I 
 
 
he showed me, south of Munising, the 
plains that stretch bleakly out over some 
two hundred thousand acres of cut-over 
pine land. 
   "The stumps of these gigantic trees 
 always remind me of tombstones," he 
 told me. "Some day, if I have my way, 
 this land will be planted to pine." 
   Another Legionnaire responsible for a 
great share of this activity was Bill Slater, 
who, as early as i905, had been actively 
engaged in reforestation in northern 
Michigan. He was himself a forester, 
and one of the first fire rangers of the 
State. On his return from France he ad- 
vocated reforestation on Grand Island, 
with the result that some two million 
trees are now growing thriftily on lands 
that in the past were going to waste. For 
five years Slater has been spending much 
time with Michigan's Conservation De- 
partment, where he organized a forest 
fire protection system. 
  Legionnaires throughout the country for 
a number of years have been actively 
pushing programs for tree planting along 
highways and for memorial parks, as re- 
membrances of their comrades and bene- 
fits for the nation. But it has remained 
for these Michigan posts to sponsor a 
program of tree planting for the Lake 
States that would cover not merely the 
two sides of a road or the restricted con- 
fines of a memorial park, but all of the 
millions of desolate forest lands that, for 
purposes of the public good, should be 
growing trees. They felt that reforesta- 
tion was one of the greatest services that 
they could perform for the nation, and 
they set to it with a will. 
  So far as the Federal Government is 
concerned, planting in the Lake States 
has been confined almost wholly to one 
forest in northern Michigan, and even 
here the amount was not enough to swell 
any forester's breast with patriotic pride. 
Every forester knew that, so far as our 
 
 
   "Oh, gee!" exclaimed John, "I got a 
 commission. I got to be a second lieu- 
 tenant, and I thought I'd come down and 
 surprise you. Then I couldn't get leave 
 that week and then not next week and 
 then it was a month and then I got 
 shoved up here with this John outfit, and 
 then I couldn't write. Aw, but you 
 shouldn't have thought I was dead! Why 
 would I be dead?" 
   "Oh, why should you be dead? Why 
should you be such a goddamned fool? 
I don't know! Why should anyone be 
dead? Don't people get killed in this 
war?" 
  The general officer approached, fol- 
lowed by his aide. 
  "Are there any more wild men in 
those woods?" he asked Rupert, pulling 
his white mustache. "If there are we 
must take steps to prevent their break- 
ing up these negotiations!" 
  "There is no one there, General," said 
Rupert, getting to his feet. "Oh, by the 
way, there's a wounded American officer 
 
 
national planting went, even little Japan 
was planting. ten times as much as the 
entire United States Government. New 
York State alone was setting out more 
trees each year than Uncle Sam. 
   In the summer of 1929, Roderick Prato 
 Post of the Legion of Munising began 
 work to provide a definite system of re- 
 forestation for all the Lake States, and 
 sought to have the Federal Government 
 appropriate enough money to begin plant- 
 ing on something approaching adequate 
 scale. The Munising post laid out a thirty- 
 year program for reforestation, and asked 
 posts throughout Michigan to back it. 
 The response was immediate and whole- 
 hearted. State Commander Kelley and 
 Adjutant Byers put themselves squarely 
 behind the drive. Meanwhile in Washing- 
 ton all this tree planting agitation had 
 crystallized into what is known as the 
 Knutson Bill, sponsored by Congressman 
 Knutson of Minnesota, a bill providing 
 for a much accelerated program of plant- 
 ing on the federal lands east of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Later its provisions were 
 widened to include all of the National 
 Forest land of the United States, and 
 provided $3oo,ooo for the first year, in- 
 creasing over a period of five years, until 
 the sum of $2,000,00o a year is reached. 
 Congress meanwhile is scratching its col- 
 lective head over all that money. 
 Meanwhile, Wisconsin Legionnaijes are 
 working up interest in reforestation and 
 in forestry in their own State. In the 
 spring of 1928 Engwald R. Moe Post in 
 Washburn County dedicated an area on 
 the county highway with a memorial 
 planting of Norway pine-one of the 
 great lumber trees of Wisconsin's past. 
 Legionnaires have since carefully guard- 
 ed this planting from fire, and now plan 
 to erect an appropriate marker within it. 
Only a few months ago the Legion post 
at Fox Falls dedicated a municipal forest 
to their city. 
 
 
down there! He must have been there 
some time. I think I fainted coming up 
here. Could you send some stretcher 
bearers down there after him? He is 
beside the road that runs through the 
woods. I'll guide them if necessary." 
   "No, no," said the general, "not neces- 
sary. I'll look out for it. Send a first aid 
team down to the road through the gul- 
ley, Captain Marks." 
   "Do you know," smiled Rupert, tak- 
ing his brother's arm, "that I nearly 
pulled out last night and let a Boche 
counter attack roll your flank up? And if 
I had, they would have scuppered you 
proper!" 
  "Umm," replied John, sitting down 
upon the bank and lighting a cigarette, 
"that's a question. Dam' fine company 
I had there! And they had a dam' fine 
company commander in me. Well, the 
war being over, and the world now safe 
for democracy, the burning question of 
the hour is, when do we eat?" 
              THE END 
 
 
I 
 
 
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59 
 
 
J4"anted: -5,ooooooooo Trees 
 
                   (Continued from page 21) 
 
 
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