1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



Resignation The resignation of Mr, 

 of Mr. fa fa Anderson as su- 



perintendent of the Yel- 

 lowstone Forest Reserve, which takes 

 effect March i, is fully explained in his 

 letter to Mr. Gifford Pinchot, chief of 

 the Forest Service, and the latter's re- 

 ply. Mr. Anderson filled a difficult po- 

 sition in a very satisfactory manner, 

 and it is with regret that we note his 

 withdrawal from active service in for- 

 estry. The letters are as follows : 



80 West 40th Street, 

 Xew York City, Dec. 28, 1905. 

 My dear Mr. Pinchot : 



On my return from Wyoming last 

 autumn, I asked for a furlough until 

 the coming spring. 



I now fear that it will he impossi- 

 hle for me to resume my accustomed 

 field work at that time. Some four 

 years ago, at your request, I took up 

 forestry work, and since then have 

 given almost my entire time to my du- 

 ties as forestry officer. This has neces- 

 sitated the neglect of my private inter- 

 ests, my art, etc., and as the field work- 

 required my presence upon the reserve 

 during five or six months of each year. 

 I have during those periods necessarily 

 been separated from my family. As 

 my wife's health is in such a condition 

 as to require treatment abroad, I do 

 not consider the present condition of 

 the Yellowstone Forest Reserve neces- 

 sitates a further sacrifice of this na- 

 ture. 



The reserve has been extended, its 

 boundaries definitely settled, its patrol 

 service fully organized, and the crea- 

 tion of a game preserve south of the 

 park insures protection to the large 

 game of that region. But what is of 

 far more importance the transfer of 

 the Forestry Bureau to the Agricultu- 

 ral Department has been effected (to 

 which end, as you know, I strenuously 

 labored), thereby placing all forestry 

 matters in your able hands. 



Owing to the fact of the recent mar- 

 riage of our only child, I find it quite 

 imperative that I should accompany 

 my wife to Europe the coming sum- 

 mer, as my daughter, having taken up 



her residence in California, will be 

 unable to go abroad with her mother. 

 In view of these facts, and with sin- 

 cere regret at being obliged to discon- 

 tinue the congenial work in connection 

 with yourself by severing my relations 

 with the forestry department, and feel- 

 ing that I should give you timely no- 

 tice of my intentions, I hereby place 

 my resignation in your hands, to be 

 acted upon at your convenience. 

 Yours very truly, 

 (Signed) A. A. Anderson. 



Hon. Gifford Pinchot, Forester, 

 Washington, D. C. 



To this letter Mr. Pinchot made the 

 following reply : 



Washington, January 2, 1906. 

 Mr. A. A. Anderson, 



80 W r est 40th St., New York, N. Y. 

 My dear Mr. Anderson: 



( )n my return to Washington I find 

 your letter of December 28, in which 

 you tender your resignation. During 

 the four years of your work in forestry 

 you have, as you justly observe, given 

 tip almost your entire time to that 

 work, and you add that Mrs. Ander- 

 son's health, and your daughter's mar- 

 riage, will make it necessary for you 

 to go abroad for the coming summer. 



First of all, I want to express my 

 great appreciation of the personal sac- 

 rifice you have made in order to do 

 your forest work, and of the service 

 you have rendered to the Yellowstone 

 Forest Reserve, and hence to the peo- 

 ple of Wyoming who live in its neigh- 

 borhood. Two years ago I had occa- 

 sion personally to investigate the com- 

 plaints made against your administra- 

 tion of the reserve, and to learn some- 

 thing from my own observation both 

 of the puerile and often unconfessed 

 reasons which lay behind so many of 

 the complaints, and of the high char- 

 acter of the force of supervisors and 

 rangers which you had organized. The 

 whole reserve is in immensely better 

 condition than it was when you took 

 hold of it, and it gives me great pleas- 

 ure to testify to that fact. 



Since you were furloughed, at your 

 own request, on returning from the 



