JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



Vol. XVI FEBRUARY, 1918 No. 2 



A WORD TO THE MEMBERS ^ 

 By Filibert Roth 



A year ago Dr. Fernow sketched the "Situation." He did this accu- 

 rately and without optimism or pessimism adding any undue colors. 



Being a believer in optimism, permit me to add a few strokes of color 

 and possibly a few points to this sketch. 



Keeping in mind that the word "forestry" was not in the American 

 dictionary as late as 1880, and that the technical journals of those days 

 dubbed us "cranks" and called those who actually believed in Sargent's 

 forecasts in the Tenth Census by the well-coined term of "Denudatics," 

 the progress of the last 30 years is most extraordinary. Since our 

 worthy Nestor in Forestry took up the difficult task of making a gov- 

 ernmental agency for forestry, to plan its work and to outline the great 

 forest policies of our country, and, together with Secretary Noble and 

 Edward Bowers, to secure the passage of the greatest forestry act, the 

 act which has put the United States in a front rank in forestry, so much 

 has taken place in forestry that most foresters themselves scarcely 

 realize the magnitude of the success. It bears repetition to say that the 

 National Forests represent an area more than four times that of all the 

 forests of the German Empire; that the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture has an organization covering this vast body of forests ; that it 

 offers timber by the hundreds of millions of feet; has accurate surveys 

 of millions of acres; has built thousands of miles of roads, trails, phone 

 lines, and, what is more than all, has won the respect and confidence of 

 the body of right-minded people all over the West as well as the East. 



The National Forest Service is only twelve years old ; its work is far 

 and away the greatest achievement of its kind in history. And while 

 the States may be said to be "puttering," this is true only when com- 

 pared to the gigantic task itself. 



In 1903 a Michigan legislature and the State authorities could not 

 even be induced to listen to forestry. Last winter the commission in 



'Prepared tor tin- l'ittsl)iirKli meeting, Dcctiiihcr 31, 1917, and January i. 1918. 



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