with proper care to protect from fires, the same lands 

 will again become covered with valuable timber. It 

 seems to me to be a work of such interest to the public 

 at large that the State should adopt a system by which 

 a proper selection of the lands for reforestation shall 

 be made and the work carried on as experiments and 

 experience shall suggest. The work of the Association 

 should command the generous support of all public- 

 spirited citizens." 



W. G. Mather, President Cleveland 

 Legislation Cliffs Iron Co., writes: 



Needed "Public sentiment must be worked 



up in order to bring pressure to bear 

 upon the legislature to pass proper laws on the subject 

 of taxation and forest culture. I think among the first 

 things to be worked for is proper fire warden regula- 

 tions. In a rough way, I think it would tend to econ- 

 omy and effectiveness and practicability to have the 

 offices of fire and game warden consolidated. The 

 deputy wardens or rangers can easily attend to both 

 kinds of duties. The members of this service should 

 have a kind of uniform, be subject to an examination, 

 in other words, be a select body of men who would be 

 respected by the community and who would take pride 

 in their work. They should be self-respecting and as 

 respected a corps of men as, for example, the firemen 

 in our cities. In order to do this, the appointments 

 must be absolutely divorced from political influence, 

 not only the deputies and rangers, but also the chief 

 fire and game wardens. It might be opportune, at 

 this initial meeting, for the Michigan Forestry Asso- 

 ciation to appoint a proper committee to plan a new 

 statute or modification of the present statute, which 

 would put the fire and game wardens and fire and game 

 laws on a modern and effective basis. Such a com- 

 mission should study the best provision for such ser- 

 vice, not only in this country, but abroad, and frame 

 their law accordingly. They must also see that the 

 people who serve under 'this law shall be so selected 

 and adequately protected that they shall be, as it were, 

 a corps d'elite. There should be, of course, sufficient 

 compensation for this service. The State of Michi- 

 gan can well afford to properly pay for such service. 

 It is well recognized, I think, that the State loses a 

 great deal of property every year by fire, and conse- 

 quently the income from taxation on the same, be- 

 sides much indirect loss which it is difficult for me now 

 to calculate. Only a portion of this loss, if applied to 

 the fire service, would thus save much property and 

 revenue to the State. 



"The game laws should also be more effectively ad- 

 ministered. The value of proper preservation of game 

 and the income derived by the State and its citizens 

 from the proper preservation of game, is well known, 

 and in our country Maine and northern New York are 

 good examples of this. In Europe it has been recog- 

 nized as a factor of income for generations. Let the 

 Commission at least, make a move in this direction. 

 There is much public opinion already in favor of such 

 improved regulations and therefore I believe they could 

 be readily carried through the Legislature." 



J. D. Hawks, President D. & M. 



Ry. Co., Detroit, Mich., says: 



Something "I beg to say that my connection of 



Must be over thirty years with railroads hand- 



Done ling forest products, has made me very 



familiar with the country from which 

 such products have been taken and the horrible de- 

 struction and devastation that have followed lumber- 

 ing enterprises in Michigan. I have seen the pine ex- 

 hausted in the lower peninsula of Michigan to such an 

 extent that the railroads running through the so-called 

 pine country are now getting car sills from Florida and 



