“Thereisafurtherandmoreimmediateandpracticalendinview。A
primevalforestisagreatspongewhichabsorbsanddistillstherainwater。Andwhenitisdestroyedtheresultisapttobeanalternationoffloodanddrought。Forestfiresultimatelymakethelandadesert，andareadetrimenttoallthatportionoftheStatetributarytothestreamsthroughthewoodswheretheyoccur。
Everyeffortshouldbemadetominimizetheirdestructiveinfluence。Weneedtohaveoursystemofforestrygraduallydevelopedandconductedalongscientificprinciples。Whenthishasbeendoneitwillbepossibletoallowmarketablelumbertobecuteverywherewithoutdamagetotheforests——indeed，withpositiveadvantagetothem。Butuntillumberingisthusconducted，onstrictlyscientificprinciplesnolessthanuponprinciplesofthestrictesthonestytowardtheState，wecannotaffordtosufferitatallintheStateforests。Unrestrainedgreedmeanstheruinofthegreatwoodsandthedryingupofthesourcesoftherivers。
“UltimatelytheadministrationoftheStatelandsmustbesocentralizedastoenableusdefinitelytoplaceresponsibilityinrespecttoeverythingconcerningthem，andtodemandthehighestdegreeoftrainedintelligenceintheiruse。
“TheStateshouldnotpermitwithinitslimitsfactoriestomakebirdskinsorbirdfeathersintoarticlesofornamentorwearingapparel。Ordinarybirds，andespeciallysongbirds，shouldberigidlyprotected。Gamebirdsshouldneverbeshottoagreaterextentthanwilloffsetthenaturalrateofincrease……Careshouldbetakennottoencouragetheuseofcoldstorageorothermarketsystemswhichareabenefittonoonebutthewealthyepicurewhocanaffordtopayaheavypriceforluxuries。Thesesystemstendtothedestructionofthegame，whichwouldbearmostseverelyupontheverymenwhoserapacityhasbeenappealedtoinordertosecureitsextermination……”
IreorganizedtheCommission，puttingAustinWadsworthatitshead。
MygeneralschemeofactionasGovernorwasgiveninaletterIwroteoneofmysupportersamongtheindependentdistrictorganizationleaders，NortonGoddard，onApril16，1900。Itrunsinpartasfollows：“Nobodycantell，andleastofallthemachineitself，whetherthemachineintendstorenominatemenextfallornot。IfforsomereasonIshouldbeweak，whetheronaccountoffaultsorvirtues，doubtlessthemachinewillthrowmeover，andIthinkIamnotuncharitablewhenIsaytheywouldfeelnoacutegriefatsodoing。Itwouldbeverystrangeiftheydidfeelsuchgrief。If，forinstance，wehadstrikeswhichledtoriots，Iwouldofcoursebeobligedtopreserveorderandstoptheriots。DecentcitizenswoulddemandthatI
shoulddoit，andinanyeventIshoulddoitwhollywithoutregardtotheirdemands。But，onceitwasdone，theywouldforgetallaboutit，whileagreatmanylaboringmen，honestbutignorantandprejudiced，wouldbearagrudgeagainstmefordoingit。Thismightputmeoutoftherunningasacandidate。Again，thebigcorporationsundoubtedlywanttobeatme。Theypreferthechanceofbeingblackmailedtothecertaintythattheywillnotbeallowedanymorethantheirdue。Ofcoursetheywilltrytobeatmeonsomeentirelydifferentissue，and，astheyareveryableandveryunscrupulous，nobodycantellthattheywon’tsucceed……Ihavebeentryingtostayinwiththeorganization。Ididnotdoitwiththeideathattheywouldrenominateme。Ididitwiththeideaofgettingthingsdone，andinthatIhavebeenabsolutelysuccessful。WhetherSenatorPlattandMr。Odellendeavortobeatme，ordobeatme，fortherenominationnextfall，isofverysmallimportancecomparedtothefactthatformytwoyearsI
havebeenabletomakeaRepublicanmajorityintheLegislaturedogoodanddecentworkandhavepreventedanysplitwithintheparty。
Thetaskwasoneofgreatdifficulty，because，ontheonehand，Ihadtokeepclearlybeforemethefactthatitwasbettertohaveasplitthantopermitbadworktobedone，and，ontheotherhand，thefactthattohavethatsplitwouldabsolutelypreventall/good/work。TheresulthasbeenthatIhaveavoidedasplitandthatasanetresultofmytwoyearsandthetwosessionsoftheLegislature，therehasbeenanenormousimprovementintheadministrationoftheGovernment，andtherehasalsobeenagreatadvanceinlegislation。”
ToshowmyreadingofthesituationatthetimeIquotefromaletterofminetoJosephB。Bishop，theneditorofthe/CommercialAdvertiser/，withwhomtowardstheendofmytermIhadgrownintoverycloserelations，andwho，togetherwithtwootheroldfriends，AlbertShaw，ofthe/ReviewofReviews/，andSilasMcBee，noweditorofthe/ConstructiveQuarterly/，knewtheinsideofeverymovement，sofarasIknewitmyself。Theletter，whichisdatedApril11，1900，runsinpartasfollows：“ThedangerouselementasfarasIamconcernedcomesfromthecorporations。The[namingcertainmen]crowdandthoselikethemhavebeengreatlyexasperatedbythefranchisetax。Theywouldliketogetmeoutofpoliticsforgood，butatthemomenttheythinkthebestthingtodoistoputmeintotheVice-
Presidency。NaturallyIwillnotbeopposedopenlyonthegroundofthecorporations’grievance；buteverykindoffalsestatementwillcontinuallybemade，andmenlike[namingtheeditorsofcertainnewspapers]willattackme，notastheenemyofcorporations，butastheirtool！Thereisnoquestionwhateverthatiftheleaderscantheywillupsetme。”
OnepositionwhichasGovernorandasPresidentIconsistentlytook，seemstometorepresentwhatoughttobeafundamentalprincipleinAmericanlegislativework。Isteadfastlyrefusedtoadvocateanylaw，nomatterhowadmirableintheory，iftherewasgoodreasontobelievethatinpracticeitwouldnotbeexecuted。IhavealwayssympathizedwiththeviewsetforthbyPelatiahWebsterin1783——quotedbyHannisTaylorinhis/GenesisoftheSupremeCourt/——“Lawsorordinancesofanykindespeciallyofaugustbodiesofhighdignityandconsequence
whichfailofexecution，aremuchworsethannone。Theyweakenthegovernment，exposeittocontempt，destroytheconfidenceofallmen，nativeandforeigners，init，andexposebothaggregatebodiesandindividualswhohaveplacedconfidenceinittomanyruinousdisappointmentswhichtheywouldhaveescapedhadnosuchlaworordinancebeenmade。”Thisprinciple，bytheway，notonlyappliestoaninternallawwhichcannotbeexecuted；itappliesevenmoretointernationalaction，suchasauniversalarbitrationtreatywhichcannotandwillnotbekept；andmostofallitappliestoproposalstomakesuchuniversalarbitrationtreatiesattheverytimethatwearenotkeepingoursolemnpromisetoexecutelimitedarbitrationtreatieswhichwehavealreadymade。Ageneralarbitrationtreatyismerelyapromise；itrepresentsmerelyadebtofhonorableobligation；
andnothingismorediscreditable，foranationoranindividual，thantocoveruptherepudiationofadebtwhichcanbeandoughttobepaid，byrecklesslypromisingtoincuranewandinsecuredebtwhichnowisemanforonemomentsupposeseverwillbepaid。
Therearemenwholoveout-of-doorswhoyetneveropenabook；andothermenwholovebooksbuttowhomthegreatbookofnatureisasealedvolume，andthelineswrittenthereinblurredandillegible。
NeverthelessamongthosemenwhomIhaveknowntheloveofbooksandtheloveofoutdoors，intheirhighestexpressions，haveusuallygonehandinhand。Itisanaffectationforthemanwhoispraisingoutdoorstosneeratbooks。Usuallythekeenestappreciationofwhatisseeninnatureistobefoundinthosewhohavealsoprofitedbythehoardedandrecordedwisdomoftheirfellow-men。Loveofoutdoorlife，loveofsimpleandhardypastimes，canbegratifiedbymenandwomenwhodonotpossesslargemeans，andwhoworkhard；andsocanloveofgoodbooks——notofgoodbindingsandoffirsteditions，excellentenoughintheirwaybutsheerluxuries——Imeanloveofreadingbooks，owningthemifpossibleofcourse，but，ifthatisnotpossible，gettingthemfromacirculatinglibrary。
SagamoreHilltakesitsnamefromtheoldSagamoreMohannis，who，aschiefofhislittletribe，signedawayhisrightstothelandtwocenturiesandahalfago。Thehousestandsrightonthetopofthehill，separatedbyfieldsandbeltsofwoodlandfromallotherhouses，andlooksoutoverthebayandtheSound。Weseethesungodownbeyondlongreachesoflandandofwater。Manybirdsdwellinthetreesroundthehouseorinthepasturesandthewoodsnearby，andofcourseinwintergulls，loons，andwildfowlfrequentthewatersofthebayandtheSound。Welovealltheseasons；thesnowsandbarewoodsofwinter；therushofgrowingthingsandtheblossom-sprayofspring；theyellowgrain，theripeningfruitsandtasseledcorn，andthedeep，leafyshadesthatareheraldedby“thegreendanceofsummer“；andthesharpfallwindsthattearthebrilliantbannerswithwhichthetreesgreetthedyingyear。
TheSoundisalwayslovely。Inthesummernightswewatchitfromthepiazza，andseethelightsofthetallFallRiverboatsastheysteamsteadilyby。Nowandthenwespendadayonit，thetwoofustogetherinthelightrowingskiff，orperhapswithoneoftheboystopullanextrapairofoars；welandforlunchatnoonunderwind-beatenoaksontheedgeofalowbluff，oramongthewildplumbushesonaspitofwhitesand，whilethesailsofthecoastingschoonersgleaminthesunlight，andthetollingofthebell-buoycomeslandwardacrossthewaters。
LongIslandisnotasrichinflowersasthevalleyoftheHudson。Yettherearemany。EarlyinAprilthereisonehillsidenearuswhichglowslikeatenderflamewiththewhiteofthebloodroot。Aboutthesametimewefindtheshymayflower，thetrailingarbutus；andalthoughwerarelypickwildflowers，onememberofthehouseholdalwaysplucksalittlebunchofmayflowerstosendtoafriendworkinginPanama，whosesoulhungersfortheNorthernspring。Thenthereareshadblowanddelicateanemones，aboutthetimeofthecherryblossoms；
thebriefgloryoftheappleorchardsfollows；andthenthethrongingdogwoodsfilltheforestswiththeirradiance；andsoflowersfollowflowersuntilthespringtimesplendorcloseswiththelaurelandtheevanescent，honey-sweetlocustbloom。Thelatesummerflowersfollow，theflauntinglilies，andcardinalflowers，andmarshmallows，andpalebeachrosemary；andthegoldenrodandtheasterswhentheafternoonsshortenandweagainbegintothinkoffiresinthewidefireplaces。
Mostofthebirdsinourneighborhoodaretheordinaryhomefriendsofthehouseandthebarn，thewoodlotandthepasture；butnowandthenthespeciesmakequeershifts。Thecheeryquail，alas！arerarelyfoundnearusnow；andwenolongerhearthewhip-poor-willsatnight。
Butsomebirdsvisitusnowwhichformerlydidnot。WhenIwasaboyneithertheblack-throatedgreenwarblernorthepurplefinchnestedaroundus，norwerebobolinksfoundinourfields。Theblack-throatedgreenwarblerisnowoneofourcommonestsummerwarblers；thereareplentyofpurplefinches；and，bestofall，thebobolinksarefarfrominfrequent。IhadwrittenaboutthesenewvisitorstoJohnBurroughs，andoncewhenhecameouttoseemeIwasabletoshowthemtohim。
WhenIwasPresident，weownedalittlehouseinwesternVirginia；adelightfulhouse，tousatleast，althoughonlyashellofroughboards。Weusedsometimestogothereinthefall，perhapsatThanksgiving，andontheseoccasionswewouldhavequailandrabbitsofourownshooting，andonceinawhileawildturkey。Wealsowentthereinthespring。OfcoursemanyofthebirdsweredifferentfromourLongIslandfriends。Thereweremocking-birds，themostattractiveofallbirds，andbluegrosbeaks，andcardinalsandsummerredbirds，insteadofscarlettanagers，andthosewonderfulsingerstheBewick’swrens，andCarolinawrens。AlltheseIwasabletoshowJohnBurroughswhenhecametovisitus；although，bytheway，hedidnotappreciateasmuchaswedidonesetofinmatesofthecottage——theflyingsquirrels。Welovedhavingtheflyingsquirrels，fatherandmotherandhalf-grownyoung，intheirnestamongtherafters；andatnightwesleptsosoundlythatwedidnotintheleastmindthewildgambolsofthelittlefellowsthroughtherooms，evenwhen，assometimeshappened，theywouldswoopdowntothebedandscuttleacrossit。
OneAprilIwenttoYellowstonePark，whenthesnowwasstillverydeep，andItookJohnBurroughswithme。IwishedtoshowhimthebiggameofthePark，thewildcreaturesthathavebecomesoastonishinglytameandtolerantofhumanpresence。IntheYellowstonetheanimalsseemalwaystobehaveasonewishesthemto！Itisalwayspossibletoseethesheepanddeerandantelope，andalsothegreatherdsofelk，whichareshyerthanthesmallerbeasts。InAprilwefoundtheelkweakaftertheshortcommonsandhardlivingofwinter。OncewithoutmuchdifficultyIregularlyroundedupabigbandofthem，sothatJohnBurroughscouldlookatthem。Idonotthink，however，thathecaredtoseethemasmuchasIdid。Thebirdsinterestedhimmore，especiallyatinyowlthesizeofarobinwhichwesawperchedonthetopofatreeinmid-afternoonentirelyuninfluencedbythesunandmakingaqueernoiselikeacorkbeingpulledfromabottle。Iwasratherashamedtofindhowmuchbetterhiseyeswerethanmineinseeingthebirdsandgraspingtheirdifferences。