New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-28
Millions Involved in Eff
forts to Lower State
Forest Barriers.
MANY AMENDMENTS
BEFORE DELEGATES
Charges Of Graft Expected
When Constitution Makers
Take Up Conservation.

fortnight passes q fight over the states
forest preserve will develop In the
Constitutional Convention in which
charges Of graft will be made. Mill
ions are involved, and some prominent
names will be sullied il the plans Of
those delegates who are for conserving
the vast timber holdings In the Adj
rondacks and the Catskill Mountains
are carried out.
Upward of twenty proposed amend
ments have been introduced aiming at
revoking the safeguards thrown around
the thousands of acres of valuable
woodland which were put into the
present Constitution after a bitter
fight.
No one denies that there Is clique
in the North Woods eager for the re-
turn of the old days when timber
thieving was the popular sport on state
lands. lntroducers of proposed amend
mcnts which would make this pos
sible if there was the right" Con-
servation Commission declare. however.
that their only purpose is to give
proper protection to the states forests.
There also are propositions before
the convention TO permit the state to
rondack and Catskill preserves. Sew
eral influential men in the convention
are dead set against any such PROPOSE
ton. They declare that these amend
ments, no matter how innocent and
well intentioned their authors may be,
if they are enacted will result in the
state being robbed Of millions of dol
lars.
Present Law Provisions.
At present Section Of Article Of
the Constitution provides that the
lands of the state shall be kept forever
as wild forest preserve. II prohibits the
selling, leasing or exchanging of any
of the state land and forbids the cut
ting or removal or sale of any of the
timber therein, even If fallen and dead. /,
This amendment was adopted twenty |
one years ago because of the depreda- |
lions Of the lumber stealers in the /
North Woods.
Every conceivable kind of measure
to nallify this article is before the con- |
vent on, and it Is singular that, with |
one or two exceptions, not delegate
who has introduced these amendments |
knows anything about conservation.
Strangely enough, too, the majority Of
the proposals have almost identical Ian
guage.
Students OF conservation who are not
members of The Constitutional Conven- |
ton declare the bulk of these proposals
vicious. Some delegates say the same
thing. Delegates who have studied the
question and are prepared to fight these
bills to the last ditch say the best way
to conserve the states forest preserve
is to let the present section remain as
il is
Backers Of some of these measures
branded as vicious insist, however, that
their proposals are necessary TO true
conservation. Those who want the state
to sell the mature, diseased. dead and
down timber say this should be done to
preserve the forests.
Opponents of this particular brand Of
amen lment answer that under no cir
cums.ances should the forests be
touched for at least another twenty
years Dead and down timber, it is ad
mitted, forms rich soil, holds water and
prevents forest fires. They make much
of the oft-repcated statement that there
never was a fire in a forest that had not
heard the ring Of the axe of the lum-
berjack.
Trouble in he Word Mature"
The word mature" probably is the
greatest cause of complaint. One prom
inent lumbeiman, who has been in the
business thirty years, said tonight:
81 have cut timber in the Adiron-
dacks and elsewhere. | know the game
from A to z. ] know, just so sure as |
am alive, that if any lumberman is per-
mitted in the Adirondacks or the Cats
kills to cut mature timber the denud-
ing of the woods will begin. In Ger
many, where they have real conserva-
ton, the timber is cut once every hun
dred years. Here they want to cut it
every twenty years or oftener Any
lumberman knows that he cannot 60
into the Adirondacks and cut nothing
but mature timber and make a profit"
This lumberman added that honest,
well-informed members Of his craft all
agreed that the best thing for the state
was a continuance of the present pro-
hibition for another twenty years He
saw nothing but graft as an ultimate
result of the proposition to cut trails
and roads through the Adirondacks on
the plea that the forest preserve is q !
state park and as such ought to be
made more accessible. On the same
plea some men would permit private
hospitals TO be erected on state land !
in the Adrondacks and Catskills, 10 be /.
run for private gain
Just why some delegates want the /
state TO sell some Of its valuable hold. /
ings outside the Catskill and Adiron- |
dack preserves no one seems TO know |
Some are 80 unkind as to say that IL /
this proposal gees through any one
with a proper political pull will be /
able to get a good-sized bit Of ground, |
with q lake on It and q trout stream |
and some woodland thrown In. for
song.
Object to Private Camps.
Another proposal which lovers Of
the woods declare Objectionable Is one !
permitting erection on state lands Of |
camps by private persons for their pri- !
vate use. This does not mean putting /
up canvas tent, but a substantial /
house OF wood, stone or concrete. And |
IL is proposed to give free. or next to /,
free, leases for ten years TO those who |
have the money to build and the abil- |
ity TO get q desirable site.
Incidentally, some Of these proposals !
are backed by lumber interests that !
have been hailed before the bar Of JUS
tice for stealing timber from the state
on the very lands that they would