an acre to 70,000 acres, interspersed among tracts held by individuals and 

 corporations (mostly lumbermen and paper manufacturers), an unknown number 

 of clubs or other associations and persons who have established private preserves 

 and parks in the woods for purposes of pleasure and recreation and of hotel sites. 

 How to consolidate the lands necessary to form a park became a serious question. 

 Ouly two methods were suggested. One that the State should condemn and take 

 the land necessary to form the park by the exercise of its right of eminent 

 domain ; the other that the State should acquire the land by purchase. 



A leading representative of the lumber interest, who has made the subject of 

 forestry and timber supply and consumption a matter of study both in this 

 country and in Europe, said to the commissioners : " It seems to me there is a 

 practical side to this subject that should have some consideration. I have tried 

 this, summer to make a sufficient study of the way they have been managing 

 forests in general. I have studied the German system, and have become very much 

 interested in it. If it is possible to raise the money there is no question but what 

 it would be the better way if the State could buy the lands outright and own 

 them, but it is a great question whether the sum of money required for this could 

 be raised at once, and my hope is that some plan will be devised by which the 

 land can be boughi at a low price, say about three dollars an acre, and allow the 

 spruce to be taken out down to twelve or fourteen inches. If that was done the 

 State would acquire the lands at a comparatively low price. The spruce below the 

 twelve inch limit in a few years would grow up so that second cutting could be done, 

 and within fifteen or twenty-five years I think the whole lands purchased by the 

 State could be paid for with interest and cost the State nothing. The German 

 forests that I have visited, paid last year some six or seven million dollars to the 

 German government. I see no reason why our lands cannot be treated in the 

 same way. The trouble with us is we are alwa}'s afraid of planning out for any- 

 thing seventy-five years ahead. If you went to the legislature and said you 

 wanted to spend several millions of dollars, and political questions came up, you 

 would kill the whols thing. What I am afraid of is that the railways are bound to 

 come in. The land is not owned by the State. Suppose you own the land, you are 

 able to prevent any roads going through. It might be that if they went through 

 they would increase the value of your land. If the land is not owned by the 

 State the railroad cannot be stopped. There is no question but that railroading 

 does hurt the Adirondacks. The only advantage of their going through is that it 

 would bring the whole of the Adirondacks closer together. This would be for 

 the advantage of the rich and the poor alike. It would give the poor clerks and 

 poor people an opportunity to go up there and live at low rates. As it is now, 

 they have got to have guides and go to a large expense. My hope is that some- 

 thing will be done in the way of buying the land at low prices. There are 25,000 

 people in the Adirondacks who are depending for their living upon the different 

 operations in lumber and who are in favor of this park, and will work in the 

 interest of this scheme if they think they will not lose their livelihood." 



The commissioners go on to say that a misunderstanding has prevailed to 

 some extent with regard to the attitude of forestry to the lumber interests of 

 private owners. It is, however, generally understood now that the true interests 

 of the lumbermen are not incompatible with forest preservation, and it has been 

 declared to be one of the objects of the forestry movement in this country " to 

 harmonize the interests of the lumberman and the forester, and to devise for the 

 lumbering interest such protection as is not given at the cost of the forests." 

 Forestry is not opposed to having trees cut down in the proper way. They must 

 be cut to supply the world with timber. Civilization could hardly exist without 



