2
OREGON CITY COURIER-HERALD, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6. 1901.
hi -mm in wm
Plain Business Address to the People of the United
States With Recommendations For
Our National Welfare.
lour right and our duty to see that they
work In harmony with these Institutions.
Necessity . of Publicity.
The first essential In determining how to
Seal with the great industrial combina
tions is knowledge of facts publicity. In
the interest of the public, the Govern
ment should have the right to inspect and
xamine the workings of the great cor
porations engaged in Interstate business.
Publicity is the only sure remedy which
we can now Invoke. What further reme
dies are needed in the way of govern
mental regulation or taxa-tion can only
be determined after publicity has been
obtained by process of law. and in the
course of administration. The first requi
site is knowledge full and complete
GET IT F1GTS IN DEALING WITH INDUSTRIAL G0HS0LIDAT10HS
Develop Our Islands, Guard Immigration, Increase
the Navy, Improve the Army, and
Extend Reciprocity.
GIVIL SERVICE DEFORM SHOULD UN SOUETRINS IDE
Affectionate Eulogy of William McKinley and Strong
Arraignment of Anarchy in All Its
Forms and Hisdeeds.
ward, they wish to turn out a perfecl
Job. This Is the great secret of our suc
cess In competition with the labor of for
eign countries.
, Trades Interna.
The most vital problem with which thl?
country, and for that matter the whole
civilized world, ha3 to deal, la the prob
lem which has for one side the better
ment of social conditions, moral' and phy
sical, in large cities, and for another side
the effort to deal with that tangle of far
reaching question which we group togeth
er when we speak of "labor." The chief
factor in the success of each man wage
worker, farmer and capitalist alike must
ever be the sum total of his own in-
knowledge which may be made public to dividual qualities and abilities. Second
me world.
Artificial bodies, such as corporations
and Joint stock or other associations, de
pending upon any statutory law lor their
existence or privileges, should be subject
to proper governmental supervision, and
full and accurate information as to their
operations should be made public regular
ly at reasonable intervals.
The large corporations, commonly called
trusts, though, organized in one state, al
ways do business in many states, often
doing very little business In the state
where they are Incorporated, There Is
only to this comes the power of act
ing In combination or association witn
others. Very great good has been and
will be accomplished by associations or
unions of wage-workers, when managed
with forethought and when they com
bine insistence upon their own rights with
law-abiding respect for the rights of oth
ers. The display of these qualities In
such bodies is a duty to the Nation no
less than to the associations themselves.
Finally there must also in many cases
be action by the Government in order
to safeguard the rights and Interests ot
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8. - President
Roosevelt's message to Congress follows:
. To the Senate and House of Representa
tives'. The Congress assembles this year under
the shadow of a great calamity. On the
th of September President McKinley was
shot by an anarchist, while attending the
Pan-American Exposition, at Buffalo, and
died in that city on the 14th of that month.
Of the last seven elected Presidents he
is the third who has been murdered, and
the bare recital of this fact Is sufficient
to Justify grave alarm among all loyal
American citizens. Moreover, the cir
cumstances of this, the third assassina
tion of an American President, have a
peculiarly sinister significance. Both
President Lincoln and President Garfield
were killed by assassins of types unfor
tunately not uncommon In history; Presi
dent Lincoln falling a victim to the ter
rible passions aroused by four years of
civil war, and President Garfield to the
revengeful vanity of a disappointed office-seeker.
President McKinley was
killed by an utterly depraved criminal
belonging to that body of criminals who
object to all governments, good and bad
alike, who are against any form of pop
ular liberty if It Is guaranteed by even the
most Just and liberal laws and who are as
hostile to the upright exponent of a free
people's sober will as to the tyrannical
and irresponsible despot.
Grief of the People.
The shock, the grief of the country are
titter in the minds of all who saw the
dark days while the President yet hov
ered between life and death. At last the
light was stilled in the kindly eyes and the
breath went from the lips that even in
mortal agony uttered no words save of
forgiveness to his murderer, of love for
his friends, and of unfaltering trust In
the w.ll of the Most High. Such a death,
crowning the glory of such a life, leaves
us with infinite sorrow, but with such
pride in what he had accomplished, and in
his own personal character that we feel
the blow not as struck at him, but as
struck at the Nation. We mourn a good
and great President who Is dead; but
.while we mourn we are lifted up by the
splendid achievements of his life and the
grand Leroism with which he met his
death.
When we turn from the man to the Na
tion, the harm done is so great as to ex
cite our gravest apprehensions and to de
mand our wisest and most resolute action.
This criminal was a professed anarchist,
inflamed by he teachings of professed
anarchists, and probably also by the reck
less utterances of those who, on the stump
and in the public press, appeal to the
dark and evil spirits of malice and greed,
envy and sullen hatred. The wind is
sowed by the men, who preach such doc
trines, and they cannot escape their share
of responsibility for the whirlwind that is
reaped. This applies alike to the delib
erate demagogue, to the exploiter of sen
sationalism and to the crude and foolish
visionary who, for whatever reason, apolo
gizes for crime or excites aimless discon
tent. The Anarchist Is a Malefactor.
The Federal Courts should be given
jurisdiction over any man who kills or at
tempts to kill the President or any man
who, by the Constitution or by law, 1b in
line of succession for the Presidency,
while the punishment for an unsuccessful
attempt should be proportioned to the
enormity of the offense against our Insti
tutions. Anarchy Is a crime against the
whole human race; and all mankind
should band against the anarchist.
His crime should be made an offense
against the law of nations, like piracy and
that form of man-stealing known as the
lave trade; for it is of far blacker infamy
than either. It should be so declared by
treaties among all civilized powers. Such
treaties would give to the Federal Gov
ernment the power of dealing with the
crime.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.
Restoration of Confidence and Re
turn of Prosperity.
During the last five years business con
fidence has been restored, and the Na
tion is to be congratulated because of its
present abounding prosperity. Such pros
perity can never be created by law alone,
although it is easy enough to destroy It
by mischievous laws. If the hand of the
Lord is heavy upon any country; if flood
or drouth comes, human wisdom is pow
erless to avert the calamity. Moreover,
no law can guard us against the conse
quences of our own folly. The men who
are Idle or credulous, the men who seek
gains not by genuine work with head or
hands, but by gambling In any form, are
lways a source of menace, not only to
themselves, but to others. If the business
world loses Its head, it loses what legis
lation cannot supply. Fundamentally, the
welfare of each citizen, and, therefore,
the welfare of the aggregate of citizens
-which makes the Nation, must rest upon
Individual thrift and energy, resolution
and Intelligence. Nothing can take the
place of this individual capacity; but wise
legislation and honest and Intelligent ad
ministration can give it the fullest scope,
the largest opportunity to work to good
effect.
Growth of Corporate Fortnnes.
The growth of cities has gone on beyond
comparison faster than the growth of
the country, and the upbuilding of the
er government action, but to natural
causes In the business world, operating
in other countries as they operate in our
own.
The process has aroused much antag
onism, a great part of which is wholly
without warrrant It Is not true that, as
the rich have grown richer, the poor have
grown poorer. On the contrary, never
before has the average man, the wage
worker, the farmer, the small trader been
so well off as In this country and at the
present time. There have been abuses
connected with ' the accumulation ol
wealth; yet it remains true that a for
tune accumulated in legitimate business
can be accumulated by the person spe
cially benefited only on condition of con
ferring immense incidental benefits upon
others. Successful enterprise, of the type
which benefits all mankind, can only exist
if the conditions are such as to offer
great prizes as the rewards of success,
Cantlon In Dealing With Trusts.
An additional reason for caution in
dealing with corporations is to be found
In the international commercial conditions
of today. The same business conditions
which have produced the great aggrega
tions of corporate and individual wealth
have made them very potent factors In
international commercial competition.
Business concerns which have the largest
means at their disposal and are managed
by the ablest men are naturally those
which take the lead in the strife for
commercial supremacy among the na
tions of the world. America has only
Just begun to assume that commanding
position in the international business
world which we believe will more and
more, be hers. It is of the utmost impor
tance that this position be not Jeopar
dized especially at a time when the over,
flowing abundance of our own natural re
sources and the skill, business energy and
mechanical aptitude of our people make
foreign markets essential. Under such
conditions it would be most unwise to
cramp or to fetter the youthful strength
of our nation.
MlschieTons Legislation.
The mechanism of modern business 1 is
so delicate that extreme care must be
taken not to Interfere with it In a spirit
of rashness or ignorance. Many of those
who have made it their vocation to de
nounce the great industrial combinations
which are popularly, although with tech
nical inaccuracy, known as "trusts," ap
peal especially to hatred and fear. These
are precisely the two emotions, particu
larly when combined with ignorance,
which unfit men for the exercise of cool
and steady judgment. In facing new In
dustrial conditions the whole history of
the world shows that legislation will gen
erally be both unwise and Ineffective un
less undertaken after calm Inquiry and
with sober self-restraint. Much of the
legislation directed at the trusts would
have been exceedingly mischievous had it
not also been entirely ineffective. In ac
cordance with a well-known sociological
law, the Ignorant or reckless agitator has
been the really effective friend of the
evils which he has been nominally oppos
ing. In dealing with business interests,
lor the Government to undertake, by
crude and ill-considered legislation, to do
what may turn out to be bad, would be
to Incur the risk of such far-reaching
national disaster that it would be pref.
erable to undertake nothing at all. The
men who demand the impossible or the
undesirable serve as the allies of the
forces with which they ere nominally at
war, for they hamper those who would
endeavor to And out in rational fashion
what the wrongs really are and to what
extent and in what manner it Is practl
cable to supply remedies.
All this is true; and yet it Is also true
that there are real and grave evils, one
or me cnier Deing over-capitalization be
cause of its many baleful consequences
and a resolute and practical effort must
be made to correct these evils.
Regulation of Corporations,
There Is a widespread conviction in the
minds of the American people that the
great corporations known as trusts are
in certain of their features and tenden
cles hurtful to the general welfare. This
springs from no spirit of envy or un
charitableness, nor lack of pride in the
great industrial achievements that have
placed this country at the head of the
nations struggling for commercial su
premacy. It does not rest upon a lack of
intelligent appreciation of the necessity
of meeting changing and changed condl
uons oi iraae witn new methods, nor
upon Ignorance of the fact that comblna-
Hon of capital, in the effort to accomplish
great things, is necessary when the
world's progress demands that great
things be done. It is based upon sincere
conviction that combination and concen
tration should be, not prohibited, but su-
pervlsed, and, within reasonable limits,
controlled; and in my judgment this con
vlctlon is right.
It is no limitation upon property rights
or freedom of contract to require that
when men receive from the Government
the privilege of doing business under cor
porate form which frees themi from lndl
vidual responsibility, and enables them to
call into their enterprises the capital of
the public, they shall do so upon abso-
lutely truthful representations as to the
value of the property in which the capl
tal is to be invested. Corporations en
gaged in interstate commerce should be
regulated if they are found to exercise a
license working to the public Injury. It
should be as much the aim of those who
seek for social betterment to rid the bust
t. Z. uniformity In the state laws ail. Under our Constitution there Is much
nuuui mem; ana as no state has any ex-i more scope for such action by the state
t r "'""e" m or power over tneir ' and the municipality than by the Nation,
acts, it has in practice proved impossible ! But on points such as those touched on
regulation tnrougn state above, the National Government can act,
i infreIore. ln the interest of the i .when all Is said and done, the rule ot
iriVf ful"e-nation should, without brotherhood remains as the indispensable
i v, power oi tne states prerequisite to success ln the kind or JNu
useu, aiso assume power or
supervision and regulation over all corpo
rations doing an Interstate business. This
is especially true where the corporation
derives a portion of its wealth from the
existence of some monopolistic element or
tendency in its business. There would be
no hardsnlp in such supervision; banks
are subject to it and, in their case, it is
now accepted as a simple matter of
inaeeo, it is probable that super
vision of corporations by the National
Government need not go so far as is now
the case with the supervision exercised
oyer them by so conservative a Btate as
Massachusetts, in order to produce ex
cellent results.
Department of Commerce and Industries.
There should be created a Cabinet of
ficer, to be known as Secretary of Com
merce and Industries, as provided in the
bill introduced at the last session of the
Congress. It should be his province to
deal with commerce in its broadest sense;
Including among many other things what
ever concerns labor and all matters affect
ing the great business corporations ana
our merchant marine.
The course proposed is one phase of
what should be a comprehensive and far-
reaching scheme of constructive states
manship tor the purpose of broadening
our markets, securing nn. :,ninc in
terests on a safe basis and makine firm
our new position in the international in
dustrial world; while scrupulously safe
guarding tho rights of wage-worker and
j-apiLiuisx, or investor and private cit
izen, so as to secure equity as between
man and man in this Republic.
With the sole exception of the farming
interest no one matter -is of such vital
moment to our whole nonnio n .i
fare of the wage-worker. If the farmer
great industrial centers has meant a
startling increase, not merely in the ag
gregate of wealth, but in the number of negs wor;,j of crlmes of cunnlnff ag t0 Tli
very large individual, and especially of
very large corporate, fortunes. The cre
ation of these great corporate fortunes
bas not been due to tariff nor to any oth-
the entire body politic of crimes of vio
lence. Great corporations exist only be-
cause they are created and safeguarded
by our institutions, and it is, therefore.
tional life for which we strive. Eacn
man must work for himself, and unless
he so works, no outside help can avail
him; but each man must remember also
that he Is, Indeed, his brother's keeper,
and that while no man who refuses to
walk can be carried with advantage to
himself or anyone else, yet that each
at times stumbles or halts, that each at
times needs to have the helping hand
outstretched to him. To be permanently
effective, aid must always take the form
of helping a man to help himself; and
we can all best help ourselves by Joining
together in the work that is of common
interest to all.
Better Immigration Laws Needed.
Our present immigration laws are un
satisfactory. We need every honest and
efficient Immigrant fitted to become an
American citizen, every immigrant who
comes here to stay, who brings here a
strong body, a stout heart, a good head,
and a resolute purpose to do his duty well
in every way, and to bring up his chil
dren as law-abiding and God-fearing
members of the community. But there
should be a comprehensive law enacted
with the object of working a three-fold
Improvement over our present system.
First, we should aim to exclude absolute
ly not only all persons who are known to
be believers In anarchistic principles or
members of anarchistic societies, but also
all persons who are of a low moral ten
dency or of unsavory reputation. This
means that we should require a more thor
ough syftem of inspection abroad and a
more rigid system of examination at our
immigration ports, the former being es
pecially necessary,
The second object of a proper Immigra
tion law ought to be to secure, by a care
ful and not merely perfunctory educa-
tlrtMtil test anmo 1 n f il H iron t nonnnltv tr
and the wage-worker are well off, it is ' appreciate American institutions and act
absolutely certain that all others will be sanely as American citizens. This would
well oft too. It is, therefore, a mattpr not keep out all anarchists, for many ol
for hearty congratulation that, on the them belong to the Intelligent criminal
whole, wages are higher today
United States than ever before
In the , class. But It would do what Is also ln
In OUr . Tljvlnt thnt ! tonri tn lianreaaA thA snm
Mt ignorance, 'so potent in producing the
higher than ever before. Every effort of
legislator and administrator should be
bent to secure the permanency of this
condition of things and Its improvement
wnerever possible.
Chinese Exclusion.
Not only must our labor be protected
by the tariff, but It should also be pro
tected, so far as It Is possible, from the
presence In this country of any laborers
brought over by contract, or of those who,
coming freely, yet represent a standard
ot living so aepressea tnat tney can un.
envy, suspicion, malignant passion and
hatred of order, out of which anarchistic-
sentiment inevitably springs. Finally, all
persons should be excluded who are below
a certain standard of economic fitness to
enter our ind . Jtrial field as competitors
with American labor. There should be
proper proof of personal capacity to earn
an American living and enough money
to Insure a decent start under American
condliions. This would stop' the Influx
of cheap labor and the resulting competi
tion wmeh gives rise to so much of bitter
ness in American Industrial life; and It
dersell our men in the labor market and would dry up the springs of the pestilent
urag mem 10 a lower level i regard it as lal gocial conditions In our great cities
necessary, w.m mis ena in view, to re- where anarchistic organizations have their
u. iav ci.iuuiiiB m-1 greatest possibiiity of growth
ever necessary in order to make its en- I . Bth l0"aI &" T l -
forcement entirely effective. I a -w se """"sration law should be de-
The National Government should de- ,R,ned 1?,.?rotet ftnd ,elevate the general
mand the highest quality of service from b0l1y,' ,iXlltlov,an,(l sclaL ,VTy Close BU'
LoorSove?'1 VTZ "Tll ' " "l, fLni
good employer. If possible, legislation 0Ver the immigrants, and they should be
should he passed in connection with the held to a strict accountability for any
interstate commerce law which will ren- infraction of the law.
der effective the efforts of different states
to do away with the competition of con
vict contract labor In the open labor mar
ket. So far as practicable under the con-
Tariff Revision Hurtful.
There is general acquiescence In our
present tariff Bystem as a National policy,
onions of ' SenT wor
should be made to render the enforcement
of the eight-hour law easy and certain.
In all Industries carried on directly or in.
directly for the United States Government,
women and children should be protected
from excessive hours of labor, from night
work and from work under unsanitary
conditions. The Government should pro
vide in its contracts that all work should
be done under "fair" conditions, and in
addition to setting a high standard should
uphold It by proper Inspection, extending,
continuity and stability of this economic
policy. Nothing could be more unwise
than to disturb the business Interests of
the country by any general tariff change
at this time. Doubt, apprehension, uncer
tainty are exactly what we most wish to
avoid In the interest of our commercial
and material well-being. Our experience
in the past has shown that sweeping re
visions of the tariff are apt to produce
conditions closely approaching panic ln
the business world. Yet It is not only
If necessary, to the subcontractors. The - possible, but eminently desirable to com-
Government should forbid all night work
for women and children, as well as ex
cessive overtime. For the District of Co
lumbia, a good factory law should be
bine with the stability of our economic
system, a supplementary system of recip
rocal benefit and obligation with other na
tions. Such reciprocity is an incident and
passed; and as a powerful Indirect aid ; result of the firm establishment and pres
to sucn laws, provisions anouia be made
to turn the inhabited alleys, the existence
of which is a reproach to our Capital City,
into minor streets, where the inhabitants
can live under conditions favorable to
health and morals.
American wage-workers work with their
heads as well as their hands. Moreover,
they take a keen pride ln what they
are doing;; so that, Independent of the re-
how far this Is, must be determined ac
cording to the individual case, remember
ing always that every application of our
tariff policy to meet our shifting National
needs must be conditioned upon the cardi
nal fact that the duties must never be re
duced below the point that will cover the
difference between the labor cost here and
abroad. The well-being of the wage-worker
Is a prime consideration ot our entire
policy of economic legislation.
I ask the attention of the Senate to
the reciprocity treaties laid before It by
my predecessor.
Condition of the Merchant Marine.
The condition of the American mer
chant marine is such as to call for imme
diate remedial action by the Congress. It
is discreditable to us as a Nation that
our merchant marine should be utterly
insignificant in comparison to that of
other nations which we overtop in other
forms of business. We should not longer
submit to conditions under which only a
trifling portion of our great commerce is
carried in our own ships. To remedy this
state of things would not merely serve
to build up our shipping Interests, but it
would also result in benefit to .all who are
Interested ln the permanent establishment
of a wider market for American products,
and would provide an auxiliary force for
the Navy. Ships work for their own
countries Just as railroads work for their
terminal points. Shipping lines, if es
tablished to the principal countries with
which we have dealings, would be of po
litical as well as commercial benefit. From
every standpoint It is unwise for the Unit
ed States to rely on the ships of compet
ing nations for the distributing of our
goods. It should be made advantageous
to carry American goods ln American
built ships.
At present American shipping is
under certain great disadvantages
when put in competition with the
shipping of foreign countries. Many
of the fast foreign steamships, at
speed of 14 knots or above,
are subsidized; and all our ships, sailing
vessels and steamers alike, cargo-carriers
of Blow- speed and mall-carriers of high
speed, have to meet the fact that the
original cost of building American ships
is greater than is the case abroad; that
the wages paid American oificers and sea
men are very much higher than those paid
the officers and seamen of foreign com
peting countries; and that the standard of
living on our ships- is far superior to the
standard of living on the ships of our
commercial rivals.
Financial Matters.
Our Government should take such ac
tion as will remedy these inequalities. The
American merchant marine should be re
stored to the ocean.
The act of March 14, 1900, Intended un
equivocally to establish gold as the stand
aid money and to maintain at a parity
therewith all form of the money metlluin
in use with us, has been shown to be
timely and Judicious. The price 'of our
Government bonds ln the world's mar
ket, when compared with the price of
similar obligations Issued by other na
tions, is a flattering tribute to our public
credit. This- condition it is evidently de
sirable to maintain.
In many respects the National banking
law furnishes sufficient liberty for the
proper exercise of the banking function;
but there seems to be need of better
safeguards against the deranging Influence
of commercial crises and financial panics.
Moreover, the currency of the country
should be made responsive to the de
mands of our domestic trade and com
merce. Surplus in the Treasury.
The collections from duties on Imports
and internal taxes continue to exceed the
ordinary expenditures of the Government,
thanks mainly to the reduced Army ex
penditures. The utmost-' care should be
taken not to reduce the revenues so that
there will be any possibility of a deficit;
but, after providing against any such con
tingency, means should be adopted which
will bring the revenues more nearly with
in the limit of our actual needs. In his
report to the Congress the Secretary of the
Treasury considers all these questions at
length, and I ask your attention to the
report and recommendations.
I call especial attention, to the need of
strict economy ln expenditures. The fact
that our National needs forbid us to be
niggardly in providing whatever is actual
ly necessary to our well-being should
make us doubly careful to husband our
National resources as each of ua husbands
his private resources, by scrupulous avoid
ance of anything like wasteful or reck
less expenditure. Only by avoidance of
spending money on what Is needless or un
justifiable can, we legitimately keep our
Income to the point required to meet our
needs that are genuine.
Interstate Commerce Law.
In 1887 a measure was enacted for the
regulation of Interstate railways, com
monly known as the Interstate commerce
act. The cardinal provisions of that act
were that railway rates should be just and
reasonable, and that all shippers, local
ities and commodities should be accorded
equal treatment. A commission was cre
ated and endowed with what were sup
posed to be the necessary powerB to exe
cute the provisions of this act.
The act should be amended. The rail
way is a public servant. Its rates should
be just to and open to all shippers al.-e.
The Government should see to It that
within its jurisdiction this is so, and
should provide a speedy, Inexpensive and
effective remedy to that end. At the same
time, it must not be forgotten that our
railways are the arteries through which
the commercial life-blood of this Nation
flows. Nothing could be more foolish than
the enactment of legislation which would
unnecessarily Interfere with the develop
ment and operation of these commercial
agencies. The subject Is one of great 1m.
portance and calls for the earnest at
tention of the Congress.
Department of Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture, during
the past 15 years, has steadily broadened
its work on economic lines, and has ac
complished results of real value ln up
building domestic and foreign trade. It
has gone Into new fields until it Is now ln
touch with all sections of our country and
with two of the island groups that have
lately come under our Jurisdiction, whose
people must look to agriculture as a live
Uhood. It is searching the world for
grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables spe
cially fitted for introduction Into localities
of the several states and territories where
they may add materially to our resources.
By scientific attention to soil survey and
possible new cropB, to breeding of new
varieties of plants, to exuerimental ship
ments, to animal industry and applied
chemistry, a very practical aid has been
given our farming and stock growing In
terests. The products of the farm nave
taken an unprecedented place In our ex
port trade during the year that has Just
closed.
Value of the Forests.
Public opinion throughout the United
States has moved steadily toward a Just
appreciation of the value of forests,
whether planted or of natural growth.
The great part played by them ln the
creation and maintenance of the National
wealth Is now more fully realized than
ever before.
Wise foreat protection does not mean
the withdrawal of forest resources,
whether of wood, water or grass, from
contributing their full share to the wel
fare of the people, but, on the contrary,
gives the assurance of larger and more
certain supplies. The fundamental Idea
of forestry la the perpetuation of forests
by use. Forest protection Is not an end
of Itself; It is a means to Increase and
sustain the resources of our country and
the industries which depend upon them.
The preservation ot our forest Is an Im
perative business necessity. We have
come to see clearly that whatever de-
ervatlon of our present economic policy.
It was specially provided tor ln the pres
ent tariff law.
Reciprocity must be treated as the hand
maiden of protection. Our first duty Is
to see that the protection granted by the
tariff ln every case where it Is needed Is
maintained, and that reciprocity be sought
tor so tar as it can safely be done with
out injury to our home industries. Just troys the forest, except to make way for
agriculture, threatens our well-being.
The practical usefulness of the National
forest reserves to the mining, grazing, ir
rigation and other interests of the regions
ln which the reserves lie has led to a wide-
spread demand by the people of the West
for their protection and extension. The
forest reserves will inevitably be of still
greater use In the future than ln the past.
Additions should be made to them when
ever practicable, and their usefulness
should be increased by a thoroughly business-like
management.
Protection of Reserves.
At present the protection of the forest
reserves rests with the General Land Of
fice, the mapping and description of their
timber with the United States Geological
Survey, and the preparation of plans for
their conservative use with the Bureau
of Forestry, which Is also charged with
the general advancement of practical for
estry ln the United States. These vari
ous functions should be united ln the Bu
reau of Forestry, to which they properly
belong. The present diffusion of respon
sibility Is bad from every standpoint. It
prevents that effective co-operation be
tween the Government and the men who
utilize the resources of the reserves, with
out which the Interests of both must suf
fer. The scientific bureaus generally
should be put under the Department of
Agriculture. The President should have
by law the power of transferring lands for
use as forest reserves to the Department
of Agriculture. He already has such
power ln the case of lands needed by the
Departments of War and the Navy.
The wise administration of the forest
reserves will be not less helpful to the
interests which depend on water than to
those which depend on wood and grass.
The water supply Itself depends upon the
forest. In the arid region it is water, not
land, which measures production. The
western half of the United States would
sustain a population greater than that
of our whole country today If the waters
that now run to waste were saved ana
used for Irrigation. The forest and water
problems are perhaps the most vital inter
nal questions of the United States.
Certain of the forest reserves should also
be made preserves for the wild forest
creatures. All of the reserves should be
better protected from fires. Many ot
them need special protection because of
the great Injury done by livestock, above
all, by sheep. The increase In deer, elk
and other animals ln the Yellowstone Park
shows what may be expected when other
mountain forests are properly protected
by law and properly guarded. Some of
these areas have been so denuded of Bur
face vegetation by overgrazing that the
ground breeding birds, including grouse
and quail, and many mammals, Including
deer, have been exterminated or driven
away. At the same time the water-storing
capacity of the surface has been de
creased, or destroyed, thus promoting
floods ln tlmea of rain and dlminianing
the flow of Btreams between rains. ,
Forests Are Reservoirs.
The forests are natural reservoirs. By
restraining the streams in flood and re
plenishing them in drought they make
possible the use of waters otherwise wast
ed. Tiiey prevent the soil from washing,
and so protect the storage reservoirs from
filling up with silt. Forest conservation
is, therefore, an essential condition of
water conservation.
The forests alone cannot, however, fully
regulate and conserve the waters of the
arid region. Great storage works are
necessary to equalize the flow ot streams
and to save the flood waters. Their con
struction has been conclusively shown to
be an undertaking too vast for private
effort. Nor can it be best accomplished
by the individual states acting alone. Far
reaching Interstate problems are involved;
and the resources of single states would
often be Inadequate. It la properly a Na
tional function, at least ln some of Its
features. It Is as right for the National
Government to make the streams and riv
ers of the arid region useful by engineer
ing works for water storage as to make
useful the rivers and harbors of the hu
mid region by engineering works of an
other kind. The storing of the floods In
reservoirs at the headwaters of our rivers
Is but an enlargement of our present
policy of river control, under which levees
are built on the lower reaches of the same
streams.
The Government should construct and
maintain these reservoirs as It does other
public works. Where their purpose Is to
regulate the flow of streams, the water
should be turned freely into the channels
ih the dry season, to tirke the same course
under the same laws as the natural flow.
Reclaiming Arid Lands.
The reclamation of the unsettled aria
public lands presents a different problem.
Here It Is not enough to regulate the flow
of streams. The object of the Government
la to dispose of the land to settlers who
will build homes upon it. To accomplish
this object water must be brought within
their reach.
The reclamation and settlement of the
arid lands will enrich every portion of our
country, just as the settlement ot the Onlo
and Mississippi Valleys brought prosperity
to the Atlantic States. The Increased de
mand for manufactured articles will stim
ulate industrial production, while wider
home markets and the trade of Asia, will
consume the larger food supplies and ef
fectually prevent Western competition
with Eastern agriculture. Indeed, the
products of irrigation will be consumed
chiefly ln upbuilding local centers ot min
ing and other lnuustrles, which would
otherwise not come Into existence at all.
Our people as a whole will profit, for suc
cessful home-making Is but another name
for the upbuilding of the Nation.
The necessary foundation has already
been laid for the inauguration of the pol
icy Just described. It would be unwise to
begin by doing too much, for a great
deal will doubtless be learned, both as to
what can and what cannot be safely at
tempted, by the early efforts, which must
of necessity be partly experimental in
character. At the very beginning the Gov
ernment should make clear, beyond shad
ow of doubt, its Intention to pursue this
policy on lines of the broadest public in
terest. No reservoir or canal should ever
be built to satisfy selfish personal or lo
cal Interests, but only ln accordance with
the advice of trained experts, after long
Investigation has shown the locality whero
all the conditions combine to make the
work most needed and fraught With the
greatest usefulness to the community as
a whole. There should be no extrava
gance, and the believers ln the need of
Irrigation will most benefit their cause by
seeing to It that It Is free from the least
taint of excessive or reckless expenditure
of the public moneys.
Extension of Irrigation.
Whatever the Nation does for the ex
tension of irrigation should harmonize
with, and tend to Improve, the condition
of those now living on Irrigated land. We
art not at the starting point of this devel
opment. Over 20O,OiM,00O of private cap
ital has already been expended ln th con
struction of Irrigation works, and many
million acres of arid land reclaimed. A
high degree of enterprise and ability has
been shown ln the work Itself; but as
much cannot be said ln reference to the
laws relating thereto. The security and
value of the homes created depend large
ly on the stability of titles to water; but
the majority of these rest on the uncer
tain foundation of court decisions ren
dered ln ordinary suits at law. With
few creditable exceptions, the arid states
have failed to provide tor the certain and
just division of streams in times ot scarc
ity. Lax and uncertain laws have made
It possible to establish rights to water ln
excess of actual uses or necessities, and
many streams have already passed into
private ownership, or a control equivalent
to ownership,