ANNUAL MEETING OF THE A. F. A. 299 



done by extemporaneous remarks my objection to the autocratic revo- 

 lution embodied in the proposed amendments to the by-laws. 



The President of the Association refused to allow my letter to be 

 read, ruled me out of order, and was sustained on appeal. 



May I therefore ask you to give to my letter in the Journal the 

 publicity that was denied at the meeting of the American Forestry 

 Association. 



Respectfully, 



Philip P. Wells. 



Middletozvn, Conn., Feb. 2J, i()2T. 

 Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack, President, 

 American Forestry Association, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Dear Mr. Pack: 



I had hoped to attend the annual meeting of the American Forestry 

 Association in Washington this week but it now seems doubtful 

 whether I shall be able to do so. The proposed changes in the consti- 

 tution of the Association are so grave in character that I am placing 

 this expression of my opinion in the hands of Prof. H. H. Chapman 

 for delivery to you in case of my absence and for such other use at 

 the meeting or elsewhere as seems wise to him. 



The proposed changes would make the Association over into a close 

 corporation. It has no standing, and should have none, except as the 

 embodiment and mouthpiece of enlightened, independent, and dis- 

 interested public opinion on forestry and forest policy. Under the 

 proposed plan for seven permanent directors public opinion will be 

 effectually silenced in the Association, and this will be true notwith- 

 standing the fact that the new plan provides for the election of eight 

 of the fifteen directors by the membership, for if but one of the eight 

 should join the seven permanent members they would absolutely control 

 the Board. Such an organization will make it easy for selfish men, 

 having interests directly contrary to the public interest in the matter 

 of forest conservation, to gain control of the Association. They would 

 have every conceivable motive for using the oppormnity, and once in 

 control it would be practically impossible to dislodge them. 



I am informed that one inducement to the proposed change is an 

 expected gift of a permanent headquarters and considerable sums of 

 money. These are not sufficient reasons for the suicide of the Asso- 



