170 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



with the fire risk. The technically 

 trained Superintendent of Forests was 

 in charge of this force, but the appoint- 

 ments were made by the Commission. 

 In an earlier day, such a force would 

 have immediately sunk to a low level 

 through the substitution of party loyalty 

 for efficiency as a basis of appointment, 

 and the retention of worthless incum- 

 bents through political influence. Party 

 politics, unfortunately, are still made a 

 condition of many of these appoint- 

 ments under the present system of 

 organization, but it speaks well for the 

 future that the Superintendent of 

 Forests is able in most instances to 

 secure the prompt removal of inefficient 

 men, and has in this way built up the 

 force to a fairly high standard of per- 

 formance. But New York cannot 

 safely permit its partisan principle to 

 affect these appointments in any way. 

 The fire fighters are the backbone of 

 the protective system, and the best 

 service can only be secured by basing 

 such appointments entirely on the stand- 

 ard of merit. 



In 1897, encouraged by constitutional 

 protection and the winning of the test 

 case which secured the tax titles, the 

 legislature appropriated $1,000,000 to 

 purchase additional lands in the Pre- 

 serve, and created the Adirondack and 

 Catskill Parks with boundaries defined 

 by law. The area was rapidly increased, 

 until at present, including water surface, 

 the State owns 1,800,000 acres of land. 

 No limit was set as to price or quality 

 of land, and the magnitude of the 

 transactions involved called for the 

 exercise of great care to protect the 

 State against extortion and deception. 

 During this period, political influences 

 were still at work to a considerable 

 extent and many questionable deals 

 were engineered through the Commis- 

 sion, thus laying the foundation for 

 trouble later on. In some instances 

 lands were sold which on later survey 

 proved to contain much less than the 

 stipulated acreage. In other instances 

 lots of different values would be turned 

 over on the basis of an average price 

 per acre, subject to proof of title, and 

 later, the titles of the more valuable 

 land would be found defective, while 

 the State paid the average price for the 



poor land. In other cases, where title 

 was disputed, a complaisant Commis- 

 sioner permitted the private claimants 

 to acquire title by means of judgments, 

 in suits brought by the State ostensibly 

 to protect its own interests. Tres- 

 passers were permitted to erect costly 

 residences on certain State lands, and 

 were not ejected. 



The conditions created by these acts 

 demanded still further efforts to safe- 

 guard the State's property. The lesson 

 was a hard one, but it is nearly learned. 

 Many suits have recently been entered 

 by the present Commission to recover 

 titles, to eject trespassers and to make 

 a clean sweep of these troublesome 

 questions. In a recent decision of the 

 State Court of Appeals, many acts of 

 a former Commissioner by which title 

 to State lands was lost, were set aside. 

 The values involved are considerable, 

 and there are strong indications that 

 the defendants may seek, through 

 political means, to accomplish indirectly 

 what they cannot achieve otherwise. 



But this is practically the last gasp of 

 the old order. The Constitutional 

 Convention draws near. Enlightened 

 sentiment throughout the State realizes 

 that the time has come to permit a 

 rational opening up and development of 

 the State Preserve. But the lessons 

 of the last twenty years must not go 

 unheeded. If the State of New York is 

 going to entrust the cutting of timber 

 on her Forest Preserves to a Com- 

 mission, she must first insure the per- 

 manent maintenance of technical, effi- 

 cient, non-political administration, and 

 take no more chances with a political 

 system. The present legislature con- 

 templates another change in the form 

 of commission by which the former 

 plan of a single commissoner appointed 

 by the Governor is resumed, and under 

 him, chiefs of divisions, one of which 

 is Forestry, shall be appointed who 

 must have technical qualifications. This 

 differs from the present form by the 

 abolition of several highly paid posi- 

 tions, and especially by elimination of 

 Deputy Commissioners, who under the 

 present law need no technical training. 

 This plan may work well, depending 

 solely upon the character and ability 

 of the Commissioner who may be 



