WOMAN'S WORK FOR CONSERVATION 



Notes from the Biennial of the General Federation of Women's Clubs 



By MRS, LYDIA ADAMS-WILLIAMS 



CONSERVATION was the key- 

 note of the biennial meeting of 

 the General Federation of Wom- 

 en's Clubs at Cincinnati during the sec- 

 ond week in May, and the spirit of 

 "Let's work for it with all our hearts" 

 permeated the atmosphere of the great 

 convention. Former Secretary of the 

 Interior James R. Garfield was to have 

 delivered the address at the formal 

 opening of the convention, but he was 

 prevented by illness in his family, and 

 his place was taken by Rev. Charles 

 Frederick Goss, who spoke of some of 

 the phases of conservation, especially in 

 its relation to the home, and of women's 

 great part in it. 



Friday, May 13, was Conservation 

 Day, and it was the consensus of opinion 

 that it was the best of all. At the gen- 

 eral meeting in the morning in Music 

 Hall, Mrs. F. W. Gerard, the able and 

 painstaking chairman of the committee 

 on forestry of the general federation, 

 opened the discussion, submitting the 

 report of her committee. 



REPORT OF FORESTRY COMMITTEE 

 MRS. F. W. GERARD, Chairman 



Madam President and Delegates: 



It was the good fortune of your chairman 

 of Forestry to begin her official duties by 

 attending as delegate the conference of the 

 National Conservation Commission, held in 

 Washington, December, 1908. This commis- 

 sion was called to report, after taking an 

 inventory of the nation's natural resources, in 

 continuance of the work inaugurated at the 

 memorable meeting of the governors at the 

 White House, in May, 1908. 



These meetings have passed into history, 

 but they are regarded as making a national 

 epoch, second only in importance to that at 

 which the Constitution of the United States 

 was framed. It has been truly said, that 

 never in the history of any nation has a 



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statement so valuable been compiled and 

 prepared; never has any nation known so 

 well where it stands with regard to its na- 

 tional resources, and never has any nation 

 had such a terrible indictment for profligate 

 waste of its inheritance. 



Two states have established precedents 

 which are significant of the trend of public 

 opinion toward European methods of forest 

 administration, namely, in New York we 

 have the first example of a privately owned 

 reserve under state control ; and the supreme 

 court of Maine has recently rendered a de- 

 riMon in a hypothetical case, that the state 

 can regulate the cutting of privately owned 

 woodlands. 



When four-fifths of our timber lands are 

 in private ownership and only one-third of a 

 tree is utilized in our wasteful system of 

 lumbering, and only enough timber left to 

 last thirty years, it can readily be seen that 

 for our own interest the state or nation 

 must soon interfere. 



The most eminent conservation work begun 

 by our Federation, the saving of the Big 

 Trees, was brought to a successful conclusion 

 last year. The credit for this belongs to Mrs. 

 Lovell White, of California, who worked un- 

 ceasingly for nine years, and finally, after 

 personally interviewing every representative 

 and senator in Congress, succeeded in her 

 efforts to preserve these greatest living won- 

 ders. If no other work but the preservation 

 of the Big Trees and the Palisades of the 

 Hudson had been accomplished by our Fed- 

 eration, we should have justified our exist- 

 ence as an organization. 



Another campaign to secure the passage 

 of the Weeks bill has been very actively con- 

 ducted this last year by the women's clubs. 

 It is interesting to note that there is no sec- 

 tional feeling among the women in regard to 

 this question. In Colorado, which is the seat 

 of hostility to all forestry reserves among 

 the men, the women have worked unceasingly 

 for this bill. 



It is to be regretted that time is only al- 

 lowed to present some of the most notable 

 lines of work undertaken by the clubs. The 

 reports show that thousands of trees have 

 been planted, and that shade trees in towns 

 and cities are becoming generally the wards 

 of women's clubs ; while this is valuable and 

 necessary, the point should be emphasized 

 that it is not forestry. 



