94 REPORT O? THB FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



Representation of Groups of Industries Directly and Indirectly Concerned with 

 Forestry. {Bx-officio.) 



It has been the custom to assign the administration of forestry matters in the 

 State to a board or commission. It frequently happens that the men who are 

 appointed to these boards or commissions have little or no knowledge of the 

 work which is assigned to their care, and often the appointment is conferred on 

 them for political or personal favors. As a result, the executive in charge of the 

 real work of the department may be hampered by their periodic attempts to grasp 

 the details of the work and to prescribe the course of procedure. The law should 

 provide for a board or commission, the members of which are directly concerned 

 with the welfare of the forests- These men should be ex-officio rriembers of the 

 forestry board or commission. To illustrate, it should consist of the head of the 

 forest school, if there is one in the State, the head of the agricultural college, and - 

 the secertary or similar officer of the State lumbermen's associations. These 

 officers represent the main considerations in forestry, but there might be additional 

 members, representing the fish and game protective association, and the agricul- 

 tural, forestry and water power associations. The membership of the board 

 should not exceed- five in number. The executive head of the department, with 

 such a board, would have the benefit of their advice on matters of policy. This 

 method of making up the governing body will practically eliminate the risk of 

 having the organization disrupted or the board's policy radically changed by a 

 legislature which may act hastily and without full consideration. 



Provision for an Executive Head Who is Fitted by Training and Experience. 



Having provided for the make-up and personnel of the governing body or 

 commission, the next step is to require the board to select an executive head who 

 is fitted by training and experience for handling the State forestry work. 



Provision for Ample Discretionary Power. 



The law should give the executive head or forester ample discretionary 

 power. It is important that this power should be in the hands of the forester, 

 because of the practical impossibility of framing into law the detailed forms and 

 methods of administrative procedure. The State legislatures invariably attempt 

 to eliminate discretionary power in the administrative offices by piling up legisla- 

 tive provisions and enactments covering all phases of all lines of work. We all 

 know of cases where this tendency has resulted in seriously handicapping effective 

 administrative work. In the framing of a new law and the organization of a 

 new department, it is very essential that details should be left to the executive, 

 and after he has had time and opportunity to prepare and work out the methods 

 of procedure they can, if necessary, be readily incorporated as part of the law. 

 Provision for Delegating Discretionary Power. 



For the same reason that legislatures do not commonly delegate discretionary 

 power to the administrative officers of the State, the tendency is to limit the 

 executive when it comes to delegating such power to subordinate officers. His 

 authority to do this should not be limited, for obvious reasons. 



