EMPIRE STATE ASSOCIATION MEETING 



O more successful meeting has 

 ever been held by the Empire 

 State Forest Products Associa- 

 tion than the one at Watertown, X. Y.. 

 on November 14, which was attended by 

 about a hundred men interested in forest 

 conservation and water power preser- 

 vation. They heard many excellent ad- 

 dresses, were delightfully entertained 

 and derived much benefit from the 

 meeting, which resulted in decisions 

 for closer co-operation between the As- 

 sociation, the American Forestry Asso- 

 ciation, the Camp Fire Club of America 

 and the Society for the Preservation of 

 the Adirondacks. The tenor of the 

 addresses showed that there was keen 

 realization of the fact that these organ- 

 izations, working together, could accom- 

 plish much that is desired in forest and 

 water conservation in New York State. 



President Frank L. Moore in his 

 opening address said : 



"There has been in the past too much 

 theory and to-) little practical know- 

 ledge of the vast forest areas that are 

 the property of the people. This prop- 

 erty, which has been purchased by 

 levying laws, of which you and I have 

 paid our proportion is of inestimable 

 value, but under the constitution of the 

 state we are prevented from deriving 

 any revenue from a matured and de- 

 caying crop. That same constitution 

 says that we must not use any of the 

 people's property to create storage 

 reservoirs for the benefit of the people 

 of the State. I say this advisedly be- 

 cause wherever power can be created, 

 manufacturing industries spring up, 

 population of towns increases, and the 

 ever alert assessor places your prop- 

 erty on the assessment roll of the State 

 and then taxes from which death alone 

 can separate you. If you and I man- 

 aged our business this way we would 

 be classed unsuccessful. 



"It is evident that the people, the real 

 owners of the vast estate, had rather 

 pay a direct tax and allow a maturing 



794 



FRANK L. MOORE, OF WATERTOWN, N. Y., 

 RE-ELECTED FOR THE THIRD TERM AS 

 PRESIDENT OF THE EMPIRE STATE FOR- 

 EST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION. 



and ripe crop to rot, than to say that 

 we will amend the constitution, pick 

 out someone to manage this property 

 and put it upon a revenue-producing 

 and self-sustaining basis. When this is 

 done, a direct tax will be unheard of. 



"Another phase of our forest man- 

 agement that is causing serious thought 

 by those directly responsible is : shall 

 we continue to make annual appropri- 

 ations for further purposes under our 

 present constitution, or shall a way be 

 found where this money may be ex- 

 pended for the perpetuation of our 

 forests and at the same time produce a. 



