Bribery was here impossible;
but influence could be brought to bear.
Chairman Gay upheld his cousin, Henry Plant, because of the
relationship. This implied a good word, and personal influence. After
that Chairman Gay forgot the matter. But a great number of people were
extremely anxious to please Chairman Gay. These exerted themselves. They
came across evidence that would have caused Chairman Gay to throw his
beloved cousin out neck and crop, but they swallowed it and asked for
more simply because Gay possessed patronage, and it was not to their
interest to bring disagreeable matters before the great man. Nor was the
Land Office unlikely to listen to reason. A strong fight was at that
time forward to transfer control of the Forest Reserves from a
department busy in other lines to the Bureau of Forestry where it
logically belonged. This transfer was violently opposed by those to whom
the distribution of supervisorships, ranger appointments and the like
seemed valuable. The Land Office adherents needed all the political
backing they could procure; and the friends of Chairman Gay epitomized
political backing.
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