large areas were revealed that were too rocky to be tilled. 

 Cut and burned over, these areas are now barren wastes, bring- 

 ing no revenue and paying no taxes. They are entirely un- 

 productive, a burden to the community and a bad advertise- 

 ment for the State. Millions of dollars have been lost by this 

 mistaken method. 



Shall We Correct the Mistake? 



Under the old policy those state lands which are unfit for 

 farming will revert to baren wastes, after having been cut 

 over. The issue confronting us now is this: Shall we follow 

 the old policy, which we know to be partly wrong, or shall we 

 adopt a better method of handling our state lands? 



The last legislature saw the mistake of past years and 

 proposed a new policy, No. 9, the State Forests Amendment, 

 which will be submitted to the approval of the people, Novem- 

 ber 3rd. This amendment provides that all those state lands 

 which are unfit for tillage shall not be sold but be used as 

 state forests. 



This new policy of state forests has been followed out for 

 generations in Germany, Sweden and Norway. It not only 

 provides the country with permanent forests, but it uses land 

 which would otherwise be barren and unproductive. By re- 

 foresting such areas, the European state torests produce an 

 annual and perpetual net profit of from two to fifteen dollars 

 per acre. 



New York and Pennsylvania have adopted a similar policy, 

 not because they wanted to but because they had to. Penn- 

 sylvania was forced to take immediate action owing to the fact 

 that the watersheds of the Ohio river were so deforested that 

 the floods caused by that river alone amounted to damages of 

 over one million dollars annually. 



Our forests are going fast. Now is the time to act. 



The association appreciating the importance of this amend- 

 ment is bending all its efforts towards bringing No. 9 to the at- 

 tention of each citizen of Minnesota. A full description of what 

 has been done and what is to follow in this campaign will be 

 related in our next months issue. In the meantime, every 

 member should appoint himself a committee of one and boost 

 for No. 9 It stands for good business. 



