Letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to Secretary of the Interior E. A. Hitchcock

This item includes a letter that advises on the administration of the forest reserves.

Extracted text

OCR Page 1 of 2
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON January 25, 1902. To the Secretary of the Interior: It seems to me that the only way to get a good ad- ministration of the forest reserves is to have undivided responsibility The supervisor should be held respon- sible; in turn the men under him should be responsible to him and should be chosen by him, save under wholly abnor- mal conditions. I do not believe it is a good thing, normally, to send men in to serve under a supervisor without his consultation. In the Black Hills reserve, which is a very important one, I know Supervisor Bullock If at any time Captain Bullock's services are unsatisfact< ory I would be the first to request his resignation; but while he is there I want him given a free hand. I think that he should be allowed the nomination of the men under him. This letter, before it has been submitted to you, will have been shown to the South Dakota and Wyoming senators and members, because it is to be dis-