274 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



Appendix No. 52. 

 Dr. Judson Clark's Report,. 



Toronto, August 12th, 1922. 



Hon. E. C. Drury, Premier of Ontario, 

 Parliament Buildings, Toronto. 



Dear Sir, — Complying with your request, I beg to submit what in my judg- 

 ment might be done to better the adminstration of the pubHc forest lands of the 

 Province of Ontario: 



I. — Departmental Reorganization. 



I am convinced that the outstanding need of the present, and for much 

 time that is past, is the placing of the administration of the provincial forests 

 in the hands of a competent forest engineer under the Minister of Lands and 

 Forests. 



The man for the position must be a forest engineer of thorough training 

 in his profession, of proven capacity as an executive, and wide business experience 

 and outlook. The logical position for such a man in the Department of Lands 

 and Forests should be that of Commissioner of Forests; though of much greater 

 importance than the name of the position would be an entire freedom, under the 

 responsible Minister, to develop the department along business lines so that the 

 provincial forests may increasingly be a greater provincial asset and an ever 

 increasing source of provincial revenue. 



No words of mine are needed to emphasize the vast interests involved or 

 the vast opportunity for service afforded in this matter. I might, however, 

 be pardoned for adding a personal conviction that this position affords the greatest 

 opportunity for a constructive work open to the members of the forest engineer- 

 ing profession on this continent, and your Government should be able and willing 

 to command the services of the best available man. Were I looking for such a 

 man for a similar position in my own business, I would not hesitate to pick Mr. 

 E. T. Allen, of Portland, Oregon, as the man who would best work out the problem. 

 I am sure that the professional opportunity for a great public service would 

 appeal to him strongly. Whether he could make the financial sacrifice involved 

 in giving up his present work, I am not so sure. 



The present Department of Lands and Forests, as the name indicates, calls 

 for two distinct, though closely related, departments of public service. The 

 present volume of detail work coming to the desk of the Deputy Minister of 

 Lands and Forests makes it entirely impossible, even with much overtime work, 

 to find the necessary leisure for study of the larger problems of policy and ad- 

 ministration. It is even impossible for the Deputy to have that personal con- 

 tact with the workings of his department inside and out, which is so necessary 

 if progress is to be made. The present enormous volume and prospective growth 

 of departmental work in caring for the public forests and public lands amply 

 justify the division of this great department into two separate departments, 

 which might be termed the Department of Forests and the Department of Lands, 

 both remaining as now under the responsible care of the Minister of Forests and 

 Lands. 



In organizing a Department of Forests for the care of the public forest 

 lands, it would be logical and in the highest degree desirable that all forest 



