138 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



of this kind would be far more serious in the West, because in 

 dry climates the forest is much more easily destroyed; and even 

 in the case of land adapted for cultivation, if it happens to be 

 covered with a stand of young timber approaching marketable 

 size, clearing at the present time would be like withdrawing money 

 from a savings bank a few days before the interest falls due. 



But it must be remembered that the West is now the land of 

 home seekers. It needs settlers to develop its resources, and it 

 wishes to encourage them by every possible means. It is therefore 

 scarcely surprising that the western public, not yet fully educated 

 in the lesson of experience which the East has learned, nor perhaps 

 quite realizing the importance of conservation as a national policy, 

 should look with impatience upon the withdrawal of vast tracts 

 of timberlands by the federal government, and should even con- 

 sider such withdrawals as an infringement of state rights. In 

 an address recently delivered before the Brooklyn Institute of 

 Arts and Sciences, Senator Borah, of Idaho, presented the west- 

 ern viewpoint with considerable skill. He pointed out that every 

 year thousands of men, repelled by the difficulties of profitable 

 farming in many western states, are moving to Canada, where 

 they can obtain homesteads to better advantage, and where agri- 

 cultural operations in the vast wheat-growing areas are certain 

 of success. He considered the national forest reserves respon- 

 sible for this condition of affairs, in view of the fact that they 

 include large tracts which, when cleared, are preeminently suit- 

 able for cultivation; and he argued, on behalf of the western 

 states generally, that while the establishment of national reserves 

 is desirable on general principles, the areas thus segregated should 

 not include potential agricultural land. I am inclined to think 

 there is force in this argument. It is well known that our farms 

 do not keep pace with the needs of our growing population, and 

 yet our grain fields might be large enough to supply foodstuffs in 

 plenty, without recourse to other countries. In the West, there- 

 fore, it would be the best policy, from the standpoint of national 

 economy, to encourage settlement in every possible way, to pro- 



