Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., Gifford Pinchot's visit, September 6, 1909

              Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://media.library.ohiou.edu/scripps
GIFFOB.P. PINCHOTt~ VISIT.
It occurs to me that my disquisitions are losing their old
time character 0.1 being a diary.
For several years I have been t~ing to ~t Gifford Pinchot
to come to San Diego county and to Miramar for the purpose of interest­ing
him and the natiolUll government in the subject of forestation in
thi s section.
The principle idea tha.t underlaid the foundation of the United
. States forestry depa.rtment was that of the conserva.tion of the primi­tiTe
forests still in erlstence---saving them from destruction by fire
and by wasteful methods of lumbering. The idea of forestation of un-forested
areas is not entirely new---this idea was the underlying ba.sis
. of an old time m.&thod of distributing government lands J which has now
been abandaned for some years.
For a. period of time it was the custom of the United. States
Government to grant the public lands to people who would bind themselves
to put out in forests a certain part of it; as a ma.tter of fa.ct this
system was abused so tremendousl y that in not olle per cent of the CaBes
where lands were ~ranted by the government on condition of foresta.tion
was any real success in forestation a.ccomplished, and only in rare cases
was there a sinoere effort made in this direction.
The ti.mber cU1 tun claims' are J for the most part, fra.utiulent
in intent and even in the lew cases' of genuine effort ignoranee or some
other disability resUlted in failure.
I am mye.lf in possession of 320 acres of land. that I bought
- , . t ,~ .
from a man who.bt&ined the lame from the gOl'ernment in consideration
t planting a partQf 'iti:a tree.e The land is still lilac lana, but
it there ar. 4'fo ~.re of atumted., brosh-like, e&t~pa. trees, or 302