American Forestry 



Vol. XVI 



OCTOBER, 1910 



No. IG 



THE SECOND CONSERVATION CONGRESS 



A Great National Assembly in St. Paul, September 5 to 8 

 By EDWIN A. START 



THE four days from the fifth to the 

 eighth of September will be mem- 

 orable in the history of the city of 

 St. Paul and in that of the nation for 

 the notable gathering brought together 

 in the Minnesota capital by the sessions 

 of the Second National Conservation 

 Congress. There were present for a 

 part or all of the time the President and 

 ex-president of the United States, the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, the veteran 

 John W. Noble, secretary of the interior 

 under President Harrison, Senators and 

 Representatives, governors and ex- 

 governors, officials of state and nation, 

 scientific experts representing the lead- 

 ing technical and scientific organiza- 

 tions of the country, also several politi- 

 cians and representatives of special in- 

 terests. Incidentally it may be noted 

 that forestry and lumbering had the 

 largest representation of any phase of 

 conservation, a new demonstration of 

 the fact that here is to be found the real 

 backbone, as well as the beginning of 

 the whole movement. Such a gather- 

 ing as this could not but be full of in- 

 terest to any live American ; nor could 

 its discussions and its thousand outside 

 conferences fail to be of value to the 

 nation, for this was a truly representa- 

 tive body. 



There was perhaps too much oratory 

 and too little practical discussion of 

 ways and means by the men who know. 

 This is an almost universal fault of 

 conventions of this kind, where the pro- 

 gram is packed too full of heavy 

 speeches, many of them by men who 

 are considered for their value as attrac- 

 tions rather than as teachers. There 

 was an unusually large body of keen, 

 informed, working conservationists 

 present at this convention to have filled 

 out an admirable program of practical 

 discussion if they could have been 

 heard, but the crowded program did 

 not allow much time for this. Further- 

 more, the temper of the majority of the 

 congress was such that open discussions 

 would have been preferred and would 

 have held the delegates much more 

 closely than the flights of political ora- 

 tory which were so generously provided. 

 There was widespread disappointment 

 among the delegates that the congress 

 did not more closely keep to its promise 

 to discuss the actual business of conser- 

 vation, rather than to declaim upon its 

 general principles. 



Having made this criticism, it is fair 

 to say that the congress made real prog- 

 ress toward an understanding of its 

 subject and the way to handle it and 



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