AMERICAN FOREST CONGRESS 313 



of the country which, combined with the mineral indus- 

 try, go far towards making the nation the great, 

 glorious, and prosperous whole that it is, I cannot 

 refrain from suggesting at this time that the custodian 

 of the public domain and its natural resources should 

 not be unmindful of the immense value to it from the 

 operation of those combined industries. 



While the receipts and expenditures of all industries 

 except mining can be so fixed as to return interest on 

 the investment, and that such industries have practi- 

 cally life in perpetuity, it is not so in the mineral 

 industry. With it the day comes when, after having 

 given to the country their treasures, the mines, one by 

 one, become exhausted, and their costly improvements 

 are allowed to decay. Is it asking too much, then, 

 that the mineral industry be most considerately treated 

 by this Government? If not, most liberal should the 

 consideration be that is given to the precious metal 

 mines which furnish the foundation of the nation's 

 credit, and which saved that credit from annihilation 

 after the civil war. 



I become more and more impressed with the neces- 

 sity of tree planting to insure forest perpetuation and 

 enlargement, and to insure the maintenance of stream- 

 flow, and I am amazed at the indifference upon the 

 subject so long displayed by a people otherwise so 

 mindful. Dwelling upon the subject for a moment, I 

 next wonder how the tree planting can be most success- 

 fully and economically accomplished, when something 

 says to me it can be done by the forest rangers. I 

 submit the thought for your consideration. 



Will you bear with me a moment longer, Mr. Presi- 

 dent, and gentlemen of the Congress, while I call 

 attention to a condition obtaining in and about all of 

 the forest reserves of the United States, and which 



