittsburg, Pa. 



Leonard Bronson, Chicago : Manager Natlonali 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association. 



lion. .Tames Francis Burke. 



C. II. Carpenter, Providence. R. I. 



Fred A. Diggins, Cadillac ; President National 

 riardwood Lumber Association. 



Lewis Dill. Baltimore : Lewis Dill & Co. 



Lewis Doster, Cincinnati ; Secretary llardwooa 

 Manufactiu-ers' Association. 



