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other business we will now adjourn until the banquet this evening. The banquet tickets can be secured at the desk from Mr. Sykes.

Addresses at Banquet of Empire State Forest Products Association, at "The Onondaga," Syracuse, N.Y., December 19, 1916.

THE TOASTMASTER: I am very sorry to have to announce the illness of Chancellor Day. He is unable to leave his home to-night on account of his physical condition. I regret very much that he is not to be here to address us. However, it is an ill wind that blows no good. We have with us Congressman Clancy, President of the Chamber of Commerce of this city, who is interested in us sufficiently to come here to attend our banquet and to say a few words to us. I take pleasure in introducing to you Congressman Clancy. (Applause.)

CONGRESSMAN CLANCY: Mr. President, Members of the Empire State Forest Products Ass'n, and Guests: I really feel that if ever I was honored in my life it has been tonight, in being asked to fill in for the Chancellor. Now, I cannot and will not even attempt to take his place. In my opinion no man living in America to-day or in fact in the world can take the Chancellor's place. He is one of the greatest men America has ever produced. (Applause.) If the College of Forestry is of any practical benefit to the wood-working interests of New York State, we have much to be thankful for in that the college is directed by the present Board of Trustees which includes among its members four of probably the greatest men in New York State, two of them of national prominence: starting with the Chancellor, first; and then there is Louis Marshall, probably the greatest corporation lawyer we have, the best posted layman on forestry in America; and next, Charles F. Andrews, of the Court of Appeals of this state; and then that wonderful product of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Francis Hendricks. (Applause.) Then, too, we have the benefit of the

most active man I have ever known in Dean Baker. (Applause.) I don't know how the gentleman stands it, but he is at it constantly, from before sunrise until pretty near the next sunrise. I take a little credit to myself, in having him with us, because I was on the committee that brought the Dean to Syracuse. I recall one little incident in regard to the Dean that I might tell you. Shortly after he came here we had a little luncheon, and the thermometer was about twenty degrees below zero and it was snowing hard; and after the luncheon, when we started to leave, I noticed the Dean had a little light gossamer overcoat with him, while I had my arctics on, up to my knees, nearly, and a big heavy overcoat, with the collar turned up to my very lips. The Dean had this little light gossamer on his arm and showed no signs of even putting that on, and I asked him if I couldn't hold his overcoat for him. He says, "No, thank you, never mind; I never wear an overcoat except in severe weather!" (Laughter.)

Now, speaking as President of the Chamber of Commerce, I wish to express to you, in behalf of the City of Syracuse, our appreciation in having you with us. We trust we have made it fairly pleasant for you while in Syracuse, and so much so that you will see fit to hold another of your meetings here. If you do, I assure you we will try to do our part to make it pleasant for you. I thank you very much. (Applause.)

THE TOASTMASTER: It is now my personal pleasure and privilege to introduce the next speaker, a long-time personal friend, one who by his record has done credit to Northern New York, and one from whom we expect in the future even greater things than he has done,-The Honorable Francis M. Hugo, Secretary of State of the State of New York. (Applause.)

SECRETARY OF STATE HUGO: Mr. Chairman, Invited Guests, and Gentlemen: I am very glad, indeed, to be here to-night. I have attended most all of the meetings of the Empire State Forest Products Association. I remember very distinctly its creation. I was at the birth. I remember very well the splendid work that has been done by the former presidents, Mr. Rufus Sisson and Mr. Frank L. Moore, and the equally efficient work being done by the present president, Mr. Ostrander.

I am very glad to meet so many men interested in timber, lumber, and pulp and paper making. I am somewhat interested in the latter, financially, myself. I think we can congratulate each other that we have had a fairly good year this year,- (Laughter)—and I hope that next year will be equally as good. It's no more than we deserve, gentlemen, and I am not apologizing for it one bit. (VOICE: That's right.) So I am sure I speak for everyone here when I say I hope we will have an equally good year next year.

Now, gentlemen, at the risk of being a little tiresome, I am going to weary you with a talk for a few minutes about a subject that I think is of particular importance to you on account of your activities. You know it is said that the object of speech is to inspire thought. The best speech is the one that inspires the most thought. There is a subject that I believe is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, before the people of this state to-day, and that is the question of conservation and the question of whether, as a practical proposition, the policy of the State of New York in regard to the forest preserve is efficient. I think it is particularly important and appropriate to talk about this matter to-night because we have represented here to-night, I understand from the president, 800,000 acres of land in the Adirondack Preserve; and, gentlemen, you have a right, in my judgment, to have something to say about what is going to be the policy of the state in regard to this big proposition. You know that the extent of the Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills is about 4,000,000 acres, of which the state owns about 1,830,000 acres, or about 48 per cent of the total; so that you and the owners of the privately owned land, timber and water acreage within this total area of 4,000,000 acres are interested as owners of more than onehalf of the total area of the Forest Preserve.

Now, gentlemen, the policy of the state in regard to this great proposition, this great tract known as the Forest Preserve, as defined in the State Constitution, Article VII, Section 7, is as follows: Article VII, Section 7, of our State Constitution provides as follows: "The lands of the state now owned or hereafter acquired constituting the Forest Preserve as now fixed by law shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, nor be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall

the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed. But the Legislature may by general laws provide for the use of not exceeding three per centum of such lands for the construction and maintenance of reservoirs, for municipal water supplies, for the canals of the state and to regulate the flow of streams."

Now, just a word in regard to the history of the policy of the state. From the creation of the state, for the first one hundred years, from 1779 to 1879, its policy was to grant away the state lands for as small a consideration as possible, or for a very small consideration. Finally, in 1880, the state woke up to the proposition and adopted a new polity, a policy of purchasing lands. That was in 1880. Chapter 13 of the Laws of 1883 prohibited the sale of Adirondack land. In 1885 the first Forestry Commission was established. 715,000 acres of land were at that time taken in and placed under the control of the state, and that constituted the commencement of our Forest Preserve.

The first appropriation to purchase lands was made in 1890. At that time $25,000 was appropriated to buy Adirondack land at a price not to exceed $1.50 per acre. Since then, the total appropriations made by by the Legislature for the purchase of lands by the state, up to the present time, have been $4,075,000. Now, another $10,000,000 has been voted by the people of the state, at our last state election, by a very large majority, for the purchase of additional lands in the Forest Preserve, $7,500,000 of which is to be used to purchase land in the Adirondacks and $2,500,000 to purchase land in the Catskills.

From 1880, down to the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1894, forest lands were purchased, but purchased with the provision that the timber should be taken off; with the result that the lands were practically denuded. The situation was so acute at that particular time that it resulted in the drastic provision in our State Constitution which practically prohibits the state forests from any interference whatever. I presume the reason for the amendment was that the Adirondacks had been in a good many cases exploited by special interests. This attitude is still prevalent throughout the state, especially in the City of New York. New York City seems especially apprehensive of results if this constitutional bar is not let down. That mem

ory is always revived, whenever you talk about the Adirondacks. It is a case of the sins of the parents descending to the children of third and fourth generations. You men, to-day, are suffering for what happened years and years ago, and are victims of a policy which has been the statutory law of the State of New York.

Now, I am simply making these suggestions, not because I have any definite, practical plan to advance, because I haven't, at this time; and I am not making them in any carping spirit of criticism; but I am simply bringing up these facts and asking you, representing the citizenship of the State of New York,-because you are the people upon whose shoulders the responsibility must rest-not upon the Legislature, not upon the Governor, but upon the people, who create and initiate our fundamental law, which is the Constitution of the State,-I am asking you whether, in your judgment, the present policy of the state in regard to the Forest Preserve is efficient?

Now, gentlemen, another objection that is made to this proposition is the difficulty of administration in the event of an amendment to the Constitution such as has been proposed. You have heard that on all sides. People say, "Well, it's all right; but supposing you let down the bars, what's going to happen, as long as you protect the exploitation of the Adirondacks; what's going to happen, it being conceded that a tree, like everything else that is natural, will grow to maturity and then begin to decay." They will concede the further fact that these old, matured trees need attention, for the benefit of the smaller and younger growth. But still, in spite of all that, the question of apprehension in regard to what will happen in the Adirondacks if the bars are let down, as they say, and this amendment is adopted, always takes the fore front of the argument.

The reasons stated for the maintaining of the present policy of the State of New York in regard to the Forest Preserve are few, and I will mention them briefly:

First: The forest is a great conservator of water power supply. We will all admit that.

Second: The forests increase the fall of rain.

Third: The forests are the great equalizers of climate and temperature.

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