346 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



and influence to make their protests effective, and the utterances of 

 the Journal of Forestry are disregarded since it has a circulation of 

 but 600. 



THE FIELD SECRETARY 



The need of a held secretary was recognized from the start, and was 

 advocated by various board members, notably Air. Quincy and Mr. 

 Brown. Air. Ridsdale always expressed his approval and even enthusi- 

 asm for this field secretary, but the money never was available with 

 which to employ him. 



In 191T Mr. Ridsdale was authorized to employ an assistant, and 

 engaged a young forestry graduate from Syracuse, C W. H. Douglass, 

 whom he employed in soliciting advertising. This forester enlisted and 

 was killed in the war. 



In this same year the pressure to engage a field secretary was met 

 by a proposal by the President to raise a fund of $"30,000 to finance 

 such an undertaking outside of the funds of the Association. Eleven 

 thousand dollars was pledged, but the fund was not completed, and 

 the matter was soon dropped. The place and functions of this field 

 agent were filled by the publicity agent. Mr. Edwards, previously men- 

 tioned, and who is now on the roll of the Association supported by 

 donations from the President. He has done good work for the As- 

 sociation. 



V.'hether or not the Secretary was actually favorable or opposed to 

 such division of responsibility as would result from the employment 

 of 'an able field man by the Association is not for me to say. 



THE MAGAZINE AND POLICY 



The improvement and excellence of the magazine as such reflects the 

 best phase of the Secretary's ability and has met with nothing but praise. 

 The failure of the magazine lay in the absence of a consistent, vigorous, 

 and sound policy. The fault here lay primarily with the Board, since 

 the Secretary dare not publish anything without the approval, at least, 

 of those whom he looked to for the direction of the Association's 

 afiiairs. As Mr. Chapman was a director, Mr. Ridsdale, during 1916 

 and 1917, accepted and published the editorials he contributed. After 

 the meeting in January, 1920, at which the Board was nearly defeated 

 for re-election, the Secretary, by co-operation of Director Greeley, en- 



