Rock Island daily Argus., 1891-12-31
SAVE THE FORESTS.
A Plea for Less Wasting of Our
Timber.
MEMORIAL READ TO THE PRESIDENT

Urging the Withdrawal of Large Tracts
of Western Wooded Lands-Work of
the American Forestry Association
No Change in the Chilian situation and
Very Little News-Henry Clay as Speak.
er of the House-His Political Leader
ship-Capital City Items.
WASHINGTON. Dec 31-The American
Foresty association held morning session
at the department of agriculture yesterday
and heard the reports of several commit
tees, and then elected the following officers
for the ensuing year: President, William
Alvord, San Francisco, Cal; vice presi-
dents-George w. Miner, MINER, Ills; c.
j.. Watrous, Des Moints. Ia. Professor w.
j. Beal, lansing Mich: H. G. Putnam,
Eau Claire, Wis; ex-senator Edmunds,
and number of other gentlemen; treas
urer, Henry NJ. Fisher, NJ d., 3l7 South
Twelfth street, Philadelphia; correspond
~ secretary, Edward \. Bowers, ,429
New York avenue, Washington.
Went to See the President.
After turning the question of location of
next meeting over to the executive COM
mittee Minneapolis having made the most
urgent plea for the meeting, the associa-
tion drew up memorial to the president,
which they presented in a body. The
memorial endorses the presidents course
a to forest reservations and urges the
Importance of these reservations and asks
the president TO make further with
drawals.
Objects of the Association.
The memorial continues as follows: "Es-
pecially do we wish to minimize the de-
struction of forest areas by fires and the
waSteful and erroneous methods of forest
use now prevalent. If it is once under
stood that by these reservations neither
the bona fide settlement of agricultural
lands nor the right of prospecting for and
the opening of mines is to be interfered
with, and that the demands for wood ma
terial are to be satisfied in legal, equita-
bic, and suitable manner, while at the
same time keeping up supplies by protect
ing them from fire and waste, and by Sc
! curing their reproduction, it is believed
that all bona fide opposition will cease, and
the boon which such reserves promise will
| be welcome by all persons interested in the
steady and prosperous development of the
western states.
Other Withdrawals Suggested.
"As the first step to he taken is the set
ting aside of such wooded areas, your
| memorialists again appear before you to
| urge the withdrawal of further and other
| tracts pending their establishment by
| your proclamation as permanent forest res
| ervations. After such investigation as
| our means afford we feel able to recon-
mend the following briefly designated
tracts as proper to be withdrawn under the
act of March 3. 1891: The Turtle noun
| tain reserve in North Dakota: the Lost
| Park reserve in Colorado; the Crater lake
reserve in Oregon; the San Bernandino
reserve in California. The accompanying
papers more fully describe the areas, and
set forth the grounds upon which we make
| these recommendations
| Favors New Bureau.
| I'm pursuance of our previous express
| sion of opinion that strong and efficient
administration of these reservations is an
| absolute necessity, we respectfully submit
| the enclosed draft of a bill to he intro
duced in the Fifty-second congress and re-
quest your approval of it. At the same
I time this association does not believe that
| the best results in forest preservation and
| management can be obtained by partial
reservation, but after mature deiiheration
! desires to again record its firm belief that
| only by the withdrawal of all public tim
Der land unfit for agriculture and COM
| plete and independent bureau for it's
| management can the question of forest
| preservation be solved