A PERSONAL WORD 



By THOMAS ELMER WILL 



ON SEPTEMBER i, 1906, the cial reports and synopses of bills ; press 



writer entered the service of bulletins have been issued to fifteen 



the American Forestry Associa- hundred newspapers ; articles have been 



tion as its Secretary. written for numerous publications, in- 



With the purchase, in the following eluding the World's Work, Review of 



December, of Forestry and Irrigation, Revieivs, Independent, Popular Science. 



he became, also, the editor of that pub- Monthly, McClure's, Journal of the 



lication Franklin Institute, Vick's Magazine, 



During the period of his connection Journal f * h * Merchants and Manu- 



with this office he has sought, as much ffcturers Association, American In- 



as in him lav, to strengthen the organ- d f ust *> an , d others ' f nd * e gospel of 



., . 2 j forestry and conservation has been car- 



ization, enlarge its influence, and ad- Hed g lectures tQ North Caro]inai 



vance its propaganda. South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 



In his first two years, as Secretary, Kentucky> West Virginia, District of 



it was his privilege to conduct mem- Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 



bership work which brought to the As- New Y ork, Maine, Ohio, Illinois, Wis- 



sociation 3,532 new members, or more consin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and 



than half of the total membership which Missouri. In a single season, sixty-four 



the organization, in the twenty-eight Chautauquas were addressed, whereby, 



years of its life, has acquired. by a conservative estimate, 65,000 peo- 



These members not only paid, dur- pie were reached with the oral mes- 

 ing the first year of their connection, sage and twice that many more by the 

 the entire cost of their acquisition, but accompanying press reports, 

 a surplus of $6,447.46 ; in addition to With the appearance of this issue of 

 which they pledged, for an indefinite AMERICAN FORESTRY, the writer's con- 

 period, annual payments of $8,063 to nection with the work of the Amer- 

 the work of the Association. ican Forestry Association ends. 



From January, 1907, when the ed- interest, however in the cause to which 

 itorial department of this magazine was * I s committed abates not a jot. 

 established by himself, until April, . In ** movement m fact, he recog- 

 , f T\/T i i-1 TVT nizes but a phase of that broader and 

 1908, and again, from March until No- . , , , r , A 

 * i- 1 deeper movement in which he enlisted 

 vember of 1909 all the editorials ap- whilg the conservation mov ement was 

 peanng m its columns were his work, as t unborn> and forestry in America 

 as have been most of those published was in Jts swaddling c l o thes the move- 

 since the latter date ment w | lose end j s t j ie conservation of 



In every practicable way he has the equal rights< liberties, and oppor- 

 sought to embody m living realities the tun i t j es o f a n t h e people, and the es- 

 ideals to which the organization has tablishment and maintenance of con- 

 been committed. The Appalachian Na- ditions under which the least and lowest 

 tional Forest work has received spe- may ij ve an un fearing and complete 

 cial attention. Resolutions by the score, Hf e . 



written by his hand, have been adopted As never before, the country to-day 



at his instance, and a fusillade of let- is ready to hear and heed the appeal 



ters and petitions has swept the halls for the conservation of our common 



of Congress. A heavy correspondence heritage and government, and as never 



has been built up from nothing, friends before the people are ready to organize 



of the movement have been kept in- to effect this end. 



formed of its progress by frequent spe- Spontaneously, though uncalled, they 



nr 



