AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 101 



Another complication that has had to be met was that forced upon us by the ruling 

 of the Post Office Department last year by which the membership and subscription to 

 the magazine had to be separated. To meet this requirement the annual dues were 

 reduced to one dollar, but it is impossible for us to publish the magazine at a subscrip- 

 tion rate of less than two dollars, and that had be maintained. The department also 

 ruled at that time that we could not give any special subscription rates to our members. 

 This necessitated an entire readjustment of our list, notification to our members, and 

 changes in bookkeeping; while the results upon the number of our subscribers and 

 members and upon our gross income cannot yet be determined, since the full force of 

 the requirement only goes into effect with the present year and it will be several months 

 before the returns from the annual bills will enable us to make a final estimate. 



In this last connection, it will interest our members to know that the secretary, with 

 the approval of the president, joined with a committee representing a number of scien- 

 tific organizations which issue publications to endeavor to secure a reversal of the ruling 

 of the department, or, failing that, to secure the passage of a bill which has passed the 

 House and is now pending in the Senate, to extend to such societies as ours equal privil- 

 eges with those accorded to private publishers who are pursuing their publication for 

 profit. We ask no special favors of the government, but we do ask that we be put upon 

 the same plane as others and not be penalized because we are doing public work without 

 seeking for gain. This committee had an interview during the present month with the 

 new Third Assistant Postmaster General, Mr. Britt, and after a long discussion with him 

 and a full and fair statement of his ruling upon the question at issue, we found that 

 so far as our association was concerned, if his ruling had been in force it would not 

 have been necessary for us to make the critical change that was forced upon us by 

 what we cannot help regarding as a somewhat arbitrary ruling of his predecessor. It is 

 perfectly evident, however, that there can be no security against such arbitrary changes 

 under the present law, which admits of constant reinterpretation by successive occu- 

 pants of the office of third assistant postmaster general, and the only safety seems to be 

 in the passage of such a measure as the Dodds bill just referred to, which clears the 

 matter up for all time. During the present year we shall continue our business along the 

 lines of which the members have had ample notice and when our next annual meeting 

 is held it will be possible to determine the results and we shall then know how the 

 change is received by our members and what policy it is desirable for us to adopt for 

 the future. 



AMEEICAN FORESTBY 



Our magazine speaks for itself from month to month and calls for very little com- 

 ment in this report. We have felt that it was the most important instrument of our work 

 and demanded our best efforts and we have tried to make it influential and respected. 

 The business embarrassments of our printer during the past year caused us no little 

 inconvenience and many annoying delays in issuing the magazine. We have put it in 

 new hands and, as you all know, have made some changes in the typography and style, 

 beginning with the current volume, which we hope will commend themselves to our 

 readers. One slight advantage will come from the separation of the subscription and 

 membership. W^e can now know exactly the income as well as the outgo for the pub- 

 lication of the magazine, and can determine how nearly it is self-supporting and just 

 how much we have outside of that for the general work of the association. This, from 

 a purely business point of view, will be helpful. We hope also that this will give an 

 opportunity for many persons who for one reason or another might not care to associate 

 themselves as members of the American Forestry Association, but who do wish to keep 

 informed of the process and developments of forestry, to subscribe for the magazine 

 without subscribing to the association and its policy. It need not be added that in every 

 case where it is possible we wish to have both members and subscribers because that is 

 what gives not only financial but moral strength to the organization. 



The adoption of the name American Forestry and of a policy consistent with it 

 has met with unvarying approval and has brought to us the willing aid of those upon 

 whom we must depend for the material to make its pages worthy of the association that 

 publishes it and of its purpose. 



EDUCATIONAL WORK 



Aside from the magazine, we have been obliged to limit our work along educational 

 lines much more than we desired. The bulletins projected last winter were published for 

 three numbers, when we were obliged to discontinue them until adequate resources 

 should be available. We believe that the publication of these brief bulletins devoted to 

 special subjects, which could be used for extensive distribution, would be of great value 

 and that they should be established on a permanent basis. It will be possible by making 

 regular periodical issues to secure second-class rates of mailing and the cost can be thus 

 kept within reasonable figures. 



The lecture service should be fully organized and equipped with a good outfit of lantern 

 slides. The secretary Is available now to some extent for lecture work, but with executive 



