The Oregon daily journal., December 08, 1908, Page 13, Image 13

THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, TUESDAY ' EVENING, DECEMBER 8 1908.
13
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IOUSSS LISTEN TO COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENT
G0VEU1T OF
ARMY AND HAW
APPROPRIATIOflS
jEl'J POSSESSIONS
(Continued from Page Twelve)
- Ufa among the great - mamei of our
fellow-countrymen, a lack which unfits
t tuiln to do good service Just as It
- would unfit any-executive or legislative
: omcer. .
Temporary Xajunotions.
' 1 There ia also, I think, ground for the
belief that substantial injustice is often
suffered by employes ' In consequence
of the custom of courts Issuing; tempo-
: rarv injunctions wnnoui notice to mem.
. and punishing them for contempt o
court in Instances where: as a matter
of fact, they have no knowledge of any
froceedlngs. Outside of organized labor
here is a widespread feeling Jhat this
system often works- great injustice to
wage-woricers wnen tneir efforts to
better their condition result in indus
trial disputes. A temporary injunction
rrooured ex parte may as a matter of
act have all the effect of a permanent
injunction in causing disaster to the
wage-workers' side in such a dispute.
Organised labor is chafing under the
unjust restraint which comes rrom re
peated resort to this .clan of procedure,
Its discontent has been unwisely ex-
pressed, and often Improperly expressed,
but there is a sound basis for it, and the
orderly and law-abiding people or a
community would be in a far stronger
position for upholding the .courts if the
undoubtedly existing; -abuses could, be
provided against. : - .
Such proposals as those mentioned
hnvn arivnnstnri hv the extreme la
bor -leaders, contain the vital error of
Demg class legislation or tna moat of
fensive kind, and even if enacted into
law I believe that the law would right
ly be held unconstitutional. Moreover,
the labor people are themselves now be
ginning to invoke the use of the power
of Injunction. During the last 10 years,
and within my own klowledge. at least
6.0 Injunctions have been obtained by
labor unions 1ft' New York city alone,
most of them being to protect the union
label (a "property right"), but -some
being obtained for other reasons against
employers. The power of Injunction
la a a-reat equitable remedy, which
should on no account be destroyed.
Hut safe e-uarda should be erected
against its abusei I believe that some
such provisions - those I advocated a
year ago for checking the abuse of the
Issuance of temporary injunctions
should be adopted. In substance, pro
vision should- be made that no lnjuna
tlnn nr tpmnnrarv restraining order is
sue otherwise than on notice, except
where Irreparable injury would ' other
wise result; and In auch case ahear-
tng on the merits of the order anoum oe
had within a short fixed period, and. If
not th i continued after hearing It
should forthwith lapse. Decisions
should fee rendered Immediately, and the
chance of delay minimized In every way.
Moreover, I believe that the procedure
suould be sharply defined, and the
judge required minutely to state the
particulars both of his action and of his
reasons therefor, so that the congress
can if It desires examine and Investigate
the same. , :
rinal Seat of Power.
The chief lawmakers In our country
may be, and often are, the Judges, be
cause thev are the final seat of author
ity. Every time they Interpret contract,
firoperty, vested rights, due process of
aw, liberty, they necessarily enact into
law parts of a system of social philoso
phy; and as auch Interpretation is fun
damental,' they give direction to all
lawmaking. The decisions of the courts
on economic and social questions de
pend upon their eoonomlc and social
philosophy; and for the peaceful prog
ress of our people during the twentieth
century we ahall owe most to those
jUdges who hold to a twentieth century
economic and social philosophy and not
to a long outgrown philosophy, which
was itself the product of primitive
economic conditions. Of course a
Judge's views on progressive social phll
nmnhv irfl en ttrelv second in Import
ance to his possession of a high and
fine character, which means the posses
sion of such elementary virtues as
honesty, courage and falrmindedness.
The Judge who owes his election to
pandering to demagogic sentiments or
class hatreds and prejudices, and the
judge who owes either his election or
his appointment to the money or the
favor of a great corporation, are alike
unworthy to sit on the bench, are alike
traitors to the people; and no pro
fundity of legal learning or correctness
of abstract conviction on questions of
public policy, can serve as an offset to
such shortcomings. But it ia also true
that judges, like executives and legis
lators, should hold sound views on the
questions of public policy which are of
vital interest to the people.
The legislators and executives are
chosen to represent the people in enact
ing and administering the laws. The
Judges are not chosen to represent the
people In this sense. Their function is
to interpret the laws.
The legislators are responsible for
the laws: the judges for the spirit in
which they interpret and enforce the
laws. We stand aloof from .the reckless
agitators who wouia maice tne judges
mere pliant tools of popular prejudice
and passion; and we stand aloof from
those equally unwise partisans of rene-
ion and rjrlvtleare who deny the nronosl-
tion that, Inasmuch as judges are chosen
to serve the interests of the whole people,
they should strive to find out what
thrvse Interests are, and, so far as they
conscientiously can. should strive to
give effect to popular conviction when
deliberately and duly expressed by the
lawmaking Doay.
t Staunchly Upheld.
Tha courts are to be highly com
mended and staunchly upheld when they
set their faces against wrongdoing or
vmnnv hv a majority: but they are to
be blamed when they fall to recognise
under a government line ours tne aeuo
erate judgment of the majority as to a
matter or legitimate poucy, wnen amy
expressed by the legislature.. Such law
fully expressed and deliberate judgment
should De given eriect oy tne courts,
save in the extreme and exceptional
cases where there has been a clear vio
lation of a constitutional provision.
Anything like frivolity or wantonness
In upsetting auch clearly taken gov
ernmental action la a gray offense
agaln.t the republic. To protest against
tyranny, to protect minorities rrom op
pression, to nullify an act committed in
a spasm of popular fury, is to render a
service to tne repuouo. nut ior tne
courts to arrogate to themselves func
tions which properly belong to the leg
islative bodies Is all wrong and in the
end works mlseliler. The people should
rot be permitted to pardon evil and
slipshod legislation -on the theory that
tne court Will set it riant; mej snoum
be taught that the right way to get
rid of a bad law is to have the legisla
ture repeal It, and not to have the
courts by ingenious hairsplitting nullify
it, A law may be unwise and Improper,
iut it should not for these reasons be
declared unconstitutional by a strained
Interpretation, for -the result of such
action is to take away from the people
at large' their sense of responsibility
and ultimately to destroy their capacity
for orderly self restraint and self-government
tinder such a popular govern
ment' as oura, founded on the theory
tnat In the long run the will of the peo-
)le Is supreme, tne ultimate saiety or
h nation can only rest In training and
guiding the people so that what they
win hn!i he rieht. and not In devlslna-
means to defeat their will by the tech
nicalities of strained construction.
For many of the shortcomings of Jus
tice in ou' country our people as a
whole are themselves to blame, and the
iudges- and Juries merely :, bear .- their
hare together with the public aav a
whole, - It is discreditable to us as a
Jieople that there should be . difficulty
n convicting murderers, or In bringing
to justice men who as public servants
have been, guilty of corruption, or who
have profited bv the corruption of pub
lic servants. The result is equally un
fortunate, whether due to halrsollttlng
technicalities . In the interpretation of I
law bv indues, to sentimentality and
clas ciiniWSousiii sa on the part of juries
Speaker Joseph Cannon.
or to hysteria and sensationalism In the
daily press. For much of this failure
of Justice no responsibility whatever
Ilea on rich men as such. : We who
make Utt the 'mass nf the nennlaeVan
not shift the responsibility from our
own noma era. nut tnara is an imnart.
ant part of tna failure which has es
pecially to Jo with inability to hold to
account men oi wealth who be-
rave oauiy.
vniet Breakdown.
The chief hrpnlrrtnwn 4A.ltn
t,k ,k: ..,7 rr" ...
the mutualism, the interdependence of
ft!) I tint TJ'ira J l
w. now buuihi lTJittllon ue-
ft new -type of wrongdoing: of Bin,
w ubj si oiu-iasmonea word and many
able to turn this sin Into crime which
can be effectively punished at law.
During the lifetime of the older men
now alive the social relations have
changed fnr more rapidly than In the
preceding two centuries. The immense
growth Of enrooratinn rt kmin... ....
by associations, and the extreme strain
and pressure of modern life, have pro-
. -- - it 1 1 . v, i , iuiiuci mo DUD
lie confused as to who Its really danger
0Uf it aue: an(, Bnong publlo aerv-
fusion, but by some of their acts have
!S-5Jf "id lt w r certain Judges. Marked
Inefficiency hna h,n ahnw a n
!th corporations and in resettling the
proper attitude to be taken by the public
not onlv toward corporations, but to
ward labor, and toward the social ques
tions arising out nt th faptn
and the enormous growth of our great
mulated by a few irrritvirtuai.
ySV?- in hM mounted to a aocial
and Industrial revolution has been as re'
g arrt ome of these Individuals made
possible only by the improper use ot
the modern corporation. .A qertaln tvna
Lni?den?-co.,?,oratlon wtl- officers
M-.- IlH many issues or aecur -
ties, and it constant consolidation with
allied undertnklno-a ei.n "
Lnr7.mtnt " complex as' to contain a
nu.m,r,of, -." that, under
jwmuinj ueuiaions, lend thm.
rJSSTJff ev,veT " the human brSiny
E?milini.,r? nece"wnr Instruments
of modern business. They have been
because the) governmental represeiita
inV efMtba 'yoP' v worked slowly
them equate control over
Chief Offender.
The chief offnruw i . ....
may.b a" executive, a legislature
luda-e. Ewm i." . ' . "
vises violent. tnti t
and iwienln ml. S"L"'aVa
"r wno advocates in considered
Sr ' ""y taintea with vin-
ictiveness and disregard for the
rights of the minority) is particularly
blameworthy. The several legislatures
are responsible for the fact that our
h?.a.r.fte2 Prepare with slovenly
ovt tw I-k ?.f consideration. More
over, they are often prepared, and still
mJ-re-frfSuent,3r mended during pass
age, at the suggestion of the very pa",
tiea against whom they are afterward
enforced. Our great clusters of corpo
rations, huge trusts and fabulously
wealthy multimillionaires, employ the
JK? awY" th.ey can obtain to
pick flaws in these statutes after their
passage; but they also employ a class
of secret agents who seek, under the
advice of exnertiL in m, -t...il
LTla,t.V?inno',l!oul.i,y makln " uneoSI
stltutional. often through the InserUon
"t'p'-n.r on ineir race to be
rfaJ . and. "Wfeplng provisions against
of oartlea inspiring them;
while the demagogues, the corrupt
creatures who Introduce blackmailing
schemes to "strike" corporations, and
all who demand extreme, and undesir
ably radical, measures, show them
selves to be the worst enemies of tha
J puuuu wiiuns ioua moutnea cham
pions they profess to be. A very
striking illustration of the conse-
hutoitw i carelessness in tna prepara
tion of a atatute waa the employers'
liauuuj law Ul ivun. in In iamcm
arising under that law, four out of six
courts of first instance held it uncon-'
stltutional; six out of nine Justices of
nit, Buiircmn court neia mat its subject
matter was within the province of con
gressional action, and four of the nine
Justices held it valid. It was, however
adjudged unconstitutional by a bare
iiinjuriiy vt in court live to rour. I
was surely a verv alovenlv niu n
i irwiw me legislation in such
shape as to leave tha question opan, at
Seal Samara.
Real damage has been done by the
manifold and conflicting Interpretation
of the Interstate commerce law. Con
trol over the great corporations doing
Interstate business can be effective only
j. iv is vcnitiu wun iuh power in an
administration department, a branch
of the federal executive, carrying out a
federal law; It can never be effective
if a divided responsibility ia left in
both the states and the nation; it can
never be effective if left In tha hands
oftha courts to be decided by Jawr
- The courts hold a place of peculiar
nu aeBerrwa sanctity unaer our lorm
of government. Resneet for th
Is essential to the permanence of our
insiuuuons; ana respect ior tna . law
Is largely conditioned upon respect for
the courts. It is an offense against the
renubllo to sav anvthinr which n
weaken this respect, save for tha grav
est reason and in the most carefully
Kuanjeu iiia&iiucr, . uur .judges SnOUld
be held In oecuHar honor; and the duty
of respectful and truthful -.comment
and criticism? which should be binding
When we speak of anybody, should be
especially binding when we snealr nt
them. On an average they stand above
any other servants of the community,
and the greatest Judges have reached
the high level held by those few great
est patriots whom the whole country
delights to honor. But we must
the fact that there are wise and . un
wise judges, just as there are w iee and
unwise executives and lerialntnra
When a president or a governor . : be-
navea improperly or unwisely, the
remedy Is easy, for his term Is abort
the same is true with the legislator, al
though not to- the same degree, 'for ha
Is one oi many wno Deiong to some
riven legislative body, and It ta ther.
fore leas easy to fix his personal re
sponslbllity. Under ordinary l- condi
tions the only forms of pressure to
which he is in any way amenable r"
publlo opinion, and the action of his
fellow judges, . it is th last which Is
most Immediately- affeotlve; and to
which we should look for the reform of
abuses, Any remedy applied from with
out is fraught with risk. It Is far bet-'
ter, from every standpoint,' that .the
remedy should come from within.
in no other nation m the world do
f ' .
V
' -4
JoBeph Cannon, Speaker ot the House
the courts wield such vast,. and far
reaching power aa In the United Slates.
All that ia necessary is that the courts
as a whole should exercise this power
with the rarslghtexl wisdom already
shown by thORe judges who scan the
future while " they act In the present.
Let them exercise this great power not
only honestly and bravely, but with
wise insight into the needs and fixed
purposes -of the people, so that they
may do justice, and work equity, so
that they may protect ail persons In
their rights, and yet break down the
barriers of privilege, which is the foe
of right.
Forests.
If there Is any one duty which more?
than another we owe it to our chil
dren and our children's children to per
form at once, it is to save the forests
of this country, for they constitute
the first and most Important element
in the conservation of the natural re
sources of the country. There are of
course two kinds of natural resources.
One is the kind which can only be used
as part of a process of exhaustion;
this ia true of mines, natural oil and gas
wells, and the like. The other, and of
course ultimately by-far the most im
portant, Includes the resources which
can be improved in the process of wise
use; the sell, the rivers, and th,e for
ests com under this head. Any really
civilized nation will so use all of these
three great national assets that tthe
nation will have their benefit in the
future. Just as a farmer, after all his
life making his living on his farm, will,
if he Is an expert farmer, leave It as
an asset of Increased value to his son,
so we should leave our national do
main to our children. Increased it) value
and. not worn out. There are small
sections of our own , country, In the
east and in the west, and in the Adi
rondacks, the White mountains, the Ap-
nalachlans. and in the Rocky moun
tains, where we can already see for
ourselves the damage In the shape of
permanent injury to the soil and the
river systems wnicn comes rrom recK
less deforestation. It matters not
whether this deforestation is due to
the aotual reckless cutting of timber,
to the fires that inevitably follow such
reckless cutting of timber, or to reck
less and uncontrolled grazing, espe
cially by the great migratory bands of
sheep, the unchecked wandering of
which over the country means destruc
tion to forests and disaster to the small
home makers, the settlers of small
means.
Shortsighted persons, or persons
blinded to the future by desire to make
money in every way out of the present
sometimes speak as If no great damage
would ne done Dy tne recKiess destruc
tion of our forests. It is difficult to
have patience with the arguments of
tneso persons. Tnanits to our own
recklessness in the use of our splendid
forests, we have already crossed the
verge of a timber famine in this coun
try, and no measures that we now
take can. at least for many yeara, undo
the mischief that has already been
been done. But we can prevent fur
ther mischief being done: and It would
be In the highest degree reprehensible
to lot any conaiaeration or temporary
convenience or temporary cost Interfere
with auch action, especially as regards
tne jsationai rorests wnicn tne nation
can now, at this very moment, control.
Danger Outlined.
All serious students of tha Question
are aware of the great damage that
has been done In the Mediterranean
countries of Kurope, Asia, and Africa
by deforestation, ana similar damage
that has been done in eastern Asia is
less well known. A recent investiga
tion into conditions in nortn tjnina by
Frank N. Meyer, of the bureau of plant
Industry of the United States depart
ment of agriculture, has incidentally
furnished In very striking fashion proof
of tha ruin that cornea from reckless
deforestation of mountains, and of the
further fact that the damage once done
may prove practically irreparable. So
Important are these Investigations that
I Herewith attach as an appendix to
my message certain photoghaphs show
ing present conditions in China. Thev
show in vivid fashion tha appalling
aesoiation, taKing tne snap or barren
mountains and gravel ana. sana covered
Slain s, which Immediately follows and
epends upon the deforestation of the
mountaina Not many centuries ago
tha oountrv of northern China waa one
of the most fertile and beautiful spots
in tne entire woria, ana was neavuy
forested. We know this not only from
tha old Chinese records, but from the
accounts given by the traveler, Marco
foio. tte, ror instance, mentions tnat
In visiting the provinces of Shansi and
Shensl he observed many plantations
of mulberry trees. Now there Is hardly
a single mulberry tree in either of these
j . .... , , . . . . i . .
pruviucea, una uir vuiiui ul me vim
worm has moved farther south, to re
gions of atmospheric moisture.
. Changs . in Rivers.
As an Illustration of tha complete
change in the rivers, we may take
Polo's statement that a certain river,
tha Hon Ho, ; was so large and deep
that merchants ascended it from the
sea with heavily laden boats; today this
river is simply a broad sandy bed, with
Shallow, rapid currents wandering
hither and thither across it, absolutely
unnavlgable.. But we do not have to
depend upon written records. The dry
wells, and the wells with water far
below the former watermark, bear tes
timony to the good days or tne past and
the evil days Of the present, wherever
the native vegetation has been allowed
to remain.' as, for Instance, there are
still huge trees and tangled jungle,
fragments of tha gloriousancient for
ests. The thick, matted forest growth
formerly covered the mountains to their
summits. AH natural factors favorad
this dense forest arrowth. and as lon
as it was permitted to exist,- the plains
at tha foot Of the mountains were
amonyr tha most fertile an tha rlnh..
and tha whole country was a garden.
Not the slightest effort was made, how
aver, to prevent tha unchecked cutting
of the trees,, or to secure reforestation.
Doubtless for many centuries the tree
cutting by the inhabitants of the moun
tains worked butt slowly -'In brlnalnir
about the changes .that -have now come
to rajs; doubtless 'for generations tha
Inrnnda Were scarcflv noticeable. Rut
there icaine a time when the fortf! Jiqdi
V
pf Representatives, Opening the Last
shrunk sufficiently to make each year's
cutting a serious matter, and from that
time on the destruction proceeded with
appalling rapidity; for of course each
1 year of destruction rendered the forest
leas able to recuperate, less able to
resist next year's inroad,- Mr. Meyer
describes the ceaseless progress of the
destruction even now, when there is
so little left to destroy. v Every morn
ing men and boys go out armed with
mattqx or axe, scale the steepest moun
tain sides, and cut down and grub out,
root and branch, the small trees and
shrubs still to be found.
Trees Protected.
Tha big trees disappeared centuries
ago, so that now one of these is never
seen save in the neighborhood of tem
ples, where they are artificially pro
tected; and even here It takes all the
watch and care of the tree loving
priests to prevent their destruction.
Kacft 'family, each community, where
there is no common care exercised in
the interest of all of them to
prevent deforestation, finds its
froflt In the immediate use of the
uel which would otherwise be used by
some other family or some other com
munity. In the total absence of regu
lation of the matter In the interest of
the whole people, each small group is
inevitably pushed Into" a policy of de
struction which can not afford to takj
thought for the- morrow. This Is Just
one of those matters which it is fatal
to leave to unsupervised individual con
trol. The forests can only be protected
by the state, by the nation; and the
liberty of action of individuals must
bo conditioned upon what the state or
nation determines to be necessary for
the common safety.
The lesson of deforestation in China
is a lesson which 'mankind should have
learned many times already from what
has occurred in other places. Denu
dation leaves naked soil; then gullying
cuts down to the bare rocks;- and
"meanwhile the rock waste buries the
bottomlands. When the soil is gone,
men must go; and the process does not
taKe long.
This ruthless destruction of the for
ests In northern China has brought
about, or has aided in bringing about,
desolation. Just as the destruction of
tne torests in central Asia aias in
bringing ruin to the once rioh central
Asian cities; just as the destruction of
the forests In northern Africa helped
towards the ruin of a region that was
a fertile granary in Roman days.
Shortsighted man, whether barbaric,
semlclvllized, or what he mistakenly
regards as fully civilized, when he has
destroyed the forests, has rendered cer
tain the ultimate1 destruction oi tne land
Itself. In northern China the moun
tains are now such as are shown by
the accomnanvlng nhotograDhs. abso
lutely barren peaks. Not only have the
forests been destroyed, but because of
their destruction the soil has been
washed off the naked rock. The ter
rible consequence Is that it is impos
sible now to undo the damage that has
been done. Many centuries would have
to pass before soil would again collect,
or could be made to colleet; m sufficient
Quantity once more to support the old-
time roresi growth.
Desert Enlarges
In conseauence the Mongol desert Is
practically extending eastward over
northern China. The climate ha
changed and Is still changing. It has
changed even within the last half cen
tury, as the work of tree destruction
has been consummated. The great
masses of arboreal vegetation on the
mountains formerly absorbed the heat
of the sun and sent up currents of cool
air which brought the moisture laden
clouds lower and forced them to pre
cipitate In rain a part of their burden
of water. Now that there is no vegeta
tion, the barren mountains, scorched by
the sun, send up currents of heated air
which drive away instead of attracting
tne rain ciouaa, ana causa tneir moia
ture to be disseminated. In conse
quence. Instead of the regular and
plentiful rains which existed In these
regions of China when the forests were
still in eviaence, tne uniortunate Inhabi
tants of the deforested lands now sea
their crops wither for lack of rainfall,
while the seasons grow more and more
irrearular: and as the air becomes drver
certain crops refuse longer to grow at
all. That everything dries out faster
than formerly is shown by the fact
that the level of the wells all over the
land has sunk perceptibly, many of
them having become totally, dry. In
addition to the resultina- ae-rleultnral
aistress, tne watercourses nave changed.
rormeny iney were narrow and deep,
with an abundance of clear water the
year around; for the roots and humus
of the forests caught the rainwater
ana let it escape oy siow, regular seep
age. They have now become broad,
shallow stream beds, In which muddy
water trickles in slender currents dur
ing the dry seasons, -while when It
rains there are freshets, and roaring
iuuuuv iui l fn t a t , tin inr nr nnmrn
bringing disaster and destruction every-
wnere. juoreover, . tne e Iloods and
freshets, which dlversirv tha, in.ri
dryness, wash away from the mountain
aides, and either wash away or cover
in the valleys, the rich fertile soil which
it took tens of thousands of years for
imiurs m lorm una It IS lost lortver.
and until the forests grow again it
Sana Washed Xoose.
The sand and stonea from tha mmn.
talif sides are -Washed loose and come
rolling down to cover the arable lands,
and in consequence, throughout this
part of Chma. many formerly rich dis
tricts are now santly wastes, useless
for human cultivation and even for
pasture. (The cities have been of course
seriously affected, for , tha streams
have gradually ceased to be navigable.
There Is testimony that even within
the memory of men now living there
has been a serious diminution nt tha
rainfall of northeastern -China. The
level of the BuVgarl river In northern
Manchuria has Yevn senstblv lowai-ed
during the last 60 years, at least partly
as . the result of the Indiscriminate
cutting of the forests forming Its water
"hed. Almost all the rivers of northern
China have become uncontrollable, and
very aangerous to tne aweuers along
thetr. banka aa a direct result of the
destruction of tha forests The Jour-
ney from Pekln to Jehol, shows in niel
ancfmiyfftehloa liow the aoil has been
s ashed ay.xrom whoia-Hy,
Session of the Sixtieth Congress
so that they have been converted into
deserts.
In northern China this disastrous
process has gone on so long and has
proceeded so far that no complete rem
edy could be applied. There are certain
mountains In China from which the
soil Is gone so utterly that only the
slow action of the apes could again re
store it; although of course much could
be done to prevent the still further
eastward extension of the Mongolian
desert If the Chinese government
would act at once. ' The accompanying
cuts from photographs show the Incon
ceivable desolation of the barren moun
tains In which certain of these rivers
rise mountains, ,be it remembered,
which formerly supported dense forests
of larches and firs, now unable to
produce any wood, and because of their
condition a source of danger to the
whole country
Scenes of Desolation.
The photograph also show the same
rivers after they have passed through
the mountains, the beds having becomo
broad and sandy because of the defores
tation of the mountains. One of the
photographs shows a caravan passing
through a valley. Formerly, when tho
mountains were forested. It was thleklv
peopled by prosperous peasants. Now
the floods have carried destruction all
over the land and the valley la a stony
desert. Another photograph shows a
mountain road covered with the stones
and rocks that are brought down In the
rainy season from the mountains which
have already been deforested by hu
man hands. Another shows a pebbly
river bed in Fouthern Manchuria where
what was once a great stream has dried
up owing to the deforestation In the
mountains. Only some scrub wood Is
left, which will disappear within a half
century. Yet another shows the effect
of one of the washouts, destroying an
arable mountain side, these washouts
being due to tha removal of all vegeta
tion; yet In this photograph the fore
ground shows that reforentatinn In still
a possibility In places.
What has happened In northern China,
what has happened In central Asia, in
Palestine, in north Africa, in parts of
the Mediterranean countries of Europe,
will surely happen in our country if wo
do not exercise that wise forethought
which should be one of the chief marks
of any people calling itself civilized.
Nothing should be permitted to stand in
the way of the preaervation of the for
ests, and it is criminal to permit Indi
viduals to purchase a little gain for
themselves through the destruction of
forests when this destruction is, fatal
to the wellbeing of the whole country in
the future.
Inland Waterways.
Action should be begun forthwith,
during the present session of the con
gress, for the improvement of our in
land waterwaya action which will re
sult in giving us. not only navigable
but navigated rivers. We have spent
hundreds ot millions of dollars upou
these waterways, -yet-the "traffic on
nearly all of them is steadily declining.
This condition la the direct result of
the absence of any comnreliennlve and
far seeing plan of waterway improve
ment. Obviously we cannot continue
thus to expend the revenues of tho
fovernment without return. It is poor
uslness to spend mbney for Inland
navigation unless we get It
Inquiry into the condition of the Mis
sissippi and its principal tributaries re
veals very many instances or the utter
waste caused by the methods which
have hitherto obtained for the so called
"improvement" of navigation. A strik
ing instance is supplied by the "im
provement" of the Ohio, which, begun
in 1S24, was continued under a single
plan for half a century. In 1875 a new
plan was adopted and followed for a
quarter of a century. In 1902 still
different plan was adopted, and has
since been pursued at a rate which
only promises a navigable river in from
zu to mo years longer.
Such shortsighted, vacillating and fu
tile methods are accompanied by de
creasing water borne commerce and In
creasing traffic congestion on land, by
increasing floods and by the waste of
public money. The remedy lies in alyin-
uuning tuo uieiiiuutf wnicn nave an bik
nally failed and adopting new ones In
keeping with tha needs and demands of
our people..
meport on Measure,
In a report on a measure Introduced
at tha first session of the present con
gress, the secretary of war said: "The
chief defect In the methods hitherto
cursued lies In the absence of execu-
Ltlve authority for originating compre-
nensive pians covering in ecountry or
natural divisions thereof." In this
opinion I heartily concur. The present
methods not only fail to give us inland
navigation, but they are injurious to
the army as well. What Is virtually a
permanent detail of the corps of engi
neers to civilian duty necessarllv Im
pairs the efficiency of our militarv es
tablishment. The military engineers
nav j unaguDieniy aone eriicient worn
in actual construction, but they are
necessarily unsuited by their training
ana traamons to laae a Droaa view.
ana to gather ana transmit to the con
gress tha commercial and industrial in
formation and forecasts, upon- which
waterway Improvement must always So
largely rest. "Furthermore, thev hava
failed to grasp the-great underlying
iaci mat every stream is a unit rrom
its source to its mouth, and that all its
uses are interdependent. Prominent of
flcera of tha engineer corps have re
cently even gone so - far as to assert
in print that waterways are not depend
ent upon tha conservation of the for
ests about their headwatera This po
sition is opposed to all the recent work
of tha scientific "bureaus of the gov
ernment and . to the general experience
of mankind. A physician who disbe
lieved In vaccination would not be the
right man to handle an epidemic- of
smallpox, . nor should we leave a doctor
skeptical about the transmission of yel
low fever by the Stee-omvla mosaulto in
charge of sanitation at Havana or Pan
am. So with .the improvement of our1
rivers; It is; no longer wise or safe to
leave this great work in the hands of
men who fail to grasp the essential re
lations net ween navigation ana general
development and to assimilate and usaj
mr- i-,-ntii inns at'uui .-ur nu.ms. ,
bntt!-4,e work-of -wver- Improvemenf-agenta
i -
r '
If 1
I i )
1 W 'I
' 1 l
J 'I
swsa asaitlWiWi)l-iiss-sisMl f-i
Vice-president IJairbanks.
Is undertaken In a modern way, lt can
not have results that will meet the
needs of this ntodern nation. These
needs should ba met without further
dilly-dallying or delay. Tne pianwnien
promises the best and quickest results
Is that of a permanent commission au
thorized to coordinate this work of all
the government departments relating to
waterwaya and to frame and supervise
the execution of a comprehensive plan.
Under such a commission the actual
work of construction might be intrusted
to the reclamation service, or to the
military engineers acting with s auffi
clent number of civilians to continue
the work in time of war, or it might
be divided between the reclamation
service and the corps of engineers.
Funds should be provided from current
revenues if it is deemed wise other
wise from tha sale of bonds; The es
sential thing is that the work should go
forward under the best noarlole Dian.
and with the least tioHsible delav. We
should have a new type of work and a
new organization ror planning ana di
recting it. The time ior claying with
our waterways is past. The country de
mands results.
National Parks.
I urge that all our national parks ad
jacent to national forests be placed
completely under the control of the for
est service of the agricultural depart
ment, instead of leaving them as they
now are, under the interior department
and policed by the army. The congress
should provide for superintendents with
adequate corps of first class civilian
scouts or rangers; and, further, place
tne roaa construction under the super-,
intendent instead of leaving it with the
war department. Such a change In
park management would result in econ
omy and avoid the difficulties of ad
ministration which how arise from
having the responsibility of care and
protection divided between different de
partments. The need for this course is
peculiarly great in the Yellowstone
Park. This, like the Yosemite, Is a
great wonderland, and should be kept
as a national playground. In both all
wild things should be protected and the
scenery kept wholly unmarred.
I am happy to say that I have been
able to set aside In various parts of the
country small, well chosen tracts of
ground to serve as sanctuaries and aur
series for wild creatures. '
Don at n red Alcohol.
I had occasion in my message of May
4. 1900. to uro-o the nassas-a of rm
law putting alcohol, used in the artist
iituusuirn, anti manufactures, upon tne
frna Hat- tliil la 4a , 11
withdrawal free of tax of alcohol which
is to be denatured for those purposes.
The law of June 7. 1906, and its amend
ment of March 2, 1907, accomplished
what was desired in that respect, and
the use of denatured alcohol, as in
tended, is making a fair degree of prog
ress and is entitled to further encour
agement and support from congress.
Pur Food.
The pure food legislation has already
worked a benefit difficult to overes
timate.
It has been my purpose from the be-
? Inning of my administration to take
he Indian service completely out of
the atmosphere of political activity, and
there has been steady progress toward
that end. The' last remaining strong
hold of politics In that service was
the agency, system, which had seen its
best days and was gradually failing to
pieces from natural or purely evolu
tionary causes, but. like all urh nnr.
vtvala, was decaying" alowly In its later
stages It seems clear . that its ex
tinction had better be made final now,
so that the ground can be cleared for
larger constructive work on behalf of
tne tnaians, preparatory to their Induc
tion into the full measure of respon
sible citizenship. On November 1 only
18 agencies were left on the roster; with
two exceptions, where some legal ques-
.iuiib rcvnia ig siana temporarily tn
the way, these have been changed to
superintendences, and their heads
nrougni into tne classified civil ser
vice.
Secret Sen lee.
Last year an amendment urn lnv,r.
porated in the measure providing for
the secret service, which provided that
iiicb Bnuuia oe no aetaii rrom tne sec
ret service and no transfer therefrom,
lt is not too much to say that this
amendment has been' of benefit only.
anu couiu pe ox pener.it only, to tua
criminal classes.
If deliberatelv Introduced for tha nnr.
pose of diminishing the effectiveness of
war against crime lt could not have
been better devised to this end. It
forbade the practices that had been
followed ' to a greater or leas extent
by the executive heads of various da-
?artments for iO years. To these prac
Ices we owe the securing of the evl-
uonce wnicn enaoiea us to a rive great
lotteries out of business and secure a
?uarter of a million of dollars in fines
rom their promoters. These practices
have enabled us to discover some of tha
most outrageous frauds in connection
wnn tne tnert or government land and
government timber bv treat rnrrwm,-
tions and by individuals. These Yl fit .--
tlces have enabled us to get some of
tne eviaence inaispensanie in order to
secure the conviction of the wealthiest
and most formidable criminals with
whom the government has to deal, bot't
those operating In violation of the anti
trust law and others. The amendment
in question "was of benefit to no one
excepting to tnese criminals, and It
seriously hampers the government in
the detection of crime and the securing
vi jubijcvi jautevrar, u nui only ailOCtS
departments outside of tha treasury tt
It tends to hamper the secretary of the
irwiuiy iijiusmii in u9 eirort 10 Utilise
the employes of his department so as
o wafc uii uiv nruuirpmenta nf th.
public servlea It forbids him from
preventing xrauas .upon the customs
ties in branch mints and tk a m a tr nff!,..
and has seriously crippled him. It pre
vents tha promotion ef employes In
the secret servlea and this further dtu
cotirages good effort In its present
form- the restriction operates only to
the advantage of the criminal, tr 'm
wrongdoer. The chief arerument tn
favor of the provision was that th .
congressmen did not themselves wl)i
to be investigated bv secret service
tien. Very llttio of such investlatioii
has be-n dona itt the past; but it
irufl inHt ltn H",'K or t h rrf'l t'Cr. 1
. was -.u? i c- iit.;j: (.- i
indictment and conviction Of a senator '
and a congressman for ; land frauds in
Oregon. I do not believe ' that It U
In the public Interest to protect erini- -lnals
in any branch of the pubito ser
vice, and exactly as we have again and -again
during the past seven years pros
ecuted and convicted such criminals
who were In the executive branch of th '
government, so In my belief we should
be given ample means to prosecute them
If found In the legislative branch. Hut
If this is not considered desirable a
special exception could be made In the
law prohibiting the use of the secret
service force in investigating members
of the congress. It would be far bet
ter to do this than to do what actually .
was done, and strive to prevent or t
least to hamper effective action against,
criminals by the executive branch of
the government.
Postal Savings Banks.
1 again renew my recommendation
for postal savings banks, for depositing
savings with the security of the gov ;
eminent behind them. . The object is
to encourage thrift and economy In
the wage earner and person of moderate
means. In 1 states the deposits in
savings banks as reported to the comp
troller of currency amount to $3,Bo.
245,402, or B8.4 per cent of the entire
deposits, while in the remaining 3i
states there are only $70,308,543, or 1.4
per cent, showing conclusively that
there are many localities in the United
States where sufficient opportunity Is
not given to the people to deposit their
savings. The result is that money Is
kept in hiding and unemployed. - It Is ,.
believed that in the aggregate vast -sums
of money would be brought Into
circulation through the Instrumentality
of tho postal savings banks. While
there are only 1453 savings banks re-,
porting t3 the comptroller there are
more than 61,000 postoffires, 40,000 of
which are money order offices. Postal
savings banks are now in operation in
practically all the great civilized coun
tries with tho exception of .the United
States.
Parcels Post. ' ,
In my last annual message I com
mended the postmaster general's rec
ommendation for an extension of the .
parcel post on the rural routes. The
establishment of a local parcel post on
rural routes, would be to the mutual
benefit of the farmer and the country -storekeeper,
and it is desirable that tho
routes, serving more -than 15,000.000
people, should be utilized to the fullest
practicable extent An amendment was
proposed In tha senate last session, at
the suggestion of the. postmaster gen
eral, providing that, for the purpose of ...
ascertaining the practicability of es
tablishing a special local parcel v post
system on tha rural routes throughout
the United States, the postmaster gen
eral be' authorized and directed t ex
periment and report to the congress the :
result of such experiment by establish
ing a Bpeclai ilocal parcel post system '
on rural routes In not to exceed four
counties. In, the United States foi park
ages of fourth class matter originating
on a rural route or at the distributing
postef f f ice for delivery by rural car
riers. It would seem only proper that
Kuch an experiment should be tried in .
order -to demonstrate the practicability
of the proposition, especially as the
postmaster general estimates that the
revenue derived from the operation of
such a system on all the rural routes
would amount to many million dollars.
Education.
The share that the national govern
ment should take In the broad work of
education has not received the attention
and the care It rightly deserves. . Tho
immediate responsibility for the sup
port and Improvement of . oUr educa
tional systems and Institutions rests
and should always rest with the people
of the several states acting through .
their state and local governments, but
the nation has an opportunity In educa
tional work which must not be lost and
a duty which should no longer ba neg
lected. The national bureau of education was
established more than 40 years ago. Its?,
purpose is to collect and diffuse such
information "as shall aht the people of
the United States in the establishment
and maintenance ot efficient school ays- ,
terns and otherwise promote the cause
nf education throughout the country."
This purpose In no way confl!ctjLj'Ulw3
the filfiLilnnsl mmrmf-tKitVt'afnk. hut
Trrtaybe made of great advantage to the
states by giving them the fullest, most
accurate and hence the most hclnfti!
Information and suggestion regarding '
the best educational systems. The na
tion, through its broader field of activ
ities, its wider opportunity for obtain
ing information from all the states and
from foreign countries. Is able to do
that which not even the richest states
can do, and with the distinct additional
advantage that the informalon thus ob
tained Is used for the immediate bene
fit of all our people.
With the limited means hitherto pro
vided, the bureau of education has ren.
aered ernclent service, but the con
gress has neglected to adequately sup
ply th bureau with means to meet the
edueatlon.il growth of the country. The
appropriations for the general work cf
the bureau, outside edueatlon in Alaska,
for the year 1909 are but $87.500 an
amount less than they were 10 years
ago, and some of the important items
In theee appropriations are less than
they were 80 years ago. It Is an in
excusable waste of public money to
appropriate an amount which is so In- .
adequate as to make it Impossible prop- -erlv
to do tha work authorized, and it Is
unfair to the great educational Interests -of
the country to deprive them of the
value of the results which can be ob
tained by proper appropriations.
I earnestly recommend that this vn-
fortunate state of affairs as regards "
the national educational office be rm- '
died bV adequate appropriations. . This u
recommendation is urged by the repre
sentatives of our common schools and
great state universities and the leading
educators, whe al unite In requesting?
favorable consideration and action by
the congress upon this subject
..... .. . ' . - .
Census,' ' . 1 :
X strongly urge that the request of
the director of the census In connection
with the decennial work so soon to be
begun, be compiled with and that the
appointments to the censns force be
placed under the civil serv'ce law. waiv
ing the geographical requirements as
requested- bv the director of the eensua.
The supervisors and enumerators should
not be appointed under the civil service
law, for the reasons given bv tha direc
tor. 1' command to the eongrass tha
careful consideration of the admirable
report Of the director of the census, art-1
I trust that his recommendation a will
be adopted and immediate action there
on .taken.-- . ,:
Bureau of Iledlslrilmtlon. ,
' It la highly advisable . that there
should be Intelligent action on tha irt
of the nation on til question of re
serving the health - of the country.
Through the practical extermination In
Pan Francisco of disease hearing t.
dents our country has thus f;ir esrs;.,- t
the bubonio plagiie. This i but on-. f-t
the many achievements of Atm-rli-in
hanlth officers, and It shows whm r
be accomplished with a better ors.n,!; . ,
tion than at present exists.
Public Ileal! h.
The dangers to rnib'! j-, . f
food adulteriiti'iri an 1 fi iti r ,
sources, such im ,. , ,,,
physirnl, rtint"l a'M s, ...
of 'rli.!l.JreV f ! i .,::-'
met ami t.vf-r. - -
be Jil-.--v,.r, V ....
tint v: . i . . . . .