New-York tribune., 1896-10-26
THE FORESTRY AMEND UENT.

The nomcntoli> interests involved in tire pres
enl campaign have naturally crowded less i'm
portant questions ont Of the field Of discussion.
Such a question. affecting directly only the c,i-
zens of this Stale. is the administration Of the
forest preserve The new Constitution explicitly
forbldS the sale. lease. exchange or taking by
any corporation. public or private. of the lands
constituting the forest preserve. AMI the re-
mOval or destruction Of the timber thereon. Al
the coming election there will be- submitted 10
popular vote an amendment to this section ~ the
Constitution permitting the Legislature 10 au-
ihorize the leasing Of iiveacrc tracts for camp
and cottage purposes. and also the exchange Of
lands owned by the state outside of the preserve
for lands within it not owned by the State. as
well n the sale Of State lands outside the pre-
serve the money 80 obtained 10 bc used only for
the purchase Of lands within the preserve.
It may be- admitted AZ the outset that this
amendment would do 10 harm. aud probably
considerable good. il the highest wisdom and
integrity on the part OF those intrhstcd with It's
application coul1 b" prrpeiually guaranteed.
Inhappily. no such security can be established.
The Constitutional Convention took that fact
into consideration in adopting the rigid prohihI-
lion which the people subsequently ratified. II
was acknowledged that the policy OF leaving the
forests wholly To tn" OPERATIONS Of Nature was
IN Il >ru-e Irrational Not neglect but scientific
cultivation. Is good for the forests we'll a. the
taxpayers. The long experience Of Germany.
the recent experience Of British India anh sim
liar evidence elsewhere have ahnndanily proved
this fact. Bn ia" Convention reflected that The
forests Of New York have been shamrfully plum
dcrcd. that the principles of forestry are little
understood here. aud that an established ten
drncy 10 free riylgr has not been overcome: aud
the conclusion was that FOR some years AT least
Il would be safer 10 prevent the possibility Of
rank evils than Ia confer discretionary powers
which might be- honestly or dishonesty abused.
In the interval of TWO years since the adoption
OF the Constitution nothng has occurred io con
vince the most Intelligent advocates Of forest
preservation that the new policy is on the whole.
unwise. This very amendment now proposed
tends rather TO prove the value of the strict pro-
hib!tion than TO suggest The advantage of modi-
the process Of administering and especially Of
extending. the forest preserve may be mprded
more or less by the constitutional restriction. but
we should pretty confidently expect in cas-, the
amendment, We're adopted. that selfish interests
would find some means of promotion al public
cost The provision for leasing fvcacre parcels
for indefinite terms TO individuals would he like
ly to operate in n manner annoying and injurl-
oils 10 the general public. and the people would
bc rcmarkabl, fortunate If they were not cheat
cd in the exchange Of their property outside Of
the preserve for private holdings within H.
II need not he assumed that advocates Of the
amendment are in general insinccre. We do not
know that any Of them are. But It opens the
way TO revival Of serious abuses which the
Constitution was meant 10 end. and orr opinion
is that il ought to he defeated