EDITORIAL 



VICTORY FOR AMENDMENT NO. 9 



THE Minnesota Forestry Associa- 

 tion achieved a great victory in 

 the cause of forest conservation 

 by securing the passage at the 

 November election of constitutional 

 amendment No. 9, which provides that 

 such school and public lands as are 

 better adapted for timber production 

 than for agriculture, may be set aside as 

 State school forests or other State 

 forests as the Legislature may provide, 

 and that they shall be managed on 

 forestry principles. 



The amendment was the only one of 

 eleven which passed. The vote was 

 178,954 for it and 44,033 against, but 

 as all not voting were also counted as 

 against it the real majority was only 

 501. 



The victory was due to a publicity 

 campaign such as the State had never 

 before seen, and the method by which it 

 was conducted will well serve as an 

 example for other States where forestry 

 laws are needed or where amendments 

 to existing laws are desired. 



The average voter is a fair-minded 

 individual. Show him that a proposed 

 measure is for a real benefit for the 

 people and the State and it will usually 

 have his support. But he must be 

 shown. No glittering generalities con- 

 vince him. He needs cold, hard facts. 

 He likes concrete examples. The 

 Minnesota campaigners for Amend- 

 ment No. 9 realized this. They took 

 editors of the chief papers in the State 

 to the north woods and showed them 

 actual conditions following destructive 



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lumbering on land unsuited for farm- 

 ing. These men were convinced. They 

 described in their papers the conditions 

 as they saw them. There was no gain- 

 saying the facts and they presented the 

 facts. 



The smaller newspapers took up the 

 work. The campaigners furnished them 

 with daily news articles, many signed 

 by prominent men of the State, and 

 in this way the voters could not escape 

 knowing what Amendment No. 9 pro- 

 vided and why it was needed. 



So far so good. But the campaign 

 did not stop there. The 17,000 mem- 

 bers of the State Federation of Women's 

 Clubs were enlisted. When women are 

 enthusiastic about a measure and ener- 

 getic in advocating it, it has advanced 

 far on the road to success. The women 

 distributed literature and posters and a 

 day or two before election each tele- 

 phoned one or more voters and asked 

 them to vote for the amendment. 



Still another admirable step was 

 taken, and one that should appeal to 

 every State or association conducting a 

 forestry campaign. The clergy of the 

 State were asked by their respective 

 bishops to talk for the amendment and 

 distribute literature. They exercised a 

 powerful influence in its favor. 



Perhaps no one feature of the cam- 

 paign was more striking than the 

 setting apart by the Governor of a 

 State Forests Day to be observed in 

 each school in the State. Each of the 

 14,000 teachers received a program and 

 some literature and 400,000 school 



