Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1901-12-06

y TAluSf1Cdu uQGSs "
: Abandon treating Indians as tribes, :
2 and deal with them as individuals. 9
9 Develop merchant marine and carry =
3 American goods in American vessels. {
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be just to and open to all shippers ale.
The Government should see to it that
within its jurisdiction this is SO, and
should provide a speedy, inexpensive and
effective remedy to that end.
Department of Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture, during
the past Is years. has steadily broadened
it's work on economic lines. and has ac-
complished results of real value in up
building domestic and foreign trade. 1t
has gone into new fields until it Is now in
touch with all sections of our country and
with TWO of the island groups that have
lately come under our Jurisdiction, whose
people must look to agriculture a live
lihood. It is searching the world for
grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables spe-
cially fitted for Introduction into localities
Of the several states and territories where
they may add materially to our resources.
Value of the Forests.
Public opinion throughout the. United
q
appreciation of the value of forests,
whether planted or Of natural growth.
The great part played by them in the
creation and maintenance of the National
wealth is now more fully realized than
ever before.
The practical usefulness of the National
rigation and other interests of the regions
| in which the reserves lie has led to wide
spread demand by the people Of the West
| for their protection and extension. The
forest reserves will inevitably be of still
greater use in the future than in the past.
Additions should be made to them when
| ever practicable, and their usefulness
should be increased by a thoroughly busi-
| nesS-like management.
| Protection of Reserves.
At present the protection of the forest
reserves rests with the General Land Of
| fee. the mapping and description of their
Survey. and the preparation of plans for
| their conservative use with the Bureau
of Forestry. which is also. charged with
the general advancement of practical for
estry in the United States. These vari-
Gus functions should be united in the Bu-
reau of Forestry. to which they properly
belong.
The wise administration of the forest
reserves will be not less helpful to the
interests which depend on water than te
those which depend on wood and grass
The water supply itself depends upon the
forest. In the arid region it is water, moi
land whsh hs M stafs o Thf
!, sustain a population greater than tha
of our whole country today if the water:
fop p9W run TO anS
problems are perhaps the most vital inter
nal questions of the United States.
Certain of the forest reserves should alst
be made preserves for the wild fores
: creatures. ALI of the reserves should p'
, better protected from fires.
{ Forests Are Reservoirs.
The forests are natural reservoirs. B.
restraining the streams in flood and re
plenishing them in drought they max
possible the use of waters otherwise vast
. ed. They prevent the soil from washing
and so protect the storage reservoirs from
: is, therefore, an essential condition O
water conservation.
The forests alone cannot, however, full!
: regulate and conserve the waters of tn
arid region. Great storage works ar
necessary to eGualize the flow of stream
and to save the flood waters: Their con
t be an Undertaking too vast for privat
t effort. Nor can it be best accompiishe.
+ reaching interstate problems are involved
r and the resources of single states woul
: often be Inadequate. 1t is properly Ma
4 tional function, at least in some of 1t
The Government should construct an,
maintain these reservoirs as it does othe
pubic works. Where their purpose is t
: regulate the flow of streams, the waite
: should be turned freely into the channel
in the dry season, to take the same cours
under the same laws as the natural flow
e Reclaiming Arid Lands.
The reclamation of the unsettled ari
= public lands presents different problem
f Here it is not enough to regulate the fo7
of streams. The object of the Government
C is to dispose of the land to settlers VIII
: will build homes upon it. To accomplis
this object water must be brought With
: their reach.
The reclamation and settlement of tn
e arid lands will enrich every portion of ou
; country, Just as the settlement of the Oni
r and Mississippi Valleys brought prosperit
to the Atlantic States. The Increased de
= ulate Industrial production, while wide
y home markets and the trade of Asia wi
: consume the larger food supplies and e1
products of irrigation will be consume
chiefly in upbuilding local centers of mir
S ing and other industries, which woul
otherwise not come into existence at al
;, Our people as whole viii profit, for sue
; cessful home.making is but another nam
: for the upbuilding of the Nation.
e The necessary foundation has alread
t been laid. for the Inauguration of the POI
;; icy just described. 1t would be unwise
: begin by doing too much, for a grea
n deal will doubtless be learned. both as
! what can and what cannot be safely al
S tempted, by the early efforts. which mus
e of necessity be partly experimental i
y character. At the very beginning the Gov
g ernment should make clear, beyond shad
- ow of doubt, its intention to pursue thi
- policy on lines of the broadest public ir
Z. terest No reservoir or canal should eve
e be built to satisfy selfish personal or L
= cal interests, but only in accordance wit
u the advice of trained experts, after Ion
y investigation has shown the locality wher
IS , all the conditions combine to make th
work most needed and fraught with tn
greatest usefulness to the community a
a whole. There should be no extravs
gance, and the believers in the need
le irrigation will most benefit their cause b
l. seeing to it that it is free from the lea.
,e taint of excessive or reckless expenditul
ct of the public moneys.
~ Extension of Irrigation.
n Whatever the Nation does for the e,
e. tension of irrigation should harmonic
D. with, and tend to improve, the conditio
E. Of those now living on irrigated land. "
are not at the starting point of this deve
l. opment. lover $500, 900, 900 of private cal
Id ital has already been expended in the col