FOREST VITAL TO NATION'S WELFARE x 



That the club women of America have taken up the 

 great subject of forestry shows the progress and useful 

 purpose of organization among women. When the 

 women of America turn their attention to any subject or 

 object, and manifest an earnest desire for its accom- 

 plishment, success is assured. 



Forestry has found some difficulty in attracting atten- 

 tion, because of the assumption that the subject is purely 

 one of sentiment. It is true that sentiment does attach 

 to the preservation of our forests. But the subject is in 

 the highest degree one of practical utility. It is com- 

 monly true that there is an esthetic side to all practical 

 and useful subjects. The poet and the painter may re- 

 joice in the contemplation of the woods. But the farmer, 

 the miller, the boatman, and the lumberman may now 

 combine to preserve as well as to enjoy the beneficial 

 uses of this great element of our national wealth. 



A vigorous and healthy forest is the height of nature's 

 adornment. We have always been sensible to its beauty ; 

 we are now deeply concerned in its utility. The forests 

 have always been modest in their requirements. All they 

 have asked has been standing room. Give them but place, 

 and they will do their work patiently. Their long arms 

 have reached out for ages and gathered from the air the 

 elements of growth, which they have added to the soil. 



Man has been as wasteful of his natural possessions 

 as the sun of its energy. We have not been content with 



i By John F. Lacey, M. G, member house committee on forest reserves. 

 Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1905. 



