The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-01-27
THE FIGHTTNG roREsrERs,

uAeHnOOOs I1gntlng on the pattle IIeiuo
of Europe, SO the American Forestry
Association Of Washington. d. c.. has
informed it, members in its magazine.
Probably no other profession. aside
from the regular officers In the army
and navy, has 30 large a proportion OF
its members engaged in the struggle,
nor will any other profession pay such
a heavy toll in men.
1t seems to be the irony of fate, one Of
the many Inconsistencies of war, that
men who are engaged in one of the
most peaceful of professions. whose
daily life is spent in the woods and
forests and of it's wild life. should be
among the first to find themselves sud-
denly involved In a deadly combat. the
main object of which is destruction.
Yet in Europe there has always been
an intimate relation between the forest
service and the military service. In
the early history of the profession
foresters were almost universally APP
pointed from those who had been army
officers and soldiers on the theory that
their physical constitution and training
particularly fitted them for the work;
now the case is in part reversed, and
foresters are drawn upon when need
arises. to swell the ranks Of the army.
Obviously the life of a forester fits
him pre-eminently for military service.
Out Of doors the greater part of the
time. he must be physically fit. posses
sed of a strong constitution, and ready
at any time to undergo exposure and
hardships that would be beyond the en-
durance Of the ordinary city dweller.
Candidates for the forest service in the
various European countries must. in
fact. measure up to the physical stand
ards that are required for the military
service. Furthermore, the very nature
of the forester's work is such as to
make him sturdy and self-reliant, ac-
customed to handle a gun and ready
for any emergency. Moreover. in most
Of the European countries, the lower
grades of forest officers are recruited
largely from men who have served their
time in the army, and this training. to-
gether with the semimilitary organiza-
ton which generally prevails, gives
them the discipline SO necessary in the
efficient soldier
The Importance in warfare of all
these qualities can hardly be exagger-
ated. Modern war is not as the present
titanic struggle has proved, entirely
question of heavy guns. The man be-
hind the gun is still the most important
factor, and it is mainly upon the physi-
cal hardihood. the moral stamina and
the enduring powers of the men on the
firing line and in the trenches that the
final outcome will depend. 1t is, there
fore, perfectly natural that fOreSters,
who possess all Of these qualifications
in a peculiar degree, should be looked
upon by the military experts as too
good material to be put to use in time
Of need.
The military qualifications of forest
ers have been especially recognized in
France-notably. since the Franco
Prussian war of 1870. Previous to the
establishment of the forest school at
Nancy in 1926 most Of the higher forest
officials were appointed from retired
army officers, but up to the time Of the
F'ranco-Prussian war the personnel of
the forest administration did not form
a part of the regular army. Events in
that war. however, proved conclusively
what valuable military service could be
rendered by foresters. The subordinate
forest officials everywhere voluntarily
offered their services and acted ef-
fectively as guides and as bearers OF
dispatches between the lines Of invest
ment at Strassburg, Metz. Sedan and
Paris. After the first disasters to the
French arms the higher forest officials
unanimously offered to assist in the
organization of new corps. and some
even joined the ranks of the active
army before the mobilization OF the new
troops could be effected. In a letter of
June so, 1871. to the minister of finance.
General Cambriels gave the highest
praise to the foresters who had served in
the war. stating that they had given such
striking proof of their courage, patriot
ism. devotion to duty and disinterested
self-sacrifice az to command the re-
spect and admiration OF all. AS a re-
suit of the Franco-Prussian war. there
fore, law passed on July q. 1872. made
all forest officers a part of the army.
subjected them to military law. and
placed them at the disposal of the min
lister Of war or the minister of the navy.
@e
Possibly the best evidence that the
business wheel in this country has
begun to turn rapidly in the right di-
rection is to be found In the estimates
that fully 100000 men have return
ed to work since the opening Of the
new year in hundreds of factories and
mills which have reOpened.
DECADENT DRINKERS.
Our drinking population has become
| fearfully decadent, says Golfers. Men