The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-02-01
Forestry Bill Started Excite
ment in the House.
What Is a Grained Forester
the Bone of Contention.
MIR. FLANIGAN'S IDEAS
Intimates That Such an Of1Icer
May Be a Nuisance.
Foley of Rice Makes His Appear
ance as Philosopher.

The most interesting debate SO la
of the present session of the IesIsi"
ture took place in the house sat lay
afternoon when the administrator
forestry bill came before the com
mittee of the whole for third reaallle
and recommendation to the house
The bill was amended only as regarus
the location Of the forestry depai |
ment, which was changed from rope
ka to the state agricultural college ID
Manhattan, but 80 much Oppose
ton DEVELOPED to it that it was sent
back to the COMMITTEES.
Crawford of Lincoln started the
trouble when he moved to amend the
bill by reducing the salary OF the
head forester from $4,000 to $1,ZVo
per year, declaring that some graz
uate from Manhattan college coulu
be found to fill the place as well as
anybody for the salary last meh-
toned
Hopkins of F'fnney. author of the
bill, was on his feet instantly ana
launched into a strong speech on the
forestry question and the great oene-
fit such department would BRING 10
Kansas. He told of the large sums
of money spent every year py other
states in the effort to preserve their
forests and grow new ones. He urged
the need of employing a man LOT the
head of this new department VINO was
capable and had received thorong II
training in this line of work me
Young man from Garden City made a
most interesting and instructive talk
about the growing of trees ana the
necessity of an organized and eff
cient plan of work if the state was
to be benefited by the provisions of
this bill.
Flanagan of Decatur made reply
to the speaker pro tenn of the house,
starting his speech with the quota
ton. who makes two blades of grass
to grow where only one grew before
is a benefactor to mankind" The
Decatur man is built along generous
lines. has been endowed by Provi-
dence with a bushy black beard and
besides all this is doubly blessed by
n pure decent from a line of Irish
kings of Galway. Flanagan could
not help being witty if he had tried
and he did not try. He took up the
sentence of Hopkins in which the lat
ter referred to the need of trained
forester What does the gentlemen
mean by the word trained? '' asked
the Flanagan. Does he mean that
forester What does the gentleman
merely be on to his job? I am train
ed forester myself and can give cards
and spades to any graduate the gen.
tleman from Finney has on his list
waiting for this fat job. 1 have tried
to raise trees in western Kansas for
twenty-five years and L nave raised
few-a very few. I know of a grad
uate forester who imported a moth
into Massachusetts, for some theoreti-
cal purpose or other and that state
has since spent five million dollars
trying to exterminate that moth be-
fore it had exterminated all the trees
in New England. We don't want that
kind of trained forester here in
Kansas. 1 would rather take chances
with some Kansas farmer boy who
has graduated from the Agricultural
college and has had experience with
trees in the ground and not on paper"
Hopkins came back at the man
from Galway and they had a red hot
debate over the meaning of the
words, trained forester
DoI1ey Of Wabaunsee next took the
floor in defense of the bill and the
So 600 salary for the forester He
said the state wanted the best man
obtainable for the head of this new
and most important department He
favored economy. he said. but not the
kind that cost the state more money
in the long run.
Foley OF Rice came next into the
press of the battle This Democrat
is one of the brightest men on the
floor of the house and a keen blade in
debate. but he appeared in a new role
Saturday-that of a philosopher. He
declared that it was impossible to
get a first class man for a second
class salary. After allowing this great
truth to soak in he said that he did