The herald., 1896-12-19
THE FORESTRY STATION.
Answer to Complaints Received by City
Clerk Luckenbach Yesterday.

Some months ago the chamber of
commerce passed resolutions asking
that better facilities be furnished bot
anists at the forestry station at Santa
Monica. and that the same be thrown
open for investigation. A similar res
olution was also adopted by the Demo-
cratic executive committee of the county
These were forwarded to the board of
regents of the university of California.
under whose control the forestry sta
ton is. City Clerk Luckenbach yester-
day received a certified copy of the min
utes of the board in reference to these
resolutions. The paper is certified to
by W. A. McKowen, assistant secretary
of the board The document reads as
follows:
Your joint committee on forestry sta
tions, to which was referred a resolution
passed by the executive committee of
the Democratic county committee of Los
Angeles county. as follows:
Resolved, that we respectfully re-
quest the regents of the University of
California to open the forestry station
at Santa Monica to students. Respon-
sible botanists are, under the present re-
strictions, prevented from pursuing
their studies on the forest trees of the
station.
ALSO a resolution of the chamber of
commerce of Los Angeles passed in
August, 1895, as follows:
1T was moved and carried that the
state university be requested to throw
the forestry station at Santa Monica
open to the public and allow scientific
investigation to be made there.
Your committee has examined many
reports, statements, letters, affidavits,
etc, in regard to the Santa Monica sta
hdc han hi Il tlS,+
any rules or practice has ever prevail
ed at that station which would call for
the passage of either of these resolu-
tions.
I'VE are of the opinion, therefore.
that these respectable bodies must have
been mialnformed and mislead The
station at Santa Monica has always been
open to students and all other visitors,
so far as your committee can ascertain.
All visitors of all classes have been made
welcome ard polite attention has been
paid to them. We have been unable TO
find that more than two persons, Mr..
Abbot Kinney. with his assistant, Prof.
McClatchie. have ever complained of
treatment received at the station.
Mr.. Kinney, the chief complainant.
seems to complain that rules have been
established and are in force for the
preservation of the grounds trees plants.
flowers, etc. These rules, applying to all
experimental forestry stations, are un-
doubtedly necessary and are much less
restrictive than the rules of almost any
public park, garden. forestry or expert
ment station in Europe or America.
"Our simple rules are as follows:
The foreman is local representative
OF the agricultural department a sub
ordinate executive officer in charge of
state or national property, and is an
swerable to his superiors at Berkeley.
The general public are cordially well
come at every station and the foreman
is required to be polite to all visitors.
The foreman is expected to show all Wis
itors everything of interest
He must not allow them to gather
flowers, fruits, vegetables, seeds
branches of trees or anything else.
Whatever is desired by any person
must be asked of the foreman, who is in
every case to decide whether the request
Is proper one and must himself gather
the specimens.
mo visitors should be given special
privileges and if such be asked for they
must be politely but firmly refused Wis
itors must not be allowed to interfere
with the regular work of the station, no,
permitted to encroach upon the right
fut privacy of the foreman or his family
There is certainly nothing in these
rules to which any reasonable person
would object. Nine hundred and nine
ty-nine intelligent persons in every
thousand would comply with the spiri,
Of these rules If the rules did not exist
but the thousandth person may need
to be restrained from doing damage per-
haps an irreparable one. to public prop
efty.
Certainly no polite or thoughtful per.
son would without the consent of the
officer In charge think OF plucking flow
ers. gathering seeds, or bulbs or taking
a branch from an ornamental tree on
public grounds of the sort.
These rules invite all persons to visit
The grounds and in no way prevent