Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-12-07


work for their own countries Just as
railroads work Cor their terminal
points. shipping lines. IL established 4
the principal countries with which w
have dealings. would be az political az
wei as commercial benefit If0m ~
cry standpoint ii is unwiSc fer the
United States to continue g ls upon
the ships Of competing msDasS fr the
distributor of our goods II sha0ld b,
made advantageous to carry American
goods ia American built ships.
At present American shipsa @ Is na
der ceFtam "a n, dHadea9ta when
put ia eoinpetitiun with the shlpglag
Of foreign countries. Many q tas fasi
foreign steamships. at a speed ct four
teen knots or above. are subsidized.
and all our sliips, sailing vessels AMI
steamers alike cargo carriers oi slew
speed and mail carriers II high speed.
have to meet the fact that the original
cost of building American ships is
greater than is the case abroad; that the
wares paid American officers and sea.
men are very much higher than those
paid the officers ana sess1en Of foreign
competing countries. and that the
standard Of lgiug on our sh is is far
superior to thn tsndard of living on
the Ships Of or amerclal rivals. Our
government uld take suel actlon AZ
will rtiao&. These inequalities The
American mefeant marine siould be
restored TO the ocean.
Finane u.
The passaga Of ,h' establishing
gold as tie standard 4eaey has. il il
declared, been shown ia be timely and
jud ciovs. The president adds
Ia ma ~ respects the national bank
ine law furnishes sufficient liberty for
the Il copper exercise of the banking
function. hut there seems to be need
Of better safeguards against the de-
ranging influence OF commercial crises
and financial lmnics Moreover, the
currency Of The country should be
made responsive to the demands Of our
domestic trade and commerce.
Economy in expenditures Is urged.
al
act is advised to insure the cardinal
provisions of that act The work car
ried on by the department Of agrlcul-
ture is next considered and praised
highly. The president then turns TO
forest preservation and irrigation of
arid lands, saying that both are highly
necessary lie would put all the work
in connection with the forest reserves
in charge Of the bureau Of forestry.
Irrigation.
The president continues by tracing
the connection between the forest re-
serves and the water supply. He says:
The forests are natural reservoirs.
BY restraining the streams in iioed
and replenislIing them in drought they
make possible the use of waters other
wise wasted. They prevent the soil
from washing ard so protect the stor-
age reservoirs from filing up with
silt Forest conservation Is, therefore,
an essential condition of water conser-
walton.
The forests alone cannot, however,
fully regulate ana conserve the waters
of the arid region. Great storage works
are necessary to equalize the flow of
streams and to save the flood waters.
sively shown to be an undertaking
too vast for private effort. Nor can 1t
be best accomplished by the individual
states acting alone. The government
should construct and maintain these
reservoirs as it does other public works.
Where their purpose Is to regulate the
flow of streams, the water should be
turned freely into the channels in the
dry season to take the same course
under the same laws as the natural
fiow
The reclamation of the unsettled arid
public lands presents a different prob
lem. Here it is not enough TO regulate
the flow of streams. The object of the
government is to dispose of the land
to settlers who will build homes upon
it. TO accomplish this object water
must be brought within their reach.
The pioneer settlers on the arid pub
lie domain chose their homes along
streams from which they could them
selves divert the water to reclaim their
holdings. Such opportunities are prac-
tically gone There remain. however,
vast areas of public land which can be
made available FOR homestead settle
ment. but only by reservoirs and main
line CANALS impractieable for private
enterprise. These irrigation works
should be built by the national govern
ment. The lands reclaimed by them
should be reserved by the government
for actual settlers. and the cost of CON
struction should. so far as possible, be
repaid by the land reclaimed. The dis
lribution OF the water the division of
the streams among irrsators. should
be left to the settlers themselves IN
conformity with state laws and With
out interference with those laws or
with vested rights.
The declaration is made that in the
or;I c+afne tho opIu rfsrhf m pufnr.