178 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
fested there in the forest reserve. As soon as they cut out so 
much timber their crops grew less, and the trees, that were 
left, more or less of them died, and now they feel the need of - 
forestry. I believe we are on the right track when we encour- 
age it, and I don’t believe that these men are interested in hav- 
ing that timber cut off or being harmed in any way; and es- 
pecially so with reference to the mining industry. What would 
the lead mines of England be today if the government had not 
stepped in and forested those hillsides with the larch tree, and 
then taken control of it? They do not allow a larch tree cut 
down until they have a permit from certain societies. If it ~ 
were not for the government aid and supervision they could not 
carry on those mines at all. It is impossible to carry on mining 
successfully in any country without a great deal of timber. It 
would be for the interest of a mining country to, protect the 
timber, therefore, and not allow a single tree to be cut unless 
authorized by some society. Again, we of this generation have 
no right to rob our children. There is no man who possesses 
the right to eat up the bread that a future generation wants. 
He has no right to destroy the forests that favorably influence 
the climatic conditions of our time, and thus make it impossible © 
for our successors to till the soil. He has no right to deprive 
the succeeding settler of the timber with which to build his 
homestead, and the time is coming when the young man who: 
starts out to make a home will have a hard row to ‘hoe, I tell 
you. The coming young man who starts out to put up the 
buildings to shelter his family and stock will have a fearful ~ 
time if we allow the men who are so greedy for the almighty 
dollar to cut this timber. 
Mr. Barrett: I suggest that Judge Moyer be asked to give 
his views on this question. 
Judge L. R. Moyer: I will say briefly, Mr. Chairman, that I 
think that it is a mistake to allow that timber to pass into pri 
vate hands. It is my belief that the timber ought to be kept 
and owned either by the state or general government. I think 
there should be a police force enlisted to guard that timber 
against fires, and instead of allowing the land, as you might 
say, to run riot, it would be well to cutacertain portion of 
it periodically. The trees ought to be cut in such a way that 
the brush and tops and chips could be taken care of, so that 
they would not be an encouragement for fires. The state 
makes a great mistake in selling any of its timber land. I 
think that the state of Minnesota ought to hold on to its school 
