No. 4.] SPECIAL MEETING. 9 



am glad that Mr. Parker has referred to this matter. I be- 

 lieve the general government should aid in this matter, and 

 I believe the time has come when they should be asked to 

 do it. As was stated in this report, entomologists from all 

 the States of New England, I think, and from several other 

 States, have visited this work either during the past year or 

 previously, and they have unanimously approved of it. 

 They have said, at the same time, " You are not doing this 

 for Massachusetts alone, but for the whole country ; " and 

 I believe, if the matter was brought before Congress, we 

 should have not only the aid of these men but they would 

 reach their Congressmen in the different States. A resolve 

 of this kind was passed three and four years ago, petition- 

 ing Congress, and at the same time during one of those 

 Legislatures a law was passed forbidding this committee to 

 do anything or expend any money outside of the limits of 

 this State. That barred the committee from making any 

 efforts along this line. But one of these years the matter 

 was brought to the attention of Representative Cogswell of 

 Salem. He was invited to meet with the committee. He 

 said his sympathies were entirely with the work, and he had 

 no doubt that, if it could be properly brought before Con- 

 gress, every man of the Massachusetts delegation would do 

 what he could in favor of it. Mr. Sessions, Mr. Appleton 

 and Mr. Forbush, through some provision made by the gov- 

 ernor from his private funds, went to Washington. Repre- 

 sentative Cogswell made the statement that the proper way 

 to bring the matter before Congress was to get the sanction 

 of the secretary of agriculture. Secretary Morton said 

 there had been various other petitions somewhat similar in 

 character, but he was very careful not to commit himself. 

 At the same time he was president of the United States 

 Forestry Association, and was very much interested in the 

 growing of forests. Mr. Sessions carried down photo- 

 graphs of the way the trees in the infested territory had 

 been stripped ; and when they showed these, Secretary 

 Morton became more interested, and he said, frankly, " Gen- 

 tlemen, you have a very strong case to present to the 

 government," and intimated that, while he could not con- 

 sistently recommend it, he would not oppose it. Senator 



