34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Piuchot Still in the Fight 



President Gi£foi-d Pincbot of the National Con- 

 servation Association recently issued a circular 

 letter to members o£ that organization, wherein 

 he discusses and criticises the merits of conser- 

 vation legislation now before Congress. He calls 

 for the aid of the association in support of 

 the bills of which he approves, and to defeat 

 those which meet his disfavor. The letter, ex- 

 cerpts from which are herewith produced, sig- 

 nalizes Pinchot's return to the tight, from a new 

 c|uarter. The letter : 



To the Members of the National Conservation 

 Association : 



Nothing is more important to this association 

 than the passage of good laws for the protec- 

 tion of our natural resources at the present ses- 

 sion of Congress. 



Nine bills relating to conservation were intro- 

 duced in Congress on .January IS on behalf of 

 the Secretary of the Interior, and are now pend- 

 ing before the Public Lands Committee of the 

 Senate. 



The officers of the association have already 

 conferred with this committee on these bills and 

 have met with the hearty cooperation of the 

 committee. The views of the association were 

 presented by the Hon. James R. Garfield, as 

 its representative. The immediate result was 

 an amended bill ou withdrawal of public lands 

 tS. .j48,")). As reported by Senator Nelson, this 

 bill should have the unqualifled support of the 

 members of the association. I call upon you 

 to communicate with your representatives and 

 senators in a strong effort to get it enacted 

 into law. 



In the same spirit of constructive criticism 

 I ask your attention to the remaining eight 

 bills and to changes which will be required in 

 them in order that this association may advocate 

 their enactment. The passage of sound laws on 

 conservation at this session of Congress is and 

 must remain the first consideration. We must 

 get the best bills we can and then get them 



General CiiAK-iCTEn of the Bills 

 Some of the eight bills still in committee 

 merely require amendment ; others must be recast 

 altogether. 



Water Power Bill 

 The first principle of water power control is a 

 fixed and definite time limit. All rights granted 

 to water power companies by the government 

 should terminate at a specific time, and there 

 should be no doubt about it. Whether the water 

 power bill ( S. 5488) clearly obeys this principle 

 is left uncertain by the vagueness of its terms. 

 Not only so, but it takes away from the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior the right to decide the 

 conditions on which the people's property may 

 be used by the companies on renewal of the 

 lease, and -is to these conditions gives the com- 

 panies in effect the equivalent of the right of 

 condemnation through the courts. The bill 

 wisely provides for compensation to the gov- 

 ernment by the companies, in harmony with 

 existing law, and that is good. But it has con- 

 elusive defects, whether seen from the point of 

 view of conservation or from that of the water 

 power companies. It imposes upon the latter 

 certain restrictions which are far more burden- 

 some to them than they are valuable to the 

 government. Such is the possible unforeseen 

 increase of charge at every ten-year period, 

 which would seriously hamper the financing of 

 such enterprises. The immediate effect of the 

 passage of this bill would doubtless be to stop 

 the development of water power on government 

 hind. The restrictions on rates charged to the 

 jjublic would be easy to evade. The provisions 

 against monopoly are less effective than those 

 now in force under the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 from whom, by a radical departure from existing 

 laws, and at the obvious cost of duplication of 

 work, it takes the control of water power de- 

 velopment in national forests. 



The water power bill does not follow the re- 

 sults of recent government experience in deal- 

 ing with similar problems. It repeals in sileiii:e 

 the existing water power law. and curtails the 

 already ample power now exercised (with the 

 approval of a former attorney-general) by the 

 Department of Agriculture. In addition to ex- 

 isting law two principal things are needed. 

 Water power sites should he protected from 

 jjrivate appropriation under the land laws, and 

 it should be made possible to issue to the 

 companies permits good for and definitely termi- 

 nating at the end of fifty years. The govern- 

 ment should he left as free as the lessee to 

 bargain for a renewal of the permit, or to re- 

 fuse it. It will then be. in the words of Mr. 

 .Justice Holmes, "in posession of what all admit 

 to be a great public good, and what It has it 

 may keep, and give no one a reason for its 

 will." 



Reclam.^tion Bill 



The great merit of the Reclamation Act of 

 1!)02 is that it compels the making of homes on 

 the land reclaimed. The bill ( S. 5431), which 



deals with reclamation projects, destroys this 

 vital principle by opening these lands to absentee 

 landlordism and to speculation. The present law 

 provides that no sale of water in any govern- 

 ment irrigation project "shall be made to any 

 land owner unless he he an actual bona flde 

 resident of such land, or occupant thereof resid- 

 ing in the neighborhood of said land." This 

 clause the bill repeals. It should not pass. 

 Timber Bill 



The inducement to speculation in government 

 timber is the wor.st feature of the Timber and 

 Stone Act, and has led to an insistent demand 

 for its repeal. The bill for the sale of timber 

 and limber lands ( S. 5489), repeals this act, but 

 replaces it with provisions which promote specu- 

 lation and retard the development of agricultural 

 and mineral lands far beyond the act it repeals. 

 On land which it governs this bill allows the 

 purchaser of government timber to let his trees 

 stand uncut for twenty years. Five years is long 

 enough, as experience has abundantly proved. 

 This provision is useless to the small man, who 

 must cut quickly, and of great use to the timber 

 speculator, who can hold his timber for a rise 

 in price. It invites the concentration of gov- 

 ernment timber in the hands of great companies. 

 It makes the use of "dummy" entrymen easy and 

 profitable, and reduces the public auction for 

 which it provides to a mere form. 



The timber bill defers settlement of land under 

 sale until the limber is cut. It still further re- 

 tards land settlement and prospecting for min- 

 erals by compelling the prospector and the home- 

 steader on the laud it cover to pay for the tim- 

 ber he needs or must remove at a price fixed by 

 public auction. It imposes more stringent con- 

 ditions on the small man than on the timber 

 speculator, and fails to provide for reforestation 

 on lands valuable ouly for the growth of tim- 

 lier. 



The bill for the classification of public lands 

 (S. 5484) is inconsistent with the coal bill in 

 failing to separate the surface from the under- 

 lying mineral, and it opens to private appropria- 

 tion at $2.50 per acre such deposits of iron ore 

 as lie in the national forests of Minnesota. 

 Ala.ska Sortey Bill 



The bill for surveys iu Alaska requires no com- 

 ment at this time. 



Annual Banquet Memphis Lumbermen's 

 Club 



The Lumbermen's Club of Memphis, far famed 

 for its hospitality, fairly outdid itself in the 

 annual banquet which was given at the Hotel 

 Gayoso February 21. The entertainment com- 

 mittee conceived the happy idea of inviting the 

 ladies and they added so much enjoyment to the 

 occasion that no more annual entertainments 

 will be given without them. 



The spacious dining-room of the hotel was 

 beautifully decorated. Washington's birthday 

 furnishing the motif not only for the decorations 

 themselves, but also for the handsome souvenir 

 of the evening, and a part of the menu itself. 

 Covers were laid for about 200 guests, thus 

 making this the most elaborate function ever 

 attempted by the club. 



The souvenir was a masterpiece, not only in 

 conception, but in execution. A huge stork, 

 bearing in its bill a cloth from which projected 

 tne head and feet of George Washington and 

 from the side of which hung a big sword, adorned 

 the souvenir, while on the cloth was printed 

 "February 22." The "Father of his country" 

 was born shortly after midnight of February 21 

 and the conception of the entertainment com- 

 mittee showed that he was born with his hat, 

 boots and spurs on, ready for action, a sugges- 

 tion which, it was pointed out by one of the 

 speakers, may account for the fact that we 

 have such a wonderful country. A big cherry 

 tree appeared on the upper half of the souvenir 

 card while at the bottom lay the logs which 

 constitute the insignia of the lumber fraternity. 



\ band rendered delightful music throughout 

 the dinner and, while the latter was being dis- 

 patched. S. C. Slajor, president of the club, in- 

 troduced W. R. Barksdale, chairman of the en- 

 tertainment committee, who acted as toastmaster. 



The ladies not only added to the charm of 

 the occasion by their presence, but several of 

 them participated in the program. Mrs. Marie 

 Greenwood Worden and Mrs. C. P. J. Mooney 

 rendered a number of delightful songs during 

 the evening and were roundly encored. Further- 

 more, Mrs. Leila Morgan Murrell. a Tennessee 



woman known all over the South for her de- 

 lightful literary work, responded to the toast 

 delivered by Judge James M. Greer, "The 

 Ladies." She characterized the entertainment as 

 one of the most beautiful she had ever attended 

 and paid a glowing tribute to the lumbermen 

 of Memphis, comparing their hospitality to that 

 of the Arabians and the beauty of the occasion 

 itself to French art. 



Max Sondheimer spoke to the toast "Our 

 Guests." He was in delightful mood and enter- 

 tained the audience with his wit and humor. 



Ijcwis Doster, secretary of the Hardwood 

 I\Ianufacturers' Association, responded to the 

 toast "Our Guests." He expressed the apprecia- 

 tion of himself and the other guests on the 

 splendid hospitality afforded by the club and 

 of the delightful entertainment provided. 



Judge James M. Speer spoke to the toast 

 "The Ladies." He reviewed the part that woman 

 has played in all ages, but testified that the 

 idea that man is boss has been exploded and 

 that woman and man stand on a plane of 

 equality. He referred touchingly to the mother 

 who bore him and to the wife who bore with 

 him and declared that every man was blessed 

 if divinely foolish about women and doubly 

 blessed if he were divinely foolish about only 

 one woman. 



Harry B. Anderson, son of S. B. Anderson, 

 president of the Anderson-Tully Company, made 

 one of the distinct hits of the evening with his 

 response to the toast "Memphis." He said in 

 part : 



Memphis wants to bring the world to her 

 borders and she does not stand on past perform- 

 ances. She stands ready to welcome all who 

 have been successful. She is a commercial city 

 in a commercial country in a commercial age. 

 There have been ages of faith and of chivalry, 

 and the world is all the better that these have 

 existed, but this is an age of commerce, and 

 commerce rests upon the cities, while the com- 

 merce of Memphis rests upon your shoulders. 

 There is room for all and Memphis is highly 

 cosmopolitan. It has every facility to offer to 

 those who desire to commit suicide as well as 

 for those who have ambitions and desires they 

 wish to live to realize and it has prohibition 

 for the the teetotalers and saloons for the bibu- 

 lously inclined. The world is bound to come to 

 Memphis and the Mempliis of today is to the 

 Memphis of tomorrow as the old abandoned 

 courthouse is to the new temple of justice which 

 has been only recently completed in this city. 



You are familiar with your antecedents in the 

 lumber business who laid the foundations for 

 you and you are now enjoying the prosperity 

 which they missed. I call your attention, how- 

 ever, to the fact that you are an evanescent tribe 

 and that you must move on when the forests of 

 this section have been denuded of their timber. 

 But, even though you pass on you have builded 

 so well that, even though you be forgotten, the 

 city you have founded overlooking the mighty 

 Father of Waters will forever stand as a monu- 

 ment to your untiring energy and to your won- 

 derful spirit of progress and commercialism. 



C. P. J. Mooney, managing editor of the 

 Commercial Appeal, began his address about the 

 lieginning of the morning of February 22, re- 

 sponding in a most able way to the toast 

 "George Washington." 



At the conclusion of Mr. Mooncy's talk, the 

 band struck up the national anthem ".\merica," 

 and every person in the dining-room rose and 

 joined in singing it. As the strains of this 

 song died away one of the most successful en- 

 tertainments in the history of the club was 

 brought to a close. 



Grrand Eapids Lumbermen Meet 



The Lumbermen's Club of Grand Kapids had 

 a dinner and business meeting at Bauman's 

 banquet rooms. Grand Rapids, Mich., Feb. 22, 

 with full attendance. President Fred I. Nichols 

 of the Nichols & Cox Lumber Company presided. 

 It was voted to employ E. L. Ewing of Grand 

 Rapids as traffic manager for a year, Mr. Ewing 

 holding a similar position with local furniture 

 manufacturers. A resolution was adopted en- 

 dorsing Fred A. Diggins of Cadillac as candidate 

 for president of the National Hardwood Lumber 

 Association at the June convention held in Louis- 

 ville. 



