to the care and preservation of timber. Such men command the highest wages. There is a large field, and most inviting, for the labor of men thoroughly educated in the science and practice of forestry. Each county in this State could employ more than one. Thirty-five years ago no one thought this portion of the United States capable of producing grain, or that it would ever be settled by farmers. Perhaps the future will bring as great a change in public opinion as to feasibility of growing or regrowing forests of the most valuable kinds of timber indigenous to our soil. I trust, sir, that the object you have in view may meet with favorable consideration, and that this may prove a means of giving to our people much needed information and assistance. Very truly, yours, General C. C. ANDREWS, Saint Paul. J. D. LUDDEN. [From the acting president of Cornell University.] PRESIDENT'S ROOMS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY, Ithaca, N. Y., February 23, 1880. MY DEAR SIR: The report of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Paul, on the subject of a school of forestry, is an excellent document, and ought to produce conviction. To those who know the value of forests, and how well they reward the care bestowed on their renewal in Europe, this indifference of our practical fellow-countrymen seems most unreasonable. The establishment of one school, such as your chamber of commerce proposes, would be a great step in the right direction, and the action of Congress in promoting it would fix the public attention upon a growing soil. That you may succeed in obtaining the grant on the terms proposed, is the hope of Yours, very respectfully, HENRY H. SIBLEY, Esq., WILLIAM C. RUSSELL, Acting President. President of Chamber of Commerce, Saint Paul, Minn. [From the governor of Iowa.] STATE OF IOWA, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Des Moines, February 25, 1880. MY DEAR SIR: Your letter of February 19, with article inclosed, is at hand. In view of the fact that the forests of the country are being rapidly cut for commercial purposes, railway building, and fuel, the question of a future supply becomes a most important one. The effect produced on the country by denuding it of timber will, in the course of time, have a marked result on the climate and soil. The climatic effect is to make the temperature lower, and the effect on the soil is to make it arid, thereby diminishing its productive ability. It is a well and clearly demonstrated fact that the cultivation of forests has a tendency to equalize the rainfall and temperature, and to make the soil more fertile. To remedy the loss accruing to the country by the continually increasing consumption of timber, the time has come, in my opinion, when steps should be taken to inaugurate a national system of forest culture. Congress can alone do this, by a grant of the public domain. Much can be done by the State, by judicious legislation on this question, as is evidenced by results obtained in this State during the past few years. I am most heartily in favor of the plan as proposed by your chamber of commerce. I have the honor to be yours, truly, My attention has been drawn to a school of forestry which it is proposed to establish at Saint Paul, Minn. The subject is one of great interest and importance, and deserves the most earnest and thoughtful attention. The school indicated by the memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Paul certainly promises good results, and is a scheme which, in the absence of any other or any better, deserves well, it seems to me, of Congress. JOHN BASCOM. [From President Seelye, of Amherst College.] AMHERST COLLEGE, Amherst, Mass., March 4, 1880. DEAR SIR: President Seelye requests me to acknowledge to you his receipt, through Rev. Dr. Dana, of the report on forestry, made by yourself to the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce on the 16th ultimo, and to say that he has read the same with very great interest and satisfaction, and thinks it would be very useful and in every way desirable could the proposed school of forestry be established in the way indicated. Very truly yours, General C. C. ANDREWS. P. S. LANE, Secretary. [From Hon. Thomas Russell, of Boston, Mass.] BOSTON, March 6, 1880. DEAR SIR: In answer to a letter of March 2, from the committee on a school of forestry, asking my opinion upon the subject, I. would say that my opinion is of very little value, but I decidedly favor the project, and hope that it may receive the sanction of Congress. As to the constitutional question, it is too late to doubt that Congress can grant aid to a State for educational purposes and institutions. Some things are settled by time and by practice. Even the consitutionality of the acquisition of Louisiana is no longer discussed in our debat ing societies. If grants to a State for schools and colleges are unconstitutional, then Massachusetts holds wrongfully the proceeds of 360,000 acres received for her agricultural college. The fact that other States received grants in proportion to their representation in Congress would not affect the constitutionality of the act. While we retain the proceeds of that grant, we are estopped from denying that it was rightly bestowed. Our agricultural college fund is not booty which the commonwealth filched from the Treasury by winking at the wrong-doing of other States. It was granted to her with the approval of the best constitutional lawyers, and in accordance with a long line of precedents. Daniel Webster, in his second speech on Foote's resolutions, while admitting that such grants were "the extreme case," justified them and his votes for them on high grounds of public policy. No man living can be quoted against Mr. Webster on a question of constitutional law, and no man's indorsement would add weight to his name. The expediency of such a grant is manifest to any man who realizes the immense interest of the United States as an owner of timber lands. It is time not only to stop but to repair the ravages which have impaired the value of those lands. It is a public misfortune that whole townships should be stripped of timber and turned into a desert. The government is interested, both directly and indirectly, in supplying the knowledge which will check this reckless waste. Among other demands for timber, it is natural that I should refer to the vast and growing demand for railroad-ties. The proposed school would teach its pupils not only how to raise and preserve the material, but how to prepare it for use, and thus prolong the "life" of the ties. All other considerations, however, are slight in comparison with the fact that the destruction of the forest has diminished the volume of the Mississippi, and hindered the navigation of that great river. The natural laws producing this result are well known, and are fully set forth in the learned work of our present minister in Italy. If anything is of national importance this must be, and the remedy can best be applied where the evil exists. Your statement that the pine, unlike deciduous trees, must be renewed from the seed, and not from the root or the stump, is familiar to me, as it is to every native of that part of this State which we call "The Old Colony." The most conspicuous landmark in the view from the high land of Plymouth is the promontory known as "The Pine Hills," but it has long been stripped of its pines. In this part of the State public-spirited men have devoted much time to the planting of pines, thus binding together the shifting sands of Cape Cod, saving broad acres from utter desolation, and restoring worn-out fields to something like their original beauty and comparative fertility. What has been done here on a small scale will, I hope, be done on a large scale in your great and prosperous State; and when Congress has made needful rules for the care of this property, I trust that its beneficence will also provide a class of intelligent and well-informed men who can enforce those rules with science. I am, very respectfully and truly, yours, Hon. H. H. SIBLEY, IAS THOMAS RUSSELL. President Chamber of Commerce, Saint Paul, Minn. [From Rev. James W. Strong, D.D., president of Carleton College, Minnesota.] Hon. H. H. SIBLEY, President Chamber of Commerce, Saint Paul, Minn.: DEAR SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of a report, memorial, and bill recently adopted by the Chamber of Commerce of Saint Paul, favoring a donation of land by Congress for the endowment of a school of forestry at Saint Paul. Having previously given some thought to this subject, I am prepared at once to express my hearty approval of the project and my hope that Congress will take early and favorable action. The interests involved are immense, affecting not only our own State but the whole West; and they demand prompt and earnest consideration. With high regards, very truly, yours, JAS. W. STRONG, NORTHFIELD, MINN., March, 1880. President Carleton College. [From Noah Porter, LL. D., president of Yale College.] YALE COLLEGE, New Haven, Conn., March 8, 1880. DEAR SIR: I have read with great interest the report, memorial, and draft of bill which concern the establishment of a school of forestry in Minnesota. The subject is one which has attracted my attention for many years, and I have no hesitation in expressing the opinion that the establishment of more than one such school in the country is a matter of very great interest and importance, and ought to receive the attention and liberal support of the State or general governments, one or both. Very respectfully, HENRY H. SIBLEY, Esq., NOAH PORTER. President of the Chamber of Commerce, Saint Paul, Minn. [From H. M. Thompson, Esq., practical nurseryman.] SAINT FRANCIS, MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WISCONSIN, 3, 10, 1880. Hon. L. B. HODGES: DEAR SIR: Your esteemed favor of the 6th instant at hand, inclosing newspaper slip of a memorial to Congress by the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce, favoring a Congressional land grant to the State of Minnesota for the purpose of establishing a school of forestry, and asking my "opinion, as a practical man, of the usefulness of the scheme." In reply, I beg leave to state, that while there may be grave doubts as to the propriety of Congress making further land grants to corporations not entirely beneficial to the interests of the nation at large, there can be no question as to the propriety of land grants for the purpose of encouraging all educational measures tending to the enlightenment of the people upon all subjects affecting the advancement and permanency of the power and interests of the nation. The legislation of Congress in granting lands for school purposes and for the establishment of agricultural colleges are acts so wise and beneficient that no question has arisen as to their justness and prospective national benefit. The grants of land for the purpose of encouraging the planting and cultivation of one-sixteenth part of the 160 acres in each section of timberless lands, under the provision of the tree-culture act, subject to entry by any citizen, although individual in the act of granting proprietorship, is intended to be and is national in its ultimate effects in developing and sustaining the agricultural and material resources of the nation. It is only within the last few years that any thought or action has been had in this country on the subject of forestry, hence we have but a limited knowledge of what kinds of trees are adapted to the varied soil and climatic conditions prevailing in the interior portions of the continent. Neither are we versed in a general theoretical and practical knowledge of the relative economical values of the wood of the different species of trees. Neither do we fully understand the best, surest, and cheapest method of preparing the seeds and planting the trees. Neither do we understand just what forms of planting are the most desirable for adoption for the purpose of improving the meteorological conditions of this immense area situated between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. For these reasons and those so ably set forth in the important memorial of your committee, there can be no question that a grant of land made in accordance with the provisions of the bill now before Congress, and with such further provisions to further the object of the memorial as may be deemed necessary, will prove an important step in giving intelligent and practical direction to the future planting and culture of forest trees, under the provision of the timber-culture act. Respectfully, your obedient servant, H. M. THOMPSON. [From the Commissioner of Agriculture.] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, March 10, 1880. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 4th instant, in reference to a memorial recently adopted by the Chamber of Commerce, favoring a donation of land for the endowment of a school of forestry at Saint Paul, and it will give me great pleasure to aid in any manner I can in forwarding the views expressed. The question of forestry is one with which our people are as yet little familiar, the importance of which is by no means appreciated, and to which the Government of the United States should devote immediate attention as a matter of duty to those who are to come after us. I have not the time, at present, to enlarge upon this subject, but I am with you in any and every movement that will tend to forward the object you have in view. Respectfully, your obedient servant, General H. H. SIBLEY, WM. G. LE DUC, Commissioner of Agriculture. President Chamber of Commerce, Saint Paul, Minn. S. Mis. 91-2 |