in forestry it is seldom that a man lives to harvest the crop which he
helped to sow. The Forester must look forward, because the natural
resource with which he deals matures so slowly, and because, if steps
are to be taken to insure for succeeding generations a supply of the
things the forest yields, they must be taken long in advance. The idea
of using the forest first for the greatest good of the present
generation, and then for the greatest good of succeeding generations
through the long future of the nation and the race--that is the
Forester's point of view.

The use of foresight to insure the existence of the forest in the
future, and, so far as practicable, the continued or increasing
abundance of its service to men, naturally suggested the use of
foresight in the same way as to other natural resources as well. Thus it
was the Forester's point of view, applied not only to the forest but to
the lands, the minerals, and the streams, which produced the
Conservation policy. The idea of applying foresight and common-sense to
the other natural resources as well as to the forest was natural and
inevitable. It works out, equally as a matter of course, into the
conception of a planned and orderly development of all that the earth
contains for the uses of men. This leads in turn to the application of
the same principle to other questions and resources. It was foreseen
from the beginning by those who were responsible for inaugurating the
Conservation movement that its natural development would in time work
out into a planned and orderly scheme for national efficiency, based on
the elimination of waste, and directed toward the best use of all we
have for the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time.
It is easy to see that this principle (the Forester's principle, first
brought to public attention by Foresters) is the key to national
success.

Forestry, then, is seen to be peculiarly essential to the national
prosperity, both now and hereafter. National degradation and decay have
uniformly followed the excessive destruction of forests by other
nations, and will inevitably become our portion if we continue to
destroy our forests three times faster than they are produced, as we are
doing now. The principles of forestry, therefore, must occupy a
commanding place in determining the future prosperity or failure of our
nation, and this commanding position in the field of ideas is naturally
and properly reflecte