Aug, 19, 1899.1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
147 
a commmittee to have full charge of the same, viz. ; Col. 
John S. Cooper, Chairman, Chicago; Thomas H. Shevlin, 
MinneapoU.s; Hon. Thomas Lowry, Minncapob's; Hon. 
James Gray, Minneapohs ; George R. Finch, St. Paul ; 
George C. Squires, St. Paul ; Charles Cristadoro, St. Paul ; 
W. C. Brown, General Manager C, B. & Q. Railroad, 
Chicago; T. P. Shonts, Chicag'o; B. Thomas, Chicago; 
Capt. J. B. Clow, Chicago; C. I. Peck, Chicago; John H. 
Witbeck, Chicago; Otis R. Glover, Chicago; Marvin 
Hughitt, Jr., .Chicago; Wesley M. LoAvrie, Chicago; 
Henry S. Fitch, Chicago, Hon. O. W. Nixon, Chicago; 
George E. Cole, Cliicago ; L. W. Pitcher, Chicago ; Harry 
G. McCartney, Chicago; Dr. Frank Billings, Chicago; 
Jas. J, Hill, President Great Northern Railroad, St. Paul; 
Chas. S. Fee, General Passenger Agent Northern Paciiic 
Railroad, St. Paul; C. A. Pillsbury, President Brainerd 
Northern Railroad, St. Paul. 
The above resolution was promptly carried. It was 
followed shortly by the courteous action suggested by Mr. 
Ross Clarke, of St. Paul, who handed in a resolution of 
thanks to the Federation of Women's Clubs of Minnesota, 
who were the real inaugurators of the movement for ac- 
quiring a large public park in Minnesota. This resolution 
was passed, and adjournment followed. 
The Gjnventioo. 
The session of the convention or regular naeeting fol- 
lowed at once upon adjournment of the Committee of the 
Whole, the same officers being continued, on the motion 
of Mr. Johnson, of Minneapolis. On motion of Col. 
Graves, of Duluth, the names of all present as organizers 
were taken, the list being as given above. The minutes 
of the first meeting were read and adopted. The report of 
the committee on organization was again read, so that all 
arrivals might be acquainted with the organic law of the 
body. Mr. Glover's resolution and also Mr. Clarke's, as 
read in the Commmittee of the Whole, were also formally 
adopted. Mr. Graves thought that the names suggested 
in Mr. Glover's resolution would need to be referred to 
the Executive Committee for approval, but the chair ruled 
that the above names were approved by the body in. the ac- 
ceptance of the resolution as a whole. 
Election of Officers, 
The chair appointed as a committee on nominations for 
officers of the organization Col. Cooper, of Chicago ; Dr. 
R. O. Beard, of Minneapolis; Mr. Charles Cristadoro, of 
St. Paul. These brought in the name of Dr. Northrop. 
President of the University of Minnesota, for president of 
the Minnesota National Park and Forestry Association. 
Dr. Northrop was elected by one ballot cast by secretary. 
Mr. Nelson, of St. Paul, suggested that there should be 
one vice-president, each from Chicago, St. Paul and 
Duluth, the same to be elected by vote of local delega- 
tions. Col. Graves seemed to be fencing a little bit when 
he deprecated this action for Duluth, which might awk- 
wardly identify that city with the movement proposed. 
Mr. Johnson, of Minneapolis, thought the idea should be 
widened by electing vice-presidents from the South and 
from the West. Col. Cooper said: "Mr. Chairman, not 
wishing in the least to force the city of Duluth into any 
unwelcome attitude, I move you that Governor Theodore 
Roosevelt, of New York, be our first vice-president." This 
wag carried with a rush of applause, for Governor Roose- 
velt is nowhere more popular than in the West. On the 
motion also of Col. Cooper, Judge Horace H. Lurton, of 
the U. S. Circuit Court, Nashville, Tenn., was elected 
second vice-president, and Judge Hubbard, of Cedar 
Rapids, la., the well-known railway counsel, was chosen as 
third. By one ballot Mr. John H. Witbeck, of Chicago, 
was elected treasurer. Mr. Witbeck is a prominent 
lumberman and banker of this city. On motion of Mr. 
Ross Clarke, of Minneapolis, Col. John S. Cooper was by 
one ballot elected corresponding secretary, and in 
similarly prompt fashion Dr. H. M. Bracken, of St. Paul, 
was chosen recording secretary. Col. Graves, of Duluth, 
now moved that the Committee of Nominations report 
names for an Executive Commmittee of fifteen. Dr. 
Beard, of Minneapolis, moved to substitute that said Ex- 
ecutive Committee should be chosen with three members 
fi'om Chicago, three from Minneapolis, three from St. 
Paul, three from Duluth and three at large. This motion 
prevailed, and the chair appointed as Commmittee on 
Nominations for such members G. M. Nelson, of St. 
Paul; Dr. Bell, of Minneapolis; Col. Graves, of Duluth; 
E. Hough, of Chicago. After due deliberation the above 
Committee on Nominations reported the following naines 
for members of a permanent Executive Committee, the 
report being unanimously adopted. From Chicago: Hon. 
Carter H. Harrison, Mayor of the city ; E. W. Blatchford, 
Charles S. Dennis. From St. Paul : Dr. Henry Hutchin- 
son, Ross Clarke, G. M. Nelson. From Minneapolis: 
Hon. James Gray, Mayor of the city; Dr. R. O. Beard, Dr. 
Leo Crafts. From Duluth: G. G. Hartley, A. H. Com- 
stock. Dr. C. A. Stewart. At large: F. M. Stephenson, 
of Menominee, Wis., a prominent lumberman; W. B. 
Mershon, of Saginaw, Mich., a prominent manufacturer 
and ex-Mayor of his cityj ex-Senator F. W. Leavitt, of 
Litchfield, Minnesota. 
Additional Action. 
During the progress of the committee work a fine ad- 
dress was made by Dr. O, W. Nixon, of Chicago, who 
pointed the usefulness of educating the youth in full 
respect for the life of the forest and the lake. Dr. 
Nixon said that we should use every agency possible to 
attain the success of this admirable enterprise. Chair- 
man Fitch also ably addressed the meeting, as did the able 
representative of the Board of Trade, Mr. Sam Johnson, 
of Minneapolis. It was moved and carried that the Ex- 
ecutive Committee should appoint an advisory council and 
publish names of the same. Dr. Beard wanted a com- 
mittee on entertainment, but Col. Cooper opposed this, 
thinking that it would be unwise to have too unwieldy a 
machinery, and that this work might be included under 
that of the committee having in charge the Congressional 
trip. Committees on press and finance will be appointed 
by the Executive Committee later. The funds of the 
organization will be raised by voluntary contribution. In a 
gracefully worded speech Mr. Johnson, of Minneapolis, 
extended to the Association the invitation of the city of 
St. Paul to be its guests on the north-bound passage 
through that city, and to be the guests of the city of 
Minneapolis on the return frotn the trip over the region 
concerned. These invitations, of course, cover the Con- 
gressional party, 'and it need not be said that the hos- 
pitality of the Twin Cities will be princely, after theif 
usual fashion. Mr. Nelson, of St. Paul, brotight up the 
question of quorum for the Executive Comniittee, and it 
was determined that five members should constitute a 
quorum. Mr. Johnson in a few well-chosen words naoved 
a vote of thanks to Col. Cooper for his work in this enter- 
prise, in which he had traveled much and .spent much of 
his private funds. This was carried by rising vote and 
Avilh obvious satisfaction. A vote of thanks was also ex- 
tended to the Chicago Athletic Association. Col. Cooper 
now coming in from a conmiittec meeting, moved a vote 
of thanks to the "public spirited gentlemen of Minnesota, 
who had come all this way to attend this meeting and to 
show their approval of this work," This was carried and 
adjournment was then had, late in the afternoon. 
The Opposition. 
The first clearly defined oppositfon to the Minnesota 
Park proposition was developed yesterday during the prog- 
ress of the convention. During the absence frnm the hall 
of some one of the committees, the chair on request called 
upon the Hon. Page Morris, of Duluth, to present his 
views upon the matter. Judge Morris, of Duluth, repre- 
sents in Congress the Sixth District, located in the pine 
and lumber region of upper Minnesota. It has been dis- 
tinctly understood all along that the city of Eiuluth was 
hostile to this reserve idea and would in all likelihood 
fight it bitterly in Congress, as it has by medium of the 
local press, and Judge Morris has been tacitly recognized 
as the leader of this active opposition, representing, as 
he does, a con.stituency composed largely of persons inter- 
ested in the undeveloped resources of a country for most 
part still virgin and of unknown wealth. Therefore, the 
members present looked forward with great interest to 
seeing and hearing Judge Morris. They saw a, man of 
medium stature, with a .shock of dark hair and the Face 
of an actor, clean shaven, keen, handsome, and they lis- 
tened to a man perhaps politician, but none the less pos- 
sessed of a clear and convincing habit of thought and a 
lucid method of presenting his conclusions. Jitdge Mor- 
ris talks ably. His constituency need not fear that he was 
renegade or that he misrepresented in any iota the trust 
they have imposed in him. Judge Morris may return 
home with a clear conscience, feeling, as it is gladly ac- 
corded that he has a right to feel, that he presented with 
elegance, with fervor, with apparent personal convicition, 
the side of the sclfi,sh, the short-sighted, the narrow- 
minded,, the material side of things, as opposed to the side 
of breadth, of unselfishness, of foresight, of public spir- 
itedness. Judge Morris is an able man, and he is a 
thinker. He represents a constitutency, and does it ably. 
It is for him to say if he throws into this form of repre- 
sentation the real ardor of a nature which could certainly 
feel deeply and act strongly. It is for him to say whether 
he will in the future look back with unalloyed personal 
and inner satisfaction upon his share in this work, hand- 
somely and ably as he has carried on his .share. 
Judge Morris said that he would be -'brutally frank," 
realizing fully his position at tliis gathering. He felt that 
he might not be en rapport. "T am here," he said, "not 
as a member of your body, but as a representative of a 
committee of Duluth citizens." He said he had come not 
to act, but to observe. "This is in my district," he said, 
"and, gentlemen, I admit we have been alarmed at what 
you propose to do. You are intniding upon the natural 
resources of the people whom I represent." Judge Mor- 
ris said that three dififerent holdings covered the lands in 
the region concerned — the Government lands, the Indian 
lands, the lands held by private settlers. The Indian lands 
alone under the act of 1889 were worth perhaps $5,000,000 
for the pine lands alone, valued at $3 per acre. The other 
class of lands — the agricultural lands — were worth at least 
an additional million. How much the private lands vvere 
worth he did not know, but he did know that a great 
body of land which could be filed upon under public entry 
for homesteads would under this reserve idea be held back 
from the country. This meant to block tlie wheels of 
progress. In Beltrami county alone there were to-day 
2,000 more settlers than there were two years ago. "Now, 
gentlemen," said he, "the city of Duluth taps all this 
region, and it is naturally tributary to her. I say we are 
alarmed when you wish to take all this possible wealth 
away from us. this hmiber, this agricultural land, this 
possible mineral wealth. I regret that I cannot favor this 
scheme. M!y judgment is against it." 
Judge Morris said that the pine was- tliemioE?t -valuable 
product of this regioin, but that after it was cut off the 
other woods, like the poplar, etc., grew up after it. Much 
of the region, he thought, could be farmed with profit. 
Now, if it was the purpose to preserve this pine uncut, he 
was bold enough to say that the people of Duluth were 
not in favor of this idea; that the people of Minneapolis' 
were not in favor of it; that the settlers of the region it- 
self were not in favor of it, and certainly he himself was 
not in favor of it. "Even if you should cut this pine under 
certain restrictions, you would be robbing the present set- 
tlers of that region. I thus frankly outline the thoughts 
that pass through my mind," said he. "Twenty years ago 
all that land north of Duluth Avas a wilderness. To-day 
St. Louis county produces more wealth than any other 
single county in the United States. In one year her out- 
put of iron ore was over $8,000,000. Our people think 
there may be some such hidden wealth in this region you 
propose to sequestrate. If you can preserve for our 
behoof this possible wealth of natural resources, very well, 
but T do not see how you propose to do so under your 
scheme." 
Following Judge Morris' able address, whicfh was given 
in good humor and convincing fashion of itself, there was 
no applause. He did not meet with rseponse among 
those present, nor did he expect it, but he had done what 
he conceived to be his duty. It was a delicate and diffi- 
cult thing to reply to so able an exponent of the other 
side, but Col. Cooper did this with tact and force. He 
said: "I wish to thank Judge Morris for coming here to 
meet us. I know that he feels he is a trustee for his peo- 
ple, and indeed he is one of the trustees of us all, for he 
is one of the members of Congress. That is all I say. and 
all I ask. Judge Morris will not object'to this trip, I am 
sure, in which his colleagues of Congress will be enabled 
to see actually what there is in this entire situation. He 
has done his duty, and he will be willing to abide by what 
Congress may say alter becoming possessed of all the facts 
through personal investigation. Judge Morris is going tq 
be with us on this trip of exploration and investigation. 
Let him do that, let hnn then go back to Congress and 
vote, and I will back his vote, and so will we all, and we 
will not complain. We do not pretend to be all-wise. 
We only say we want to leave this to the Congress of the 
United States, and to give that Congress all the facts at 
first hand. We only want the jury and the court to be 
there, and to have jurisdiction. We have no set lines 
established. Let Congress attend to that. If we get but 
part, if we get nothing, we shall have had a^grand trip, 
and you will see men up there in your country tha.t yoii 
would never see again in all your life otherwise." 
Judge Morris replied pleasantly that the visitors would 
see the most hospitable people in the world, and one of 
the best and richest regions in the world. 
Mr. Cristadoro, of St. Paul, made somewhat of a reply 
to Judge Morris' speech, stating that he could not agree 
that after the pine was gone other timber of value took ita 
place, lie showed the history of decaying lumber towns, 
and pointed out the alternative of a great tract of land 
under Government control and management. He thought 
Duluth would be the natural beneficiary if this park 
should be established. Her place at the head of the Great 
l^akes would make her the inevitable entrepot for a heavy 
travel. 
Col. Graves, of Duluth, sprang another form of fight 
for the opposition wlien he suggested that perhaps another 
tract might better be chosen, further north than this pine 
region mentioned — for instance, west of the Vermiliofl 
Lake. In such case, he said, he trusted his people would 
be willirig to co-operate with the movement for the park. 
Col. Graves said that he could not stand out for the keep- 
ing of the pine uncut, but as to reforestration, he was 
very much in favor of that, to say nothing of his keen in- 
stincts as a .sportsman. 
Mr. Ross Clarke, of St. Paul, made a rattling good talk, 
showing a map of the different regions mentioned. He 
said it was true that some of the cut pine lands could be 
farmed, and there was a tide setting in for such cheap 
lands. The question was whether we could stem that tide 
— whether we could maintain this last stand for a forest 
reserve which should leave a little of the scanty forest yet 
' standing. He recognized how difficult was this fight, for 
■ even in getting the little Itasca Park about the head 
.springs of the Mississippi River they had to fight their 
own State Legislature. There was admittedly a vast local 
prejudice to be contended with. "And yet," said he, "if 
we do not win this fight, and if we fail to save any of this 
land, our children, even those of the Sixth District, will 
blame us most of all that we allowed this destruction of, 
our forests. The lumbermen have a right — ^yes, but has 
not also the nation a right?" 
Mr. Clai-ke paid his respects to Col. Graves, but thought 
that the region he proposed to set aside — that in Cook 
and Lake counties — could not by any imagination be 
called a forest reserve, for it held no forests. It was use- 
less to waste time there. The aspect of the region would 
constitute its own chief protection, for it was undesirable 
as a public park, just as logged-over country was unde- 
sirable. Mr. Clarke said he wished to see this idea car- 
ried out as first projected. He said that even should we 
fail we should have done a work of education, and he 
thought that when tlie result was known it would be found 
that much of the pubhc would be with us. Mr. Clarke's 
remarks were greeted with applause. 
Spirit of the Minnesota Press. 
I have before me at this writing clippings from over 
fifty Minnesota papers, including the most prominent 
journals of the State, and especially those of St. Paul, 
Minneapolis, Duluth, Grand Rapids and many towns sit- 
■uated in the upper portion of the State. In brief, one may 
say that St. Paul seems to be in favor of the enterprise, 
perhaps under certain limitations which would not set 
aside so much land as was at first designated. Minneapo- 
lis is more guarded or half hostile. Grand Rapids considers 
the matter an "outrage, a "steal," a "robbery." Duluth 
j,s simply hysterical. The press of the smaller communi- 
ties is divided, some papers thinking the matter subject 
for levity, others for protest, many for commendation. 
The bitterest objections, of course, come from Duluth and 
a small section thereabout, from which come all sorts of 
protests and resolutions to kill this matter in one way or 
another. 
All this comment simply goes to prove that the Min- 
iicsota park topic is a very vital and absorbing one, and 
has held a most prominent place in the mind of the popu- 
lation of the State. It will not serve to call this a "steal," 
a "robbery," a "sporting scheme," a "game preserve," or 
the "enterprise of a few rich men." Better arguments 
than that must be advanced. The most valid reasons yet 
noticed are those of papers which think the reserve should 
be established, though demurring to one of extreme size. 
As to the rabid method of mere assertion, this sort of thing 
will hardly serve the "Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas," 
and it might be well for the local newspapers to attain a 
more dignified and convincing manner of advancing their 
own cause. Very admirable is the position of the Albert 
Lea Tribune, which says: "The attitude of Minnesota to- 
ward the park scheme should be that of approval to the 
underlying idea, but of great conservatism anfi CdO^pn in 
putting it in practice." 
The Herald, of Howard Lake, Minn., saj's: "It is quite 
probable that Congress will do something on the matter 
at the next session. The land is not valuable for agri- 
cultural purposes, and so would be of little use to the 
people."' 
The Sheaf, of Warren, Minn., says: "The movement 
deserves to have all possible encouragement " 
The Journal, of Taylor Falls, Minn., says: "The propo- 
sition is attracting much favorable comment." 
The Telegram, of Breckenridge, Minn., says: "We sin- 
cerely hope the project will be carried out." 
The Argus, of Long Prairie, Minn., says: "Our con- 
viction is that where there is one quarter section suited 
for farming there are two or three sections that are good 
for nothing else than park purposes." 
Perhaps the most amusing feature of all the newspaper 
comment, which has reached notable extent in the last 
few_ weeks, is the grave assertion on the part of the Re- 
view, of Grand Rapids, Minn., wdricli remarks sagely: 
"The Chicago and Eastern papers have been full of it, 
