FORESTRY AND gOMECROFTS ADDRESS Of GEORGE B. MAX WELL, DEAN OF TUB HOME. CROFTERS GILD OF THE TALISMAN. Before the Biennial Convention of - the General Federation of Women's Clubs, at St. Faui. Minn., June Fourth, 1906. MADAME PRESIDENT AND DELE GATES LADIES AND GENTLE " MEN: When I received the Invitation to be " with you here to-dny and speak upon the subject "Forestry and Home crofts," as It Is announced on the program, I felt that the occasion was J- one of so much importance, and the opportunity one which I so greutly op . predated, that I ought to do some thing which I rarely do, and that was to at least think out a speech in ad vance. I was asked for a manuscript of It for the press, but I felt that it was unsafe to give It because I never did that yet that something didn't happen that made me lay aside my speech and talk about something el-te. I have a speech . epnred which was ,1 .1 . 1 . . .. . .. 1 i! 1 , there it is (holding up a card). Now, I have fifteen minutes to speak, and I am going to save that speech for some other occasion, In some other nlnrw nnfl tnllr tr vnn nlimit anmntlttiMv which has been suggested to me here this morning by the address Xve have Just listened to from Mr. Mills. I was born In California and spent my life there (applause from the Cali fornia delegates) until within a very few years when my work In the Na - tloual Irrigation Movement took me away from my native state, But I want to take ndvantago of this op portunity to stand here and make a plea for the preservation of those Temples of God the Big Trees of . California. (Applause.) I question very much whether those who are here to-day realize, the power . that Is yours. In bringing about rig'it action, whether it be In congressional or state legislation. We often Say that this Is a government of the pco- ' pie, and that It Is controlled by their votes. So it Is. But behind the vote Is the thought of the people. It Is public opinion which controls this country. The vote is merely a regis tering of that opinion; and the thought of the people which precedes that oDlnlon and brines aoout reform.!. Is. V In my Judgment, often n thing that springs from the minds of the women of the country rather than from tho minds of the men of the country. I am free to say that in my earlier years, and before I had a wider ex perience and opportunities of ob servation. I v. as not n believer in giv ing the ballot ,to the women. I am not here to limUo a plea for that to- day, because I am not so much Im pressed with the importance of It as others who think that tho ballot Is the main thing. It Is the conversation of the home circle and tlio thoughts that spring most often from the minds of the mothers of the country that con trol this country. (Applause.) And although I believe to-day that the status or the man and the woman, so far as their rights of citizenship and rights before the law arc con cerned, should bo the same, I want to lay that conclusion before you simply as a basis for the broader statement that women can 'control this country by tho power of thought without the ballot If the women who are here to-day and those who arc af filiated with you In this great organi zation, would tako up one or two things as tho result of this conference Anri rrn liAnm ntiH Agitata I- In nvni-v " ' 1 ' J home circle, end lu every women's club, anq In every village and -city, and through the columns of every newspaper lu the land, and by cor respondence, you could accomplish . within' the next twelve months two great things which would be a record of accomplishment sufllclent for ono year of hard work for your organiza tion, and that la, first, to save the big trees of California (Applause.); and, second, to secure the passage of tho bill providing for forest reserves In the White Mountains and on the Ap palachian Range. (Applause.) . If those great trees- In California were nco destroyed they could not be replaced lu centuries and probably never. They were there when Christ milked the earth. They were there when Rome shone resplendent In ell her glory. They were there when Carthage nestled- omld green fields and vineyards on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. They were there 'when Talmyra, with all her magnifi cence, was the meeting place of the caravans traveling between Asia and the Mediterranean country. And to ' day they stand there pleading with their out-spreading branches against ruthless destruction to satisfy the greed of man. We may go back through history, - and ruined city after ruined city shows bow ephemeral Is everything . that man builds. Did Is never occur to you, has It never occurred to those - .who are Interested In uplifting and Increasing the power for good of the church, and In carrying Its missionary work Into the cities and into the slums - and Into the tenements, where, God knows, It Is needed most of anywhere on this earth has It never occurred to you that a child nurtured In the tene ments and In the slums and In the City flats, and seeing nothing around it but bricks and mortar and asphalt - and trolley-cars and things that man has made, lives where there Is nothing "to create a conception of a higher - power, and lacks the influence of the ' PUICUU1U , UiaUll'70lUllUllB Vfc U".."-, which are the most convincing revela tion that we have that there Is a Creator, and that there Is a God, and that there should be a faith In religion " in the heart of every man. If you want to make this a religious nation, as you must If It Is to be pre ' served, you must get the children of the cities back to nature, and under the spell of Its Influence, or at least rear them In an environment where they con see and be convinced by the miracles of nature's mysteries that there Is "a God who Rules the world . ' and Rolls the ages on." (Applause.) And so through you I appeal not only to the women of the country, but to the churches of the country, to put forth every Influence, not only to save those great trees In California, but to aid this whole great movement for the preservation of the forests we have, by their right use, for the planting of new4 forests, and for the scattering through this great -nation. In every state and territory, - of forest plantations that, when they come to maturity a genera tion from now, will supply every state with wood and timber of every kind for every purpose from Forests and Tree Plantations within Its own bor ders: I have no time today to go Into de tails, but If you will go into the South and see the actual conditions with ref erence to the water supply on the streams flowing from the Appalachian mountains, and study the beauties of that country, you will be converted In an instant to the necessity ior the creation of tho Appalachian Forest re serve; and the same thing Is true of the, proposed "A'hite Mountain Forest tesorvntlon in New "ngland. Those leserves ore comparatively small things in tho amount of money In- olveu. If wo can throw money to the birds, as a manure Bpreader throws it mt of the back of a watuii into tha field, to build tho Panama canal and manage tho conquest of the Philippine lands, and to build huge battleships, maintain that we can at least spare money enough to perpetuate the for ests that God gave us and for the pres ervation of all the Internal Resources of our country at home. (Applause.) I maintain another thing, and that is that if the women who are here to day would go to their homes from this convention, and take up and study the possibilities of the development of Arizona and Now Mexico under a policy which will reserve for national control the forests and the water sup- )ly which are the only things that keep that great country from going back to tho desert, you would save this nation from tho Infamy of join- ng Arizona and New Mexico in the bonds of joint statehood. . In the face of your opposition that great wrong ould never be accomplished. All women In the land should rise up and protest against It, because it Is abandoning the destiny and develop ment of tho foundation of all the re sources for homemaklng of those ter ritories to tho unrestrained legislative ontrol of a legislature which will be dominated by the most evil political nnuences that ever existed In any state the offscourings of the worst political rottenness that ever pre vailed In Pennsylvania, coupled with the Iniquities that will prevail by reason of the fact that so large a pro portion of tho population of New Mexico cannot even speak the English Language. Tho joint statehood bill proposes to give to tho control of such a legislature as that, without any pos sible chock r hlndorance, a land grant of about twenty million acres to trub and speculate with and graft on and practically to do with as they please. (Applause.) I only want to say In closing: If you llnd crlmo anywhere; if you find a man gone wrong anywhere; If you llnd political corruption or anything going wro...; in our political institu tions, you will fl d. If you trace It back, that tho fault lies iu Its original source, at some place or other, In tho fact that there was not tho right 1:1ml or a -home and the right kind of a mother. If you find a man of strong and sterling character (or a woman either) you trace It ha' and you will find that It was because there was the right kind of a mother, and tho l'ght kind of a homo. We have heard a good deal lately about the "man behind the gun" and the "man behind tho pick" aud "the man behind the ballot" and tho "man behind" a great many oher things, but I want to tell you that you can pile them all one upon another like Ossa upon I'ellon and all of them to gether are not of as much Importance as tho "Mother behind tho Ilome!" (Applause.) If you are to have the right kind of homes and the right kind of mothers everywhere throughout ne length and breadtli ' of this gceat and beautiful country of ours, you must make It easily possible for every man who works and lives by his toll to have a home of his own on the laud a IIOMECROFT, hov ever small. You nlust train every child In garden schools to know how to plant seeds and mnke things grow and get food directly from the bossom of Mother1 Earth. You must so train all boys aud girls that their first great ambition will be to get a home of their own with a piece of ground around it large enough for a garden. The Good Book tells us that "God planted a garden eastward in Eden; aud there he put the man whom be had formed. And out of the ground mado the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." God Intended that every man and woman and every child should live next to nature and on tho l..nd, and every man who marries a woman should put her In a home in the miust of a garden. The great movement which Is now fairly under way, known as tho HOMECROFT MOVEMENT, pro poses to do that v-y thing, and the Creed and Platform r the Honio- crofters tells how it may be done. . The slogan ofcthe Uomecroft Move ment Is: "Every Child In a Garden Every Mother in a Uomecroft and Individ ual Industrlal'Independence for Every Worker, In a Ilome of his Own on the Land" Is not that a Cause which should have the ardent and enthusiastic sup port and co-operation of every man and woman, and especially of every mother in the land; THE FIRST BOOK OF THE George H. Maxwell CONTENTS . THB BROTHERHOOD Or MAM CHARITY THAT IS EVERLASTINd ' THE SECRET OF NIPPON'S POWER LESSON OP A GREAT CALAMITY " THE SIGN OP A THOUGHT This bnnk will be melled to any aldrena in the United States on noelpt of twelve two cent stamps, by The Homeortrrfera Gild of the Tallinaa MS Main Street, Wttortown, Mass. BE A HOMECROFTER Learn by Doing. Work Together. Give every Man a Chance. THB SLOGAN OF THE " Every Child la a Garden Every vidual, Industrial Independence for Every Worker in a Some of his Own on the Land." t A little erofl we ovned-a plot ol corn. A tvden stored with peu and mini and thyme. And flowers for posies, oft on Sunday morn, Plucked while the church bells rang their earliest chimes.' Wordsworth. "The Citizen, standing In the doorway of his home-contented on his threshold, his family tethered about his hearthatone, while the evening of a well spent day closes In scenes and sounds that are dearest he shall save the Republic when the drum-tap Is futtle end the barracks are exhausted. "Henry W, OraJy. "The slums and tenements of the our fast increasing population in In great cities are social dynamite, cer- dividual homes on the land home tain to explode sooner or later. The E' Bma11' ow?ed by . . . . . . occupant, where every worker aud bis only safeguard against such dangers family can enjoy individual industrial is to plant the multiplying millions ot Independence." -George II. Maxwell. I EDUCATION I Piifii2 I HOMECRDFTsl OPPORTUNITY I I COOaWnON I ,L Jf- 1 THE FIRST BOOK the HOHECROFTERS HAS JUST BEEN PUBLISHED AND AMONG ITS CONTENTS ARE THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES OF ABSORBING INTEREST BY GEORGE H. MAXWELL xeoutive Ohalrman of the National Irrigation Association The Brotherhood of Man Charity that Is Everlasting The Secret of Nippon's Power Lesson of a Great Calamity The Sign of a Thought This book is the" first of a Series land as fast as it la needed to give that will Chronicle the Progress of the every man who wants a Home on the HOMKCKOPT MOVEMENT Land a chance to get it. and Inform all who wish to co-operate We believe that, as a Nation, we with It how they may do so through should be less absorbed with Making the formation of local Homecrofters Money, aud should pay more heed to Circles, Clubs orGllds to promote raising up and training Men who will Town and Village Betterment, stlmu- be Law-Abiding Citizens; that the wel late home civic pride and loyalty to fare of our Workers Is of more con home Institutions, Industries and trade, sequence than the mere accumulation improve methods and facilities of edu- of Wealth; and that Stability -of Na catiou In the local public schools, and tlonal Character and of Social and create new opportunities "At Home" Business Conditions is of greater lm thnt will go far to check the drift of portance to tho people of this country trade and population to the cities. as a whole than any other one ques- tion that is now before them: and we The first Gild of the Homecrofters ima hn BHrnhllHl.Ml t Wotortnwn Massachusetts. The GildhalL Shops and Gardens are located at H3 Main Street, where the Garden School Is now fully organized and over one hundred children are at work In the Gardens. The departments for train- lng ln Homecraft and Village Indus- tries are being Installed. The Weavers are already at work at the looms. It Is not designed to build here an isolated Institution, but to make a model which can be duplicated ln any town or village ln the.country. Copies of "THE FIRST BOOK OF THE HOMECROFTERS" can be ob- tained by sending twelve two-cent stamps with your name and address (carefully and plainly written) to The Homecrofters Gild of the Talisman, 143 Main St., Watertown, Massa- chusetts. There Is New Hope and Inspiration for every Worker who wants a Home of his own on the Land in the CREED AND PLATFORM OF THE! HOMECROFTERS' which is as fol- low": . , x , , "Peace has her victories no less re- nowned than war." EDUOATION CO-OPERATION OPPORTUNITY HOMECROFTS We believe that the Patrlotlq Slogan f tha whnio Peonia nf thi Kntinn should be "Every Child ln a Garden PROTECTION FOR THB AMER Every Mother ln a Homecroft and In- ICAN HOMECROFT, dividual Industrial Independence for Every Worker ln a Home of his Own on the Land," and that until he owns such a Homo, the concentrated purpose ana cnier inspiruuon 10 wuor in me uu or every wage worser snouia do nis aeterminanon 10 -uei an Acre oua Live on it." We believe that the Slums and Tenements and Congested Centers of population ln the Cities ere a savagely deteriorating social, moral and polit- leal Influence, and that a great public movement should be organized, and the whole power of the nation and the states exerted for the betterment 01 u u BraoiuoM m nurai anu to create ana uPduiiu tenters or. bo- 4 That thfl National Government, clal and Civic Life In Country and as part of a compreiiensIve nation Suburban Towns and Hinges, where al p, of . lnternal improvements Trade and Industry can be so firmly auiuurcu mm mcj lauuut .1 AUn ....... AMnnAfr tA lift) Tl-r, inio iue oininercmi juaemiruui mat Is now steadily sucking Industry and of th,e country available for agri Humanity Into the Vortex of tho. cujture and Homes on the Land, and Great Cities. tnr tha nrnrantlnn nf thnaa Tfnmoa frnm We believe that every Citizen In this Country has an Inherent and Fundamental Right to an Education .which will train him to Earn a Llv ing, ana, 11 neea do. 10 gci um utiu straight from Mother Earth; and that ne nas xne same rigm ro ine vpponun- new forests, and build the great reser lty to havethe Work to Do which will V0rs and other engineering works afford him that living, and to earn not necessary to safeguard against over only a coirfortable livelihood, but flow and save for beneficial use the enough more to enable him to be a flood waters that now run to waste. iiomecrorter ana to nave a uome ot bis Own, with ground around it sufficient to yield him and his family a Living from the Land as the reword for his own labor. we believe that the Public Domain .11. . , .''""".V1" nation baa against Social Unrest Dis- turbance or Upheaval and that the Cause of Humanity and the Preserve- tion of Roclal Stability and of our Free Institutions demand that the absorp- tion of the public 'nds Into apecula- tlve private ownership, without settle- ment, be forthwith stopped; and that the nation should create opportunities for Homecrofters by building Irrlga. tion and drainage vtorka to reclaim HOMECR0FTBRS IS Mother in a Bomeeroft, and Indi believe that the only way to Treserve ""ch Stability, and to Permanently Maihtaln our National Prosperity, is ' 'mmediate, ';e " d the Talls- man, which Is as follows; EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND HOMES ON THE LAND, 1. That children shall be taught gardening and homecraft in the public schools, and that Homecraft and Garden Training Schools shall be established by county, municipal state, and national governments, where every boy and every man out of work who wants employment where he can gain that knowledge, can learn how to make a home and till the soil and get his living straight from the ground, and where every boy would be taught that his first aim In life should be to get a home of bis own on tUe nd. BUILD HOMECROFTS AS NATION- AL SAFEGUARDS. 2. That the New Zealan3 system of Ijand Taxation and Land Purchase arui Subdivision, and Advances to 8et- tiers Act, shall be adopted ln this country, to the end that land shall be subdivided Into small holdings in the hands of those who will till It for a livelihood, and labor find occupation ln the creation of homecrafts, which vMll be perpetual safeguards against the political evils and social discontent resulting from the overgrowth of "d Ja ria of unem- Vyei wage-earners. 3. That Rural Settlement shall be encouraged and the nrlnclnla of Pro. tectlon for the American Waareworker and bis Home annllod dlrentiv tn tha .itome oy toe Exemption from Taia- tion or all improvements upon, and also or au personal property, not ez- ceedlng $2,500 ln value, used on and in connection with, everr Homecroft or Rural Homestead of not mora than ten acres ln extent, which the owner occupies as a nermanent home and cultivates with his own labor and so provides therefrom all or part of the support for a family. ENLARGEMENT OF AREA AVAIL- ARI.ia FOR wnMKM AKIKd ana ior the enlargement to the . iirmnat nnea Ma errant nf tha either flood or drouth, shall build not 0nlv levees and revetments where nnnriarl. enrl rirainam wnrk-a fn th - reclamation of swamp and overflowed lands, but snail also preserve existing forests, reforest denuded areas, plant RECLAMATION AND SETTLE MENT OF THB ARID LANDS. J5, M..h N0nal Government hall build tbe Irrigation works neces- UrT m hrlnev .mi.i. . u, n wr w be repaid to tbe govern ment bv swh ti- 1. . "...11. ataUraents without Interest, and that the construction of the great Irrigation works necessary for heYtlCtten of the waters of such Urw rive es the Columbia, the Sacramento, the Colo- rado. the Bin Onm. .a L . and their tributaries', shall proceed as mnlrtlv tha i.-. n k. utilised ln small farms by actual settlers and homemakers, who sill re- pay the government the cost of coo struetlon of the Irrigation works, and that the amount needed each year for construction, as recommended by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be made available by Congress as a loan from the general treasury to the Its- clamation Fund," and repaid from lands reclaimed, as required by the National irrigation Act SAVE TUB PUBLIC LANDS FOR UOMEMAKEUS, 6. That not another acre of the ppS- lic lands shall ever hereafter be grantor o ny state' or terri tory for any purpose whatsoever, or to any one other than an actual settler who has bunt hTs home onThe land and lived on it for five years, and that no more land scrip of any kind shall ever be r""r'Z, "A "7h ""A" d theCom Homestead Law shall be Zde to con- form to the recommendations of the Public Lands Commission appointed by Presideut Roosevelt and of the Message of the President to Congress. PLANT FORESTS AND CREATE FOREST PLAVTATTfiVH ' 1 r LAJ 1 ATION S. 7. That the Timber and Storm Law shall be repealed, and that all pub- lie timber lands shall be Included in permanent Forest Reserves, the title to the land to be forever retained by the National Government, stumpage only of matured timber to be sold, and young timber to be preserved for future cutting, so that the forests will be perpetuated by right use; end JUST PUBLISHED A POPULAR EDITION OP THE GOB PEOPLE" BY CHARLES F. DOLE Author o ' The American Citiien;" " The Religion of a Gentletnani" " The Spirit of Democracy," etc. THIS remarkably interesting and stimulating book has been everywhere welcomed as a most valuable con tribution to the thought of the present day. THERE IS IN IT THE INSPIRATION OF HIGH AND PATRIOTIC IDEALS It sheds a new light, bright, clear and convincing, in its common-sense optimism, upon the conditions that confront the nation to-day. Everyone who reads it will go forward. with a clearer vision of the future of our country and with renewed courage and faith in the cause ok the people. Theodore C. Williams, late Master of the Hackley School, New York, in a San Francisco paper, declares that "it gives the profoundest thought with a transparent simplicity and charm that make it universally readable. It speaks as a friend to a friend. It has the rare eloquence of perfect ease and clearness." The London Spectator calls it "a healthy and virile essay. The Bradford (England) Observer, speaking of its reality and reasonableness, says it is " a very revelation." These are only a few from hundreds of encomiums com mending the book for its timeliness. It should be read by all who feci the pressure of THE TREMENDOUS 80CIAL QUESTIONS OF OUR TIME. Price twenty-five cents (postage included). Remit by postal money order, express money order or postage stamps, to The Homecrofters Gild of tho Talisman, Publishers of ""Tiin STOUfr s IT IS NOT AN r 11111 mm ? BIB fter to make a million people believe that so good a magaune as Maxwell agine can be published Uut we are soUf It speaks for itself and tells Here is what one ol our subscribers at Crockett, Texas, writes: "The March number of your excellent magazine is before me. ' It is certainly filled with helpful articles, and I would be glad to know that every family in Texaa had the benefit of its teachings. The first article in this number, A Homecrofters Garden,' should be preserved for reference. Thb Agxtcxi ' Health in th Homs,' if carifullv pollowsd, would bavs sickness in svkry familv. Anything that I can do to assist you in extending your circulation in Texas will be gladly done." Our circulation has sown so satisfactorily that with the April timber. , able to enlarge the magazine atod add to improve every uuuui. If you have not yet seen tho magazine, write for a freo sample copy It wul convince you that for only ten unto m ytar yon can get a magazine of more real genuine value than any other magasine that is published to every one woo is really studying how to make the borne life better and happier, how to lighten tbe housekeeper's labors, how to bring up the children and keep them andthe whole family well and strong all the Jime, and do It all on a moderate Income. The Delights ol Gardening" in tbe April Bomber would open tho door of a' new life in many a family if they would read it And here are soma of the other Departments: ' Sforfe- and Sketch, little Feika iu tbe Borne, Borne EUqaette Tbe Borne Garden, Gardea Xotea, Editorial Comment, Tbe Borne Study, Muaia in tbe Borne, Entertaining in tbe Borne, Borne Sewing Care of tbe Borne, BeaJth in tbe Borne, Borne Cooking, Building the Botue (with plan and design for a cottage home). Bom Bandienft, Borne " You will get this April number and in addition Oni Whole Yeaji'i Subscription covering twelve copies of the magazine, one each month for twelve months. If m wul put tn dim or Jtv two cent ituitpt la an envelope with your and Do It Now Don't Delay that the National Government shall, by the reservation or purchase of ex Is ting forest lands, and the planting of new forests, create in every state National Forest Plantations from which, through all the years to come, a sufficient supply of wood and timber - can be annually harvested to supply; the needs of the people of each state from .he Forest Plantations) la that nwvpn6,D I im AND WATER. 8. That it shall be the law of every f "?," ?S SL $J2l'S that the right to the use of water for irrigation shall inhere In and be ap- purtenant to the land Irrigated, so that af a specufatlve commodity 7ver be acauireThC or owni Be ac1ulrea- nuu or nea. RIGHT OP APPROPRIATION FOB BENEFICIAL USE 1 snal1 1)6 tne taw ot evOT' 8tate nd" of the United States, that unused and unapproprlated water8 are public property, subject to appro- Pration for a beneficial use, first In time be'nB flrst in right, and that on Interstate streams, priority of use snaN &ive priority of right, through out the entire course of the stream, without regard to state lines, and tlwt ln eacn drainage basin the irrl- gators therein shall control the dlstrl button of the water. m BliUfl MKttl WATERTOWN. RASS. CACTUS EASY HATTER a Homemaker Mag- for ten cents a year. because tho magazine its own story. several new features, and it will continue v TrhThnNiD) TDTU)iriT rm