The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-01-10

stake, through devotion to their reli-
giOus convictions.
The great diffusion of information
has loosened the ties which bind men
to their homes. A less motive now
suffices to induce emigration. They
have learned that the only escape
from the density of population and
the social inequalities Of their native
countries is to be found III those new
lands of the earth which are in pro-
cess of colonization. Education is
producing amid it's other marvellous
results an equalizing of the popula-
tions of the world; a general shifting
and unrest of enormous masses of men
seeking an increase Of their material
welfare. The peace Of the Old
World, the growth of the New, and
the happiness of mankind will all be
increased by this process, until the
time will come when the excellence
of the Government of any country
will be accurately tested by the emf
grafton from or the immigration to
it's borders.
In this view every foot of the ssur-
10OC VI UllO Ill WA1Cu Cd4 UC 1Cu.
dered habitable becomes of impor-
lance. 1t may be that the very heart
of the great plains cannot be made fit
for the home of man even by the aid
of irrigation but at least we can
drive the line of inhabitabilioy 70
inward we can advance the leafy
banners of civilization far toward the
center Of the continent, and we can
turn the bare and desOlate wilderness
into a great garden Of beauty, filed
with all the comforts and all the
abundance of civilized life.
II.-wHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE
INTEREST OF FOREST CULTURE!
On the 23d March, 1867, the Legis-
lature of the State of Wisconsin
passed an act entitled IAN act relat-
ing to the growth of forest trees"
creating commissioners to ascertain
and report to the next Legislature in
reference to "the injurious effects
upon the climate of destroying the
forests of the State; the evil conse-
qnences to the present and future
inhabitants; the duty of the State in
regard to the matter; what expert
ments should be made to perfect our
knowledge of the growth and proper
management of forest trees the best
method Of preventing thesevil effects
of their destruction what substitutes
for wood can be found in the State,
and generally such facts as may be
most useful to persons DESTROYS Of
preventing or increasing the growth
of forest and other trees in the State
of Wisconsin.
That commission has now made it's
report in volume of over one hun
dred pages, which cannot be too
| highly praised as an admirable COM
pendulum of facts and opinions upon
the subjects referred to in the act.
The progress of man has been pre-
cisely commensurate with his power
to subdue to his purposes the forces
of nature. He found the whole of
Europe vast eXpanse of forests, re-
sounding with the bowls of wild
| beasts. He sheltered himself from
their fury in the caves of the earth,
or in villages built on piles in the
shallow waters of the lakes. But as
the immortal instincts of his intellect
worked themselves out he drove
back and exterminated the beasts and
laid low the forests; and working
through countless generations, he has
| transformed the formless wilderness
into one continuous garden and the
| villages in the lakes have grown into
mighty cities, holding out their arms
to all the lands and all the seas.
The world was made for man, and
he is its master. He has transformed
it; he has developed the wild grass
of Italy into the wheat plant, and he
has covered with it millions of acres
on continents where nature never
placed it !; he has gathered into his
garden the fruits of all lands he has
made of the hardest substances in
nature implements with which to
overcome nature. The fiercest ele.
ments bow to the majesty of his
genius the subtlest principle of the
air carries his message even under
the bosom of the great deep. furrowed
by the ceaSeleSS movements of his
innumerable vessels; the torrent
turns his mill wheel the winds are
his servants : the stars are his chro-
nOmeters ; the sun becomes his por-
trait-painter he measures the nebula
of the milky way; he weighs the
mighty planets; he analyses the light
of the meteors; he tells you the SUBJ
stances of which the bnrning comet
is composed: he tunnels the noun
tains he bridges the streams he
maps the celestial world, and he sur
veys the bottom of the great deep:
and last. and mightiest triumph of
all, he restraints the beast-like pas
sions of man, and forms nation held
! together by the coherent common
sense of every member of society.
If the people of the West resolve
upon it. they can in the next one
hundred years cover with forests one
third of the entire country between
the prairies of Illinois and the sage
bushes of the great plains and who
shall say what changes such a trans
formation would work upon the eli
mate and productions of our entire
country
Which is the harder task. for saw
ages working with stone hatchets and
torches to subdue primeyal forest
and tame the wild luxuriance of its
soil, or for civilized, cultivated. edu-
Gated men. with all the helps of
science. to plant along the margins
of artificial streams the seeds of