606 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



The remark is made that "the Forest Service should be the recog- 

 nized leader of public forestry thought and effort along general lines, 

 because of its impartial position and broad educational facilities, but 

 vested with no regulatory control over State or private lands not mutu- 

 ally agreed to by the owners thereof for specific purposes in connection 

 with the general policy herein suggested."' The Forest Service is not 

 in an impartial position. It is the servant of the public, and is in duty 

 bound to safeguard and work for the public interest against any and 

 all interests at variance with the national welfare. That the Forest 

 Service should lead public thought on forest affairs goes without saying ; 

 but that it should stop at that is to make the public's chief forest agent 

 impotent to advance the public's own interest. The Forest Service 

 should be an active agent both in securing and executing such national 

 laws as are essential to the solution of the national forest problem. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FORESTERS, COMMITTEE FOR THE APPLICATION 



OF FORESTRY 



The report of this committee was published December 29, 1910, and 

 at the annual meeting of the society held in New York, January 14, 

 1920, it was voted to place the report before the society as a whole 

 for a referendum ballot, the vote to be taken clause by clause. The 

 result of this ballot is published in another article of this issue of the 

 Journal, and show's that with one exception (the measure relating to 

 business reports from lumber industries) every clause both of the plan 

 and of the suggested legislative program was voted upon favorably, 

 the principle of national control winning by a vote of more than three 

 to two. Two out of the four suggested enforcing clauses were voted 

 upon unfavorably. 



The essential provisions of the Committee's plan are as follows : 



Federal Legislation 



The creation of a Federal Commission, with direct administrative 

 control over forest devastation on privately owned forest lands. 



The execution of the law to rest with the United States Forest 

 Service. 



The localization of such Federal control by the formation of admin- 

 istrative districts, apportioned with due regard to natural forest condi- 

 tions and the economic needs of the country. 



The requirement of reports from forest industries on certain busi- 

 ness matters. 



