MICHIGAN 



ROAM 



FORESTS 



DETROIT, MICH., MARCH, 1909. 



MICHIGAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The Michigan Forestry Association was organized in Grand Rapids August 30, 1905, having for its object the promotion of a ra- 

 tional system of forestry in Michigan. The society is managed by the following roster of officers: President, John H. Bissell, of Detroit; 

 President, Morrice Quinn, Saginaw; Secretary, Henry G. Stevens, Detroit; Treasurer, W. B. Mershon, Saginaw, W. S. Board of 

 Directors S. M. Lemon, Grand Rapids; H. N. Loud, Au Sable; Thos. B. Wyman, Munising; E. C. Nichols, Battle Creek; R. Hanson, Gray- 

 ling; Geo. X. Brady, Detroit. 



SPECULATORS REAP THE PROFIT. 



The n t hi- Auditor-General's depart- 



ment .it in the county of R"-c<>mmon 



alone there are o\ : land 



delinquent for state taxes, and only a'bout 500 

 voters in the county. The I t this very 



large number is nirni-hed not voluntarily, of 

 S by ii:' it are working hard to 



defeat the Morrice hou-e bill, which provides 

 ic better conservatior -;ate lands 



and the creation of forestry reserve-. The-e 

 interests are land specr he Detroit 



X i 



An important e'ement operates from Chi- 

 They advtrti.-e cxten-ively in certain 

 circulation is confined chiefly to 

 the higher classes. Through these advertise- 

 ments and solicitor- they -ell thousands of 

 parcels of Michigan tax lands annually, in a 

 many cas :'se representation tha,t 



they are good agricultural and fruit Ir.nds. Ex- 

 Senator ' if Standish. who is largely 

 interested in land- n Lansing 



.veek' in the interest of the Morric 



-aid that a large part of the 1;; Id by 



t sand, from winch the 



has been cut and which of no 



value except -t with pine. Yet the 



.re. the purchaser rarely seeing the land 

 until after he has bought it. But he is delud- 

 ed into believing that he is getting a 

 bargain. A- to .viiat the Chicago speculators 

 e lands. Senator i iys he has 



seen letters from them inquiring about certain 



- of land, and reading like 

 "We don't care about the quality of the 

 land, and we don't want to pay more than fifty 



an acre." 



Some of th to run in their 



printed matter pictures of tine fruit, grains and 

 vegetable- . .f all kinds which th -cnt as 



having grown in where nothing but 



thistle- and stunted brush has grown since the 

 pine was lumbered. The spec- Us the 



small parcels into which he div tracts 



:e installment plan, and thi , ment 



.ially enough, or more than enough, to re- 

 imburse him for what he p:.id lor the land and 

 for his advertising and solicitors. All subse- 

 quent payments are velvet. 



Over !iO per cent of the:-e -mall purc 

 are abandoned by the suck. - and then 



the land again reverts to the state for delin- 

 quent taxes. There is nothing in the existing 

 to prevent the spec- "in again 



buying for the amount of taxes due on the 

 land and once more selling it to sucker- 



LO an acre. It is but one part of the end- 

 tern under which the control and 

 disposition of state !a:->l- '.' ' many 



years been handled and by which the specu- 

 lators invariably get the long end and the state 

 the short end. 



und Higgins and Houghton lakes, in 

 Roscommon county. Chicago speculators have 



for several years or more been selling alleged 

 "sites'* for summer cottages. Some of these 

 " are said to be a mile or more back from 

 the water in the brush. More instances of 

 suckers buying "unsight and unseen." Most 

 of the ' get back on the delinquent tax 



roll, every one of them as a separate descrip- 

 tion, and one paper in the county gets annu- 

 :rom the state treasury forty cents 'for 

 adver :h description. That's why the 



annual advertising of delinquent state tax 

 lands in Roscomn; th about $:i.OOO an- 



nually to the paper designated by the Auditor- 

 General to do the advertising. 



The Morrice bill, if enacted into a law, 

 would put the speculators referred to 



out of br. r speculators could get no 



more state lands at bargain prices. 



LEGISLATORS APATHETIC. 



The Morrice bill, for withdrawing state 



lands from the market, and creating a state 



-I.TVC under the supervision of the 



Michigan . came up for 



considerat March 24. I"t was defeated 



44. then the vote was reconsidered and 



the measure laid on the table. 



Members openly stated that they voted in 

 the negative because they did not understand 

 the proposition, yet the bill has been printed 

 eeks. and the subject is a most important 

 one for the state, worth}- consider- 



ation and investigation in order to determine 

 whether or not it would be a good thing for 

 the state. An inquiry commission appointed ] 

 by the last legislature, devoted months to in- 

 vestigating the state land question, and 

 worked without pay; yet it is doubtful if a 

 dozen members read the report that was got- 

 ten out. 



campaign under Representative Maxey. With 

 this power the committee will have something 

 with which to effectually check opposition 

 that may improperly be lined up against the 

 measures in the interests of a better govern- 

 ment in the departments of public domain. 



It is understood on pretty good authority 

 that information along this line has been re- 

 fused the committee. The refusal might be 

 termed a tactful one, but it was effective, none 

 the less. It was evident that some one rec- 

 ognized the value information of this charac- 

 ter would be to the committee in pushing its 

 measures. 



The whole affair resolves itself to this 

 proposition: The committee can now demand 

 to know to whom the various clerks in state 

 offices are credited. It hardly will be conveni- 

 ent for any member of the legislature who 

 has several clerkships to his credit to oppose 

 a creditable measure, since the inference will 

 be made, or, rather, the charge will be made, 

 if it comes to a showdown, that he is actu- 

 ated by his desire to hold his political patron- 

 age. It is generally believed, however, that 

 the mere fact that the committee has this 

 power will have the effect of giving the legis- 

 lation sought smoother and less interrupted 

 passage. 



For the time being it will be sufficient that 

 state departments will be obliged to lend some 

 :ince rather than persevere in blocking 

 tactic-. 



LEGISLATURE TO INVESTIGATE. 



In unanimously adopting a harmless look- 

 ing little resolution offered by Representative 

 Bierd. designed to give the special forestry 

 and land committee of investigation authority 

 to take testimony, the house representatives 

 e Michigan legislature opened the way 

 for an itv - all the term im- 



e committee promise of a 



chanc e through the legislature meas- 



ures to correct the pr >ublic 



land sale in spite of the objection- 

 who will find their political patronage partly 

 if not wholly eliminated 



On its face the resolution seemed of little 

 importance. Only just such another authori- 

 tativi - -anted the special 



wate- -vmittee. but in this instance it 



opens the way for an investigation of affairs 

 in the land commissioner's and the auditor 

 general's department with the end in view of 

 learning the number of clerks, em; 

 the person or territory to which each employe 

 edited. 



This is the secret of the committee's quiet 



TO PREVENT FIRE LOSSES. 

 To provide a better system of fighting for- 

 est fires. Rep. Maxey has introduced a bill in 

 the Michigan legislature. The measure pro- 

 vides for the creation of 25 districts to be 

 handled by deputy state fire, fish and game 

 wardens who shall receive salaries of $1,000 

 a year and expenses. In addition to this force 

 each township shall have a warden in the per- 

 son of the supervisor or some other person to 

 be appointed in case the supervisor will not 

 act. He will receive $2 a day while engaged 

 in fighting fires. The bill provides that no 

 fires shall be set during the dry season with- 

 out the warden first having been notified. X 

 person shall carry torches or open lanterns 

 through the woods, and highway commission- 

 iall keep highways free from refuse or 

 dry brush and the railroads their roadbeds in 

 like condition. When townships are com- 

 pelled to fight fires two-thirds of the expense 

 shall be borne by the township and the other 

 third by the state. Violations of the act may 

 cau-e hues of $10 to $200 and jail sentences 

 from 60 days to one year. 



At a meeting of the German-American Xa- 

 iional League, of Kalamazoo. it was decided 

 to draft resolutions asking the state legisla- 

 ture to pass a law for the protection of Michi- 

 gan forests. 



