684 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the use of wood for railroad ties and their renewal to such an extent that 

 extensive forests must be maintained to supply material for this purpose alone. 

 These are all practical economic considerations which any man can 

 understand and when the balance is struck it can be seen that forestry in 

 this country is not so much at a disadvantage in comparison with Europe as 

 we sometimes assume. 



AN ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE 



VICE PRESIDENT SHERMAN has a national reputation for a cheerful 

 and almost irresponsible optimism. In a recent speech which is receiving 

 considerable attention because of its antagonism to the views of the 

 duty of one generation to the next which are fortunately gaining ground 

 among us, he is quoted as saying that he is the best conservationist who utilizes 

 the forces of the air and all the different forces of the earth for the advance- 

 ment of mankind and turns them into comfort and conveniences and makes 

 them supply necessities and in other ways lessens the burdens of this 

 generation ; and further "I believe each new generation is equal to the task of 

 discovering some new thing to take the place of any existing natural resources. 

 I am willing to give the coming generation credit for being as smart as we. 

 I believe that they will find fuel." 



This is sublime optimism in view of what we know of reckless waste and 

 destruction in our management of the natural resources of the earth. Unfor- 

 tunately it runs counter to established fact. We believe with Mr. Sher- 

 man that every resource which nature has provided should be utilized to the 

 utmost for the welfare of mankind. We believe that the coming generations 

 will be amply capable of handling their own problems, but we also believe, and 

 upon this point Mr. Sherman seems to be indifferent, that as managers and 

 workers in this great producing plant, we should leave it in good working 

 condition, not stripped and damaged through wasteful use and improvidence ; 

 that we are trustees and should not impair the working capital of the world. 



This we regard as a fair interpretation of what is generally known as 

 conservation, a term too little understood and hence too often irrelevantly 

 criticised. To translate this idea into the field of forestry, which is typical : we 

 must utilize our forests to the full measure of their productivity, but we must 

 not impair that productivity, as others will come after us who will need the 

 forests as much as we. 



It will be seen that while Mr. Sherman's position is right as far as it goes, 

 he omits a very essential consideration which we as responsible human beings 

 with a debt to the past and a responsibility to the future cannot ignore. 



A PERSONAL WORD 



ON THE first of November Edwin A. Start retires from the secretaryship 

 of the American Forestry Association and the editorship of American 

 Forestry, and he wishes to take this opportunity to express to many 

 friends his grateful appreciation of the support they have accorded to him 

 during the two years that he has been the executive officer of the Association. 

 The advance of forestry makes the work of such an association as this of 

 increasing importance and defines its functions and its opportunities with 



