CHAPTER XIII 



CONCLUSION 



The history and results of the United States forest policy have now 

 been discussed in considerable detail. A rather depressing story it is, 

 too, a story of reckless and wasteful destruction of magnificent for- 

 ests, and of flagrant and notorious theft of valuable lands — a story 

 that Americans will follow with little pride. 



The gradual growth of an interest in the preservation of our forests 

 has been traced. Such an interest is not a development of the first 

 decade or two only, nor even of the past half-century. Anxiety for 

 the future timber supply arose even in colonial times, and expressions 

 of concern were voiced at various times throughout the later history 

 of the country. The idea of conservation gained momentum most 

 rapidly, it is true, during the eighties and nineties ; and the "con- 

 servation movement," in its present scope, took form during the early 

 years of the present century, under the leadership of Pinchot. 



EUROPEAN INFLUENCES IN THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT 



It is notable that from the earliest times down to the present, 

 interest in the conservation of our forests has been fostered largely 

 by men of foreign birth or training. Thus William Penn and the early 

 colonial governors who evinced interest in the matter were reared in 

 Europe and had European traditions regarding forests. F. A. 

 Michaux, who wrote in 1819, was a Frenchman, and many of the 

 others who later became interested in this question had studied or at 

 least traveled in Europe. Carl Schurz and B. E. Fernow, two of the 

 heroic figures in the conservation movement, were Germans. Gifford 

 Pinchot and Charles Walcott studied forestry in Europe; and Theo- 

 dore Roosevelt was strongly influenced by his close contact with 

 European thought. 



