Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Dec. 4, 1907, edition 1 / Page 13
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t I sr. r l. I : r. : 1 1 t.e l-..,; r..a is i... t !.':rt 1 y r ,:r:;.U-t:-.r tLcftj cf tU i ).u;J to what ever form.' .-. j TL:y Should Ee Vastly Increased to Conserve Resources. '," :U Optimism la a good characteristic, but If carried to an excess It hpoompn Aotlshness. We are proae to speak of Ilia resources of this country as, lnex . hanstlble. Xbls Is Dot so. The mineral wealth of the country, the coal, Iron, oil, gas and the like, does not repro duce Itself and therefore la certain to he exhausted ultimately, and wasteful ness In .dealing with It today means that our descendants wiu feel the ex haustion a generation or two before they otherwise ! would, " But there ate certain , other ' forms of waste which could be entirely stopped, ' The waste of soil by washing, for Instance, which : Is among the taost dangerous of. all wastes now In progress In the United , States, Is easily preventable,, so thai this present 'enormous loss of .fertility Is entirely unnecessary. The preserva tion or replacement of the forests Is one of the most important means of preventing this loss. We hate made a - beginning to forest preservation, but It la only a beginning. At present lum bering is the fourth greatest Industry la the United States, and yet so rapid has been the rate of exhaustion of tim- . ber In the United States In; the past and so rapidly is remainder being exhausted that" the country is unques tionably on tbe verge of a timber fam- 'toe which will be felt in every house hold lh'the land Tbere haB already been "a rise in the price of iumber. .but there la certain to be & more rapid and heavier rise, 'in the future'. The present annual consumption of lumber Is cer- r. talnl ttiroo times oa trroat tha sin. nual outgrowth, and If the consump- , uuu nuu Kruwm toayuue uncaangea practically $11 our: lumber "''will be ex t hausted in . another ' generation, '-while 'long before the limit to complete ex ; haustlon la reached the growing scar city will make itself felt In many blighting ways upon our national wel fare, About 20 per cent of our forested territory la now reserved in . national forests, but these do not Include the most valuable timber lands, and in any event the proportion is too small to ex pect that the reserves can accomplish .more than a mitigation of the trouble v which "Is ahead for the nation, Far more drastic action is needed. Forests can be lumbered so as to give to the public the full use of their mercantile I timber without the slightest detriment to the forest, any more than it Is a . detriment to a farm to furnish a bar vest, so that there is no parallel be tween forests and mines, which can - only be completely used by exhaustion. But forests, If used as all bur forests . have been used In the past, and as v most of them are still used, will be - either wholly destroyed or so damaged "that many decades have to pass before effective use can be made of them again: ; ?..:1'1 All these facts are so obvious that it Is extraordinary that It should be nec essary to repeat them. Every business man In the land, every writer In the ' .TiAirannnaM avapv man t titAman i4 An ordinary school education, ought to be able to see that immense quantities of timber are used In the country, that the forests which supply .' this' timber ' are rapidly being exhausted and that - If no change takes place exhaustion ' will come comparatively soon and that '. the effects of it. will be felt severely ;v In the everyday life of, our people: i Knrolv when thesn tttrtu nro ma rrhtfl- us there should be no delay, in taking nreretitlvB mennnrpR Yet wo rppiti na , a nation to be willing to proceed In : this matter with happy go lucky indlf ' ferencs even to the Immediate future. " It Is this attitude which permits the self interest of a very few persons to VAlrrn-' f nv tnAMi trtan IKa nlflmn f It i terest of all our people. There are per sons who find It to -their Immense pe cuniary benefit to destroy the forests'' by lumbering. They" areto be blamed . U . . J. At. t.. .1,' - o - nation as a whole to their own self in-; ; terest of the, moment, but heavier v blame attaches to the people" at large for permitting Such jetton,' whether In the White mountains, in the southern Allegbaples or in the Rockies and Sle r i. ras.. A big lumbering company, impa ; ticnt for Immediate returns and not -caring to look, far enough ahead, will often deliberately destroy Jill the good timber In" a region, hoping afterward to move on to some new country'. , The "shiftless man of smal means who docs not care to become an actunl home- i i,r tniin HMiTi'iiii-iiiu iiih iui jra ui . luir. maker, but would like immediate prof ' it, will find It to bis advantage to takq j op timber land simply to turn it over " 5l-.iK A tilt rumtMi nvf nttil ' ltaA valueless for, future , settlers,' A big mlno' owner,7 anxious only to develop "his" mine at the' moment, will' care' only to cut all the timber that he wishes ' without regii.rd to the future, probably not looking abend to the conation of the' country when the forest are ex- condition when the mine la worked out- ; Z ' Z!,. , I do not Jblame these men nearly as mnch ns I blame the supine public , opinion, the indifferent public opinion, which perm ltn' their action to go un checked. Of course to check the waste of timber means that there must be on the part of the public the accept- : ance of a temporary restriction In the .lavish use. of the' timber In order to prevent tbe total , loss of . this use in ' the future,' There are plenty of men ... . .v...., advocate the continuance of the pres ent system of unchcckec find f, astef ul extravagance, tpsing as an argument : the' fact that to chlc it will of course mean Interference wth the ease and comfort of certaln'ieopl who fcow get lumber at less cost than they' ought to "pay at tbt expense f the future gen erations. Some of these persous aetu- l tydemandJhattheprescnr forest ly l.Lo t'..:t cf aa n::::it .r . ' : (. ,LM tie out', y cf no' y ty t . .1 cv.i on manure. aud to icV.r.i enre of their farms generally. UnJoubtudly If the average farmer were C4nteut ab solutely to rulnr his farm he could for two or three years avoid spending any money on It and yet mike a good deal pf money out of It But only a sav age would In his private affairs show such reckless disregard of the future, yet it Is precisely this reckless disre gard of the future . which the oppo nents of the forestry system are now endeavoring to' get the people , of the United States to show. , Tbe only trou ble with the movement for the preser vation of our forests is that it ha not gone ; nearly farenough and was not begun soon enough. It is a most fortunate thing, however that we bej, gan it when we did. We should ac quire in the Appalachian and .White mountain regions all the forest lands that it is possible to acquire for the use-H&f the Ration, These i lands . be cause they form a national asset are as emphatically national as the rivers whlqb, they feed and ' which l flow through so many states before they reach the ocean. ' , REPEAL WOW PULP DUTY. Abolition of Tariff oo All Fcrcst Pro . 's , -dncta Recommended. . , There should be no tariff on any for est product grown in this country, and in especial there should be no tariff on Wood pulp, doe notice of change being of course given to thosVengaged in the business, so as to enable them to adjust themselves to the new conditions. Tbe; repeal of the duty on wood pulp should if possible be accompanied by an agree ment with; Canada that there shall be no export duty on Canadian pulp, wood. "yicVMIneral Lands. In , the ; eastern,. United States . the Tnineirat fuels ha ve already passed into the hands of large private owners, and those of , the west are rapidly following.- It 1 is obvious that these fuels should be conservedand not wasted, and It would be welfto protect the .peo ple ; aga tost f flnJustfaEtciextortionate prices so Tar as that can still be done. What has - been accomplished in the great oil fields of the Indian territory by the action fit the .administration of fers a striking example of1 the good re sults of such a policy.; ; In my Judg ment, the government should have the right to keep the fee of the coal, oil and gas fields in its own possession and to lease the rights to develop them under proper regulations or else, if the congress will not 'adopt" this method, the coal deposits should be sold under limitations to conserve ' them as . pub lic utilities, the right, to mine coal be ing separated from the title to tbe soil. The regulations should , permit coal lands ,. to hi worked Jn sufficient quan tity by the several corporations. The present limitations have been absurd, excessive and serve no useful purpose and ofte,n render it necessary that there shoujd be either fraud or else abandonment of the wort of getting out the coaL.J ;-'V'',...v.p'.;'.j "-'V,: Work on the Panama canal is pro teedlng In a .highly . satisfactory man ner, In Mareh last John F. Stevens, chairman of the commission and chief engineer, resigned, and the commis sion was reorganized and constituted as follows: Lieutenant Colonel George W. Goetbals, corps of engineers, Unit ed States army chairman, and chief en gineer? Major D. D. Gaillard, corps of engineers United States army; Major WWiam h. Sibert, corps of engineers, United States army; Civil Engineer II. II. Rousseau, United States navy; J. C, S, Blackburn; Colonel W. C. Gorgas, United . States army, ' and Jackson Smith, commissioners. This change of authority; and direction went into ef fect on April 1 without causing a per ceptible check to the progress of the work, ; n March the total excavation in the Culebra cut, where effort was chiefly concentrated, was 813.270 cubic yards.' In April this was Increased to 879,527 cubic yards. There was a con siderable decrease in the output for May and June owing partly to the ad rent of the rath; season and partly to temporary trouble with thevteam shov el . men over ,' the question of wages. This trouble ,Was settled satisfactorily to all parties, aud in July the total ex cavation advanced materially, and in August the grand tola! from all points to "the canal prism by steam shovels and dredges exceeded ' all, previous United States ;recordS, reaching' 1,274, 404 icobie yards. : In September this record - was eclipsed, and a total ' of 1,617,412 cubic yards was removed. Of this oirfount t,4Sl,307 cubic yards were from the canal prism and 80,105 cubic yards were from accessory works. These results ' wer achieved in ' the rainy season with a rainfall in August of '11.89 inches and In September of 11.65 inches. C Finally in October the record was again eclipsed, tha total ex cavation being 1.808.720 culilc yards, a truly extraordlnaiT record, especially j in view of the heavy rainfall, which I Was 17.1 inches.; In fact, .' experience j during tbe last two rainy seasons dem r oustrntes that tha rains are a less eerl- ous obstacle to progress than has hlth .erto.been supposed.'' , ' - . Work on the locks and dams at Ga tnn. which began actively rin March last. hiis. advanced so far that it is thought that "masonry 'work on the locks can , be begun . within fifteen months. ; In order to remove all doubt as to tbe satisfactory character of the foundations for the" locks of tbe canal the secretary of war reqnested three eminent lvll engineers of special ex perlenc In such cowtrnctioo,' Alfred i Kot-l, Frederic (.' Steams and John B. Freftraan, to visit the Isthmus and tonke thorough personal investigations of the sites These gentlemen' went to the istiimu la April and by means' of test pits which b&d bee dux for tb purpow tliey tospected the- proposed foundations and also examined the borings that bad been made. In their report to. the secretary, of war. under I.. .1 a t .. i 1,.: i : i ' ,t 1 e I ' t. j rc- :-t Ci -i Cruii'd tL!3 verJk't. 1:1 Ly y com- jl-.ve fu-iyrn- Tucy slio tliuti the locks will reet on rock for their j entire length. The cross section of the dam and method of construction will be such as to insure against any slip or sloughing off. Similar examinations of the, foundations of the locks and dams on the Faciflc -side are in prog ress. I believe that the locks should be made of a width or 120 feet. ' Last winter bids were requested and received for doing the-work of canal construction by contract Jf one of them was found to be satisfactory, and all were rejected. It ia the unanimous opinion of the present commission that, the work can be done better, more cheaply nd more quickly by the- gow ernment than by private contractors. Fully 80 per cent of the entire plant needed for construction has been pur chased or contracted for. Machine shops have been erected and equipped for making att s needed repairs Jto . the plant (many thousands! of employees have been secured, an elective organ ization has been perfected, a recruiting system is in "operation Which U capa ble of furnishing more labor than can be used advantageously, employees are well sheltered and well fed, salaries paid are satisfactory and the work is not only going forward smoothly, but, it is producing results far In advance of ithe most sanguine anticipations. Under these': favorable conditions a change in the method of prosecuting the work would be , unwise and unjus tifiable, for it would inevitably disor ganize existing conditions, check; prog ress and increase the cost and lengthen the time of completing the canal. : J The" chief engineer and all his, pro fessional ' associates are firmly , con vinced that the eighty-five feet level lock canaljtvhtch they are constructing is the best that could be desired. Some of them had doubts on this point when they went to the isthmus. As . the pl4nshavedeveloped under -their di rection : tbeirTIoulJt pelled. While they may decide upon changes in 'detail as construction ad vances, they are in hearty accord in approving the general plan. They be lieve that it provides a canal not only adequate to all demands .that will be made upon it but superior in every Way to a sea level canal. I concur to this belief. v ? Postal Affairs. " . !- ' I commend to the favorable consld eration of the congress a postal sav ings bank system as recommended by the postmaster general. . The primary object is to encourage among our peo- ple.economy and thrift and by the use of postal savings banks to give them an opportunity to husband their re sources, particularly those who1 have not the facilities at hand for deposit ing their money in savings ; banks. Tlewed. however, from the experience pf the past few weeks it is evident that the advantages of such an institu tion are still more far reaching. Tim id depositors : have v withdrawn their savings for, the time being from, na tional banks,' trust companies and sav ings banks, individuals have hoarded their cash and the worklngmen their earnings, all of which money has been withheld and kept in hiding or in the safe deposit box to the detriment of prosperity. Through the agency of the, postal savings banks such money would be restored te the channels, of trade, to the mutual benefit of capital and la bor. (.;.V" "' PA8CEISP0STS. .1. , .. '" ,' : , - , Extension, of This Service Advisable, Especially In Rural Delivery. , I further Commend to the congress the consideration of the postmaster general's recommendation for aa ex tension of the parcel post especially on the rural routes. ' There are now 38,215 rural routes, serving nearly 15, 000,000 people 'Who d not have tho advantages of the inhabitants of cities In obUinlng their supplies. These rec ommendations have been drawn op to benefit the farmer' and the country storekeeper, s Otherwise I should not favor them, for I believe that it Is good policy for our government to do everything possible to aid tbe small town aiid the country district "' It is desirable that the country merchant should not be crushed out. The fourth class postmasters' con vention has passed a very strong reso lution in favor Of placing tho fourth class postmasters under the civil serv ice law:. ' Tho administration has al ready put into effect the policy of re fusing to remove any fourth class post masters save tor reasons connected with the good of tho service." and it Is endeavoring so far as possible to re mjove them from- the domain of parti san politics.'. It would be a 'most de sirable thing to put the fourth class postmnsters Jn the classified serf Ice It Is possible that this might be done without 'congresslohaT action; but,"aS the matter is debatable, i ; earnestly recommend that the congress enact a law providing 'that they be Winded under the civil service law and put in the classified service. . ' Oklahoma. Oklahoma bas become a state, stand ing on a full equality with her elder sisters, and ber future is assured by her great natural resources. The duty of the national government to guard the personal and property rights of the" Indians within ber borders remains of course unchanged. .V. ,,."'-,'"'.-?' "'' ' Alaska 1 l I reiterate my recommendations ofj Inst rear rcgaras Alaska, vomo form of local lieif government should bo provided, as simple sud Inexpeqsiva as possible, V It, is iinposslWn .f or. tl congress to devote the neceftsary ilme t(f all the little detafl of fiecegsary Alaskan legislation.; Road bnU4lnsn4 railway building should U encouraged. The governor of Alaska should be giv en ad ample appropriation wherewith to organize a force to" preserve the public pcace. Whisky selling, fb Jthe ! t i ', ' r i' ; 1 1. i 1 1 1 1-1 Cl 1 ".....'5 t) 1 ' I., i tr'..s cf t..a ; I'V.'.c dcila f.r f;- u'.itlve pur-1 roses and cause en Immense amount t of trouble, fraud and litigation. There; should be another judicial division es tablished. As early as possible light houses and buoys should be establish ed as aids to navigation, especially la and about Prince William sound, and the survey of the coast completed. There is need of liberal appropriations for lighting and buoying the southern coast and improving the aids to navi gation to southeastern Alaska. One of the great industries of .Alaska, as of Puget ; sound and ? the Columbia is salmon fishing. Gradually, by reason of lack of proper laws, this industry Is being ruined. It should now be tak en in charge and effectively protected by the United States government ' - The courage and enterprise of thft citizens of the far northwest In their projected Alaska-Tukon-Paclflc exposi tion to .be held in 100O should receive liberal encouragement ' , This exposi tion is not sentimental in its concep tion, but seeks to exploit hie natural resources of Alaska and to promote the commerce, trade and industry of the Pacjflc states with -their neighboring states, and With our insular possessions and. tbe neighboring countries of the Pacific. The exposition, asks no loan from the congress, but seeks appropria tions for national .exhibits and exhibit! of the western dependencies . of , the general :y government The f state of Washington , and .; the city of Seattle have shown the. characteristic western enterprise in large donations for the conduct of the exposition., in vrblca other states are lending generous as sistance, friSn"'';-. Af i?u:A ..Hawaii. ;; The unfortunate failure of the ship ping bill at the last session of the last congress was followed by the taking off of certain Pacific; steamships, which has greatly hampered the movement of passengers between Hawaii . and the mainland, v' Unless the congress is pre to secure proper facilities in the way of shipping between Hawaii and the tnatoland then the coastwise shipping laws should be so far relaxed as to prevent Hawaii Buffering as it Is now suffering. I ftgaln call your attention to the capital Importance from every standpoint of making Pearl harbor available for the largest deep water vessels and of suitably fortifying tho island. ';'.-.; v-. , The secretary of war has gone to the Philippines. On bis return I shall sub mit to you his report on the islands. ' I again recommend that the rights of citizenship be conferred upon, the peo ple ofTorto Rico. , Mining. ' A bureau of mines should be created under the control and direction of the secretary of the interior, the bureau to have power to collect statistics and mike investigations in all matters per- taining to' mining, and particularly to the accidents and dangers of the in dustry. If this cannot now be done at least additional appropriations should be given tbe interior department to bo used for the study of mining condi tions, for the prevention of fraudulent' mining schemes, for carrying on the work of mapping the mining districts, for studying methods of minimizing the accidents and dangers in the in dustry in short to aid in all proper ways the development of the .mining Industry. . ?" The Hermitage. I, strongly recommend to the con gress to provide funds for keeping up The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, theso funds to be used through the existing Hermitage asso ciation for the preservation of a his toric building which should ever be dear to Americans. Vioksburg National Park, I further recommend that a naval monument be established in the Vicks burg National park. This national park .gives a unique opportunity fop commemorating the deeds of those gal lant men who fought on water no less than of those who fought on land1 in the great civil war. . C ' s The Thirteenth Census. Legislation Bbould be enacted at the present session of the congress for tho thirteenth census. The establishment of the permanent census bureuu af fords the opportunity for a better ce il eus than wo have ever had, but in or der to realize the full advantage of the permanent ', organization ample time must be given for preparation. The Publ Health. .There is a constantly growing inter est in this country in the question of the public health. At last tho public mind Is awake to the fact that many diseases,' notably tuberculosis, are na tional scourges. . The work of the state and city boards of health should be supplemented by a constantly increas ing interest on tho part of the national government' The congress has already f provided a bureau of public health and has provided for a hygienic laboratory. There are other valuable laws relating to the public health connected with the various : departments, . This whole branch of tbe government should be strengthened and aided In every way. - Governmental Commissions. ', I call attention to two government commissions which 1 have appointed and which have already done excellent work. The first of thewe has to do with the organization of tho scientific work of the government, which has grown up wholly without plan and Is in consequence so unwisely distributed among. the executive departments that much of Its effect is lost for the lack Of proper co-ordlnalton TI1 commls ion's" cblf ofijecMs to introdnef pl(tnns4 AJid tirtieri derelQptnonl md pvmtlm in the placp of tbe ill nwort ed and often ineffective grouping and metljods of work wbUb wivi prevail ed. TMs cannot b done without leg hmm, nr ftouidjs i tmWtt tu donl 1q detail with so complex an ad-' mtolstratlvi problem by specific pro visions of law. , I recommend that the ((resident be. glren authority to conccn- TLii ; :. 1 comn;ltoc, '.. t ( 1 C rartmc-nt methods, was fc.'-itruci-. 1 to In vestigate and report upon t'.-o cLan-s neeJod to place the conduct cf the ex ecutive force of the government on the most economical end effective ba sis ia the light of the best modern business pjactlce. : The committee has made very satisfactory progress. An tiquated practices and bureaucratic ways have been abolished, and a gen eral renovation of departmental meth ods has been inaugurated. All that can be done by executive order has al ready been accomplished or will be put into effect to the near future. The work of the main committee and its reveral assistant committees has pro duced a. wholesome awakening on the part of the great body- of officers and employees engaged ' in 1 government work. In nearly every department and efflce there has been a careful self in spection for the purpose of remedying any defects before they could be made the tubject of adverse criticism. This Ms led ttodlyiduals . to., a . wider study of the work on which they were en gaged, and this study has resulted to increasing .their efficiency in their re spective lines of work. ; There are rec ommendatlons of ; special .; importance from the committee, on the subject of personnel and the classification of sal aries which will require legislative ac tion before .they can be put into ef fect It is my Intention to submit to the congress to the near future a spe cial message on those anbjects. CAMPAIGN EXPENSES. Corporations Should Not Contribute and Gifts Should Be Published. Under our form of government vot ing is not mertly a right, but a duty, and, moreover, a fundamental and nec essary duty If a man is to be a good citizen It la well to provide that cor porations shall not contribute to presi dential or .national campaigns and fur theruore to provide for the publlcatbfi of both contributions and expenditures, There is, however, always dagger in tows, of this kind, which from their very nature are difficult of enforce ment, the danger being lest they be obeyed only by tbe honest and dlsobey-4 ed by the unscrupulous, so as to act only as a penalty upon honest men. Moreover, no such law would hamper an unscrupulous man of unlimited means from buying his own way into office. .There is a very radical meas ure which would, I believe, work a substantial improvement in our sys tem of conducting a campaign, al though 1 am well aware that it will take some time for people so to famil iarize themselves with uch a proposal as to be willing to consider Its adop tion. The need for collecting large camprlgn funds would vanish if con gress provided an appropriation for the proper and legitimate ' expenses of each of the great national parties, an appropriation ample enough to meet the necessity for thorongh organiza tion and machinery, which requires a large expenditure of money. ' Then the stipulation should be made that no party receiving campaign funds from the treasury should accept more than a fixed amount ffqm any individual subscriber or donor, and the necessary publicity for receipts and expenditures could without difficulty be provided. A National Gallery of Art. There should be a national gallery of art established in the Capital City of this country. This Is important not merely, to the artistic, but to tho ma terial, welfare of the country, and the people are to be congratulated ou tho fact that the movement to establish Buch a gallery Is taking definite form under the guidance of tbe Hmlthsoniau Institution. 80 far from there being a tariff on 'works of art brought into the country, their importation should be encouraged in every way. There have been no sufficient collections of objects of art by the government and what collections 'have been acquired are scattered and are .generally placed in unsuitable and imperfectly lighted galleries. BIOLOGICAL StRVEY. - Its Great Work In Behalf of Our Ajrl ,. . cultural Interests. The biological survey is quietly working for the good of our agricul tural interests aud is nn excellent ex ample of a government bureau which conduces original scientific research the findings of which are Of much f practical utility. For more than twen ty years It has studied the food habits of birds aud mammals that are inju rious or beneficial to agriculture, hor ticulture and forestry, has distributed illustrated bulletins on the subject and has labored to secure legislative pro-, tectloft for the beneficial species." The cottoii ol 'weevil, wbtctf has recently "overspread t the cotton belt of -Texas and IS steadily extending it range. Is said to cause an annual loss of about $3,000,000. Tho biological survey has ascertained and given wide publkity to tho fact that at least forty-three kinds 'of birds prey upon this destruc tive insect It has discovered that fifty-seven; species of birds jfecd upon scale insects, dreaded enemies of tho fruit grower. It has shown that wood peckers ns a class by destroying the larvae of wood boring insects are so essential to tree life that it is doubtful If our forests could exist without them. It has shown that cuckoos and oriole are the natural enemies of "the jeof eating cftterpiUarsf that destroy duf phadt nd fruit trees! tMI Wf pani gpd sparrows consume annnajly huor dreds (if tons of seeds of tiolou weeds: tha hawkii owls oa a flats (excepting tio feW that kill poultry and gauio birds) ere insrVi'dly brucfl claT. uppR jifig (help Mm iii cschlng gTasfjljoppers, mice sud other pts that pipy npon, the I'roduct of htis barulry. It has conducted field esjxui ments for the purpose of devising and perfect I ngjl mpIetpcth(lsJor.b.o! d hi g n-..:ry Ki-uons or U'.ir.are, ana a 1. ' pu!.;i;-hed practical d'recti-ft.s for t2.o i 1 tiestrucnon or wolves and coyotes oa the etcK'k ranges of the west, rcsukln? during tho past year in an estimated saving of cattle and rfieep valued at upward of a million dollars. It has inaugurated a system of In spection at the principal ports of en try on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts by means of which the Introduction of noxious , mammals and birds Is pre vented, thus keeping out the mongoose and certain birds which are as much to be dreaded as the previously intro duced English sparrow and the house rats and mice. ' ' - , ' ' In the interest of game protection it has co-operated with local officials in every state in the Union, has striven to promote uniform legislation in the several states, has rendered Important service in enforcing the federal law regulating Interstate traffic in ' game and has shown bow game protection may be made to yield a large revenue to the state a revenua; amounting in th:asr of ciniaoir tar $i2S,ooo ; la a single year. ' J;v t The ological survey has explored the faunas and floras of America with reference to the distribution of ? ani mals and plants: It has defined and mapped tho natural life areas--areas in which, Ty reason of prevailing cli matic conditions, certain kinds of anl mals and plants occurand has point ed out the adaptability of these areas to the cultivation of particular crops. The results of these Investigations are not only oblgheducational value, but are worth each year to the progressive farmers of the country many times the cost of maintaining the survey, which. It may be added, is exceedingly small. I recommend to congress that this bu reau, whose usefulness' Is seriously handicapped by lack of " funds, be granted an appropriation to some de gree commensurate . with the Import tance of" the work It is doing. I call your especial attention to the unsatisfactory condition of our foreign mall service, which because of the lack of American steamship lines is now largely done through foreign lines and whichparticularly so far ss South and Central America are concerned, is don in a manner which constitutes a serlois barrier to the extension f our commerce. - Tbe time baa come, in ray Judgment, to set to work seriously to make our ocean mall service correspond more closely with our recent commercial and political development. A 'begluulng was made by the ocenn mall act ,of March 3, 1S91, but even at that time the act was known to be inadequate in various particulars. Since tliat time events have moved rapidly in our his tory. We' have acquired Hawaii, the Philippines and lesser islands in tho Pacific. We are steadily prosecuting the great work of uniting at Jhe isth mus the waters of the Atlantic and the raelflc To a gtoater extent than seemed probable even a dozeu years ago we may look to an American fu ture on the sea worthy of the tradi tions of our past. Asthe first step in that direction and the step most feasi ble at the present tlml I recommend tho extension tof the ocean mall act of k 1S01. That act has stood for some years free from successful criticism. of Its principle and purpose. It was basted on, theories of the obligations of sa great maritime nation, undisputed hi our own land and followed by other nations since tho beginning of steam navigation. Briefly thoso theories are that It Is the duty of a first class powd er so far as practicable to carry its ocean malls under its own flag; that the fast ocean steamships and their crews, required for such mail service, are Invaluable auxiliaries to the sea power of a nation. Furthermore, the construction of such steamships in sures the maintenance In an efficient condition of the shipyards in which our battleships must be built. The expenditure of public money for the' performance of such necessary functions of government "Is certainly warranted, nor la It necessary to dwell upon the incidental benefits to our for eign, commerce, to the shipping indus try and shlpowulng and navigation which will accompauy the discharge of these urgent public duties, though they, too, should have weight " " '""-' Tho only serious mestlon is whether at this time we can afford to improve our ocean mall service as it should be improved. All doubt on this subject is removed by the reports of the post office department. For the fiscal rear ended Juno 30, 1007, that department estimates that the postage collected oti the articles exchanged with tofclgo countries other than Canada and Mex ico a mounted to $0,570, W3.43, or3,C3?, 220.81 more than the uet cost, of the service, exclusive of tho cost of trans porting tho articles between the United States 1 exchange postoffices and the United States postotflces at which they were mailed or delivered. In other words, the government of the Cnlted States, having assumed & monopoly of carrying, tho malls for the, people. Is, making a, profit Of over $3,000,000 by rendering a cheap and inefficient serv iceThat profit 1 believe should be de voted to strengthening oar maritime power in thoce directions where it wDI best promote our prestige, j The coun try is familiar wlUr the facts of our maritime impotence in the, harbors of the great aud friendly republics of South America. Following the failure of the shipbuilding Mil re lost our only American lino of steamers to Aus tralasia, and that is onhe Pacific has become a serious . embarrassment to ,the people of Hawaii and has whol: ly ;CUt,off the, Ba'uioan blonds from regular j cotnrnut)icatlon with the . r cosst ifft sound, to. the. reaf bus lost pier half (fqr out f seven) of lis American stealers tWllf Vlth th orient. . . r r , . We now pay, under the act of 1801, i statuta ntllo outward' td ?0 kuot Americas mull steamship built accord ing to iiava) plans, vailnbls s cruis ers aud manned by Americans, Steam ships of that speed are confined ex clusively to transatlantic trade wiih New, York. To steamships. of liLknots S. I ! r,.,M r. t of 1 authorize tie postmaster gfnrI i 1 ; discretion to enter Into contra-:; the transportation of mail.? to tLe r publics of South America, to Asia, V.. -rhllipplues and Australia at a rate u t to exceed ?i a mile for steamships cf 16 knots speed or upward, subject t the restrictions and obligations of tLe act of .1801.' The profit of $3,000,000 which has been mentioned will fully cover the maximum annual expendi ture involved in this jecommendatlon and, it Is believed, will in time establish the lines so urgently needed. The proposition involves no laew principle, but permits the .efficient discharge of public functions now inadequately per formed or not performed at alt Not only there is not qow, but there never has been, any other nation in the world so wholly free from the evils of militarism as is ours. There never has been any other large nation, not even China, which for so long a period has had relatively to its numbers so small a regular army as nas ours. . never ai anytime in our history has this na tion suffered from militarism or been in : tha" remotest dancer of suffering from militarism. Never at any time of our history bas the regular army been of a size which caused the slightest -appreciable tax upon the taxpaylng citizens of the nation. Almost always 4 it has, been too small in size and nn-1 derpald. , Never In our entire history bas the nation suffered in the least par-' tjcular because Mtoojnuch care has been given to the army, too much promi nence given it, too much money spent upon it .or because it has been too large.; But Sgatn and again we have suffered because enough care has not been given to it because It has been too small, because there has not been sufficient preparation in advance, tor possible war. Every foreign waf la many times the amount which, If wise ly expended during the preceding years 1 of peace on the regular army, would have insured the war ending in but a fraction of the time and but for a t rac. tlon of the cost that was actually the case. Aa a nation we hve always been shortsighted in providing for the efficiency of the army in time of seace. It Is nobody's especial Interest to make such provision, and no one looks ahead to war at any period, no matter how remote, as being a serious possibility, while an Improper economy,, or, rath er, nlgga iftUness, can bo practiced at the expense of the array wltkthe cer tainty that those practicing It will not be called to account therefor, but that the price will be paid by the unfortu nate persons who happen to be In of fice when awar does actually como. ' THE ARMY. No Ground For Demagogic Declamatioo Against Militarism Y rhlnlr It In nnlv liwlr nf fnrafllrhf that troubles us, not any hostility to the army, There are, of course, fool ish people who denounce any care of the army or navy as ,'nltlrartsul.,, but I do not think that these people are numerous. This country has to coo tend now and has had to contend in tho past with many evils, and there is ample score for all who would work for reform. But there is not 009 evil that now exists or that ever has exist ed In this country which Is or ever hits btten owing to the smallest part to militarism. Declamation against militarism has uo more serious place in nn earnest and Intelligent move ment for righteousness In this country than declamation against the worship of Bnal or Astaroth. It is declama tion agalmtt a nonexistent evil, one which never has existed to this coun try and which has not the slightest chance of appearing here. ; We are glad to help in any movement for to' terijational peace, but this' is because we sincerely believe that itjs our duty to help all such movements, provided they are sane and rational, and not be cause there is ' any tendency toward militarism on our part which needa to' be cured. : The evils we have to fight are those to connection with in dustrialism, not militarism. Industry is always necessary, just as war is sometimes ' necessary, 'Each has 'Its price, aud ? industry in the United States now exacts and has always ex acted a far heavier tolf of death than all our wars put together. The statis tics of the railroads of this country for the year ended June 30, 1900, the last contained In the annual statistical report of the Interstate commerce com mission, show In that one year 4 total of 108,324 casualties to persons, of which; 10,018 represent the number of persons killed, In that wonderful hive of ' human activity, ' rittsburg. the deaths doe to industrial accidents in 1900 were 919, all, tho result of acci dents ia mills, mines or on railroads. For the entire country, therefore, it is safe to say "that the deaths due to in dustrial - accidents ' aggregate ' in the neighborhood of 20,000 a year. Such a record makes the death rate In all our foreign wars utterly trivial by comparison. The number of deaths to battle In nil the foreign wars put to gether for the last century and a quar ter aggregate considerably less , ihun one year'a. death record for our indus tries, a mere glance at these figures is sufficient to show the absurdity of the outjry against militarism. ; - But again and again in the past our little regular army has rendered serv lco literally vital to tbe country, and It may at auy time have to do so in tha future. ta standard efnyteney l hmtruof but Is h!Uer 7r tlt? v t r in tho past, but it is too, small. r, ' re not encash, pacers, and. It I1 !' -posiblo to stKuire enough enlisted mo. Wt jlioul I malntato la rp'u' If1' complete skIftoq of a lryii arpy a grost ui brj ronth'.t'.i'l y?r v have to be fought by volunteers, t months wotili pass before any l.r body of effleleut volunteers cci' 1 1 put lr. the DcU, and our rc-il.'.r fv j f. i ,n; . f . ivf j? a
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 4, 1907, edition 1
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