Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1900-04-12


right and wrong. 1t opens an interest
ing and curious field of thought. For
instance. how much lying about the
condition of big company would be
required to cause indictments by y
grand, jury and the criminal prosec'l-
ton of the circulators of false state
ments. provided the objects were the
blooming" Of Il stock instead Of Its de-
probation? When will some district
attorney procure the arrest and trial or
officers of u great corporation who say
that it IL sound and prosperous when
they know that it IL in rotten cOndi-
ton and a most precariOus situation!
What Is the exact moral difference be-
tween lying to injure property anu ~
ing to injure the persons who are IN
duced to buy it? Obviously, II "hulr'
reports which had no foundation IN
truth were indictable under the crim-
inal statutes Of New York, the police of
that city would have their hands full
during the big boom" Of 1898 and
1899 They could scarcely have kept
track of the lies told about any one Of
half dozen conspicuous properties.
The labors of Hercules would have
been small affair by comparison with
the task Of protecting buyers Of stocks
from their own credulity and the false
statements madeby men In positions or
trust and authority In the management
Of great corporations. 1t must be that
in the official view bear" lying IL far
more wicked than "bull" lying. 1t Is
one thing to injure the owners on stocks
actively dealt in In the New York mar
ket and quite another to entrap out
siders by inducing them to buy ''securi-
ties" which do not secure the money
they invest. 1t is the typical Wall
street view. But is 1t logic Or morals
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A comparative untouched phase of
the question Of forest destruction Is
brought out in a book called North
American Forests and Forestry" by
Ernest Bruncken, a prominent West
ern forester. The author incidentally
discusses the part which our forests
have had in shaping American charac-
ter and our national history. This
phase of the matter is interesting both
as a historical study and as a sugges-
ton Of the moral as well as economic
loss which must come with the denu-
dation of our forest areas. All think
ing Americans know that the forests
are an important factor in our CONNER
cial life, and Mr.. Bruncken makes an
impressive statement of the way In
which the lumber industry permeates
all the nations activities. But the part
played by the vast primeval forests in
creating American character Is not SO
generally realized. From the earliest
colonial times the forests have had a
moral and political effect In shaping
our history. In the seventeenth century
England was dependent upon Norway
and the Baltic provinces for its timber
for ships. This was in various ways
INSTANTANEOUS for England, so the
American colOnists were encouraged
with bountles to cut ship tmbers.
masts, and other lumber for European
export. This trade. however, was
found to be Improbable OH account Of
the long ocean voyage, so the Ameri-
can lumbermen began to develop prof
table market in the West Indies. This
was straightway interdicted by the
hort-sighted British government. and
the bitter and violent opposition of the
colonists against this tyrannical policy
ceased only with the end Of British
dominion. From that time to the pres
ent the forests of America have exer-
cised most important influence upon
the nation. especially in creating the
the American character. The trappers,
hunters. explorers and backwoods set
tiers who went forth alone into the
dense forests received schooling such
as nothing else Gould give. As the
forest closed behind the settler he knew
his future and that Of his family must
henceforth depend upon himself, his
AK. his rifle. and the few simple uten-
sils he had brought with him. 1t was
a school that did not teach the graces,
but it made men past masters IN cOur-
age, pertinacity and resourcefulness. 1t
bred a new, simple and forceful type
OF man. Out of the midst Of that back
woods life came Abraham Lincoln. the
greatest example OF American states
manship the nation has produced. In
him was embodied all the inherent
greatness of his early wilderness sur
roundings. with scarcely trace Of its
coarser characteristics. AS Mr.. Rrunck-
OH says. mere remembrance of what
the forests have given us in the past
should be enough to inspire wish to
preserve them as long as possible, to
stop wanton waste by forest fires, and
even to repair our losses by planting
new forests. as they do in Europe.
The Legal Way.
"Refore agree to undertake your