The Somerset reporter., 1901-12-05

Ddld lllc oliCtlS anu Stdl1tn vi bOiflBb
competing countries, and thai the
standard of living on our ships is far
superior to the standard of living on
the ships of our commercial rivals Our
government should take such action as
will remedy these inequalities. The
American merchant marine should be
restored to the ocean.
Financial.
The passage of the act establishing
gold as the standard money has, 1t is
declared, been shown to be timely and
judicious. The president adds:
In many respects the national bank
ing law furnishes sufficient liberty for
the proper exercise of the banking
function, but there seems to be need
of better safeguards against the de-
ranging influence of commercial crises
and financial panics Moreover, the
currency of the country should be
made responsive to the demands of our
domestic trade and commerce.
Economy in expenditures is urged.
Amendment OF the interstate commerce
act is advised to insure the cardinal
provisions of that act. The work car
ried on by the department of agricul-
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. He would put all the work
In connection with the forest reserves
In charge of the bureau of forestry.
IrriRatIon
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 flood
and replenishing them in drought they
make possible the use of waters other
wise wasted. They prevent the soil
from washing and so protect the stor-
age reservoirs from filling up with
silt. Forest conservation is, therefore,
an essential condition of water conser-
walton.
The forests alone cannot, however.
fully regulate and conserve the waters
of the arid region. Great storage works
are necessary to equalize the flow of
streams and to save the flood waters.
Their construction has been conclu-
sively shown to be an undertaking
too vast for private effort. Nor can it
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
how
The reclamation of the unsettled arid
public lands presents different prob
lem. Here 1t 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 impraeticable 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
tributiOn of the water, the division of
the streams among irrigators. 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
arid states the only right to water
which should be recognized is that of
use. The president says that the doc
trine of private ownership of water
apart from land cannot prevail without
causing wrong.
InsuIar Problems.
Insular questions are next treated
In Hawaii our aim must be to develop
the territory on the traditional Amer
lean lines. Porto Rico is declared to be
thriving as never before. The atten-
tion of congress is called to the need of
legislation concerning the islands pub
lie lands. In Cuba it is stated that
much progress has been made toward
putting the Independent government of