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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



and Harbors Congress, and author of 

 the slogan "A water policy, not a water 

 project," aroused the women in the con- 

 vention to great enthusiasm. He showed 

 the function of waterways, free high- 

 roads for all the people in preventing 

 monopoly in transportation. Terminals 

 on navigable waters, he said, should be 

 public property and all transportation 

 agencies by land or water should use 

 them on equal terms. He declared the 

 pending rivers and harbors bill to be 

 the best ever enacted. It carries an ap- 

 propriation of $50,000,000 ; it is to be 

 annual hereafter, instead of triennial ; 

 and it adopts a fixed policy for com- 

 pletion of the great projects within a 

 definite period of time. 



Another of the bright women who are 

 tamest in conservation, Mrs. Emmons 

 ( mcker, vice-president for Massachu- 

 setts, of the Women's National Rivers 

 and Harbors Congress was one of the 

 speakers, taking- as her text "Wilful 

 Waste Makes Woful Want." She spoke 

 upon waste of soils, fertilizer, sewage, 

 and minerals. 



THE CONFERENCES 



The afternoon conference on forestry 

 was opened by Mrs. Gerard, and the 

 work of a number of the state federa- 

 tions was reported upon. Especial dis- 

 tinction was accorded to the achieve- 

 ment of the Kentucky federation in 

 publishing an admirable hand-book of 

 the trees of the state, prepared by Mrs. 

 Mason Maury, of Louisville, chairman 

 of the forestry committee. Another 

 work of publication is an outline for 

 study classes in conservation, by Mrs. 

 F. H. Tucker, chairman of the forestry 

 committee of the Massachusetts federa- 

 tion. 



Edwin A. Start, executive secretary 

 of the American Forestry Association, 

 was the speaker at this conference. He 

 paid a high tribute to the work of the 

 I'nited States Forest Service, and to 

 the national forester, Henry S. Graves. 

 He laid down a conservation platform, 

 in regard to which he felt sure there 

 would be no disagreement, and on these 

 premises discussed the question, "What 



shall we do to be saved?" insisting that 

 every one has a personal responsibility. 

 Referring to the need of organization, 

 he described the work of the American 

 Forestry Association, its relation to 

 such organizations as the General Fed- 

 eration of Women's Clubs, and the ways 

 in which each could be helpful to the 

 other. He took up the question of per- 

 sonal duty toward these questions, urg- 

 ing this point : "Study this question for 

 yourself until you have a clear, intelli- 

 gent understanding of its main princi- 

 ples at least." Having discussed this 

 question of personal knowledge and the 

 means of attaining it, he took up the 

 application of this knowledge, which 

 consisted in general in doing the task- 

 nearest at hand, passing along in the 

 home the knowledge obtained by per- 

 sonal study, seeing that adequate pro- 

 vision is made in libraries and schools 

 for informing the younger generation, 

 practicing principles of tree and forest 

 culture if a landowner, and promoting 

 municipal, state, and national forestry. 

 Above all, he made a plea for earnest- 

 ness, sincerity, and thoroughness, as 

 only work so characterized counts. 



Mrs. S. B. Sneath, state chairman of 

 conservation for Ohio, presided over the 

 waterways conference in place of Mrs. 

 John Dallas Wilkinson, the national 

 chairman, and she immediately turned 

 over the management of affairs to Col. 

 John L. Vance, president of the Ohio 

 Valley Improvement Association. He in- 

 troduced Capt. J. F. Ellison, of Cincin- 

 nati, secretary of the National Rivers 

 and Harbors Congress, who is always 

 a welcome and pleasing speaker. Other 

 speakers of the conference were Con- 

 gressman J. E. Ransdell, and the two 

 energetic field secretaries of the Na- 

 tional Rivers and Harbors Congress, 

 John A. Fox and S. A. Thompson, each 

 of whom made an eloquent plea, urging 

 the women to exert greater efforts to 

 secure cheaper transportation and the 

 better development of the waterways. 



The national chairman, Mrs. J. D. 

 Wilkinson, called a waterways confer- 

 ence for the following morning, at 

 which Mrs. Lydia Adams-Williams pre- 

 sented the year's report for the District 

 of Columbia Committee on Waterways. 



