38 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



in this work was to demonstrate the value of their land, to test the 

 value of certain woods for railroad purposes, and to remove the sterile 

 appearance of railroad stations ; and, while direct results were gen- 

 erally disappointing, the experiments helped to give a knowledge of 

 the adaptability of different trees to various soils and climates, and at 

 least taught many people what not to expect from prairie forestry. 



CONGRESSIONAL ACTION: FACTORS AT WORK 



Attention has now been called to the growth of public interest, and 

 even state activity in regard to forestry. Before entering into a dis- 

 cussion of the action of the Federal Congress, it will be necessary to 

 point out some of the various influences at work there during the 

 seventies. The government officials having charge of the forests on 

 the public lands, the Secretaries of the Interior, and the Commission- 

 ers of the Land Office, although many of them western men, with the 

 western bias on public land questions, were generally awake to the 

 dangers of forest destruction, and called out insistently for better 

 laws and better means of enforcement. In 1878, the annual message 

 of President Hayes called special attention to the need for forest 

 preservation.** An increasing number of scientific men were working 

 toward the same end, either alone or with commissions or forestry 

 associations, or with learned societies, such as the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science; while slowly following these 

 leaders, a public opinion was developing, stimulated by the disappear- 

 ance of forests in many parts of the country, particularly in the East. 

 Possibly, too, the general moral tone of the country was rising from 

 the low level to which it had sunk in the years following the Civil War. 

 Fernow says timber prices were rising,*^ but they were not rising very 

 rapidly ; and even if they had been, it is a debatable question whether 

 this would have been a factor favorable to conservation. It might 

 have had influence in arousing public interest, but it would also have 

 made timber stealing more profitable. 



Factors hostile to conservation were at work at all times, and they 

 developed strength rapidly. The timber interests had been fattening 



44 Conff. Bee, Dec. 2, 1878, 6. 



45 Fernow, "Economics of Forestry," 459, Appendix. See also Compton, "Organi- 

 zation of the Lumber Industry," 77. 



