12 
Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 
unquestionably his supreme achievement, because in it is the cul- 
mination or climax of his whole constructive national program. 
In view of these considerations let us bear in mind that the 
supreme memorial to him is the life he lived and the work itself, 
as Lincoln said of the soldiers' lives given at Gettysburg. All other 
kinds of memorials worthy of the name should aim to continue the 
kind of work for which Roosevelt lived and strove. Let us full)' 
realize this and proceed to do what is best, from this standpoint. 
We must expect considerable divergence of opinion, depending upon 
the variations in human nature, but in the minds of many a most 
appropriate memorial to Roosevelt would combine and recognize 
not only his public service but as well his distinctive personal quali- 
ties and likings. All grant that he was a statesman, a scholar, a 
hunter, and a field-naturalist. He was a field-naturalist first, and 
later became a scholar and statesman. He never outgrew his first 
love for wild nature and wild things of the field and forest. This 
knowledge of nature was the fertile soil upon which grew his con- 
servation plans, which he developed in cooperation with Gififord 
Pinchot, the forester. 
A memorial therefore which would help perpetuate one of Roose- 
velt's greatest achievements, namely, his conservation program as 
applied to forestry, including wild life, and which would promote 
a wide public interest in natural history studies, the subject " always 
uppermost in his mind," would be truly distinctive and worthy. 
Roosevelt himself has said: 
" From now on it is essential to recognize that the best scientific 
men must largely work in the great out-of-doors laboratory of 
nature. It is only such outdoors work which will give us the chance 
to interpret aright the laboratory observations. . . . There 
must be ample research in the laboratory in order even to present 
those problems, not to speak of solving them, and there can be no 
laboratory study without the accumulation of masses of dry facts 
and specimens." 
Here, in Roosevelt's own words, are the essential features for a 
plan to advance our knowledge of forest wild life b\' a balanced 
combination of outdoor study and laborator\' research. 
The EstabLshment of the State Wild Life Memorial 
The Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station of the New 
York State College of Forestry at Syracuse was authorized by the 
legislature in May, 1919. and has the unique distinction of being 
