The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-09-14
no PRE- v ZEN 4 FLOODS.
PHILADELPHIA MAN SUGGESTS
EXTENSIVE TREE PLANTING.
Eho Lands Most Needing TO bs In Tarast
ARE Those Least Needed for AgrieuI-
furc, Namely steep Banks Of Streams
and the Millsides.

The forest is to rainfall what the
balance wheel is to the steam engine,
It gives relief to extremes OF drought
and OF freshet by regulating not in
creasing rainfall Therefore, the for
est in proper proportion on the earth's
surface is the cure of devastating
floods that waste human and brute
lives and destroy millions Of dollars
worth of property. This is especially
true in the Mississippi basin, and
more particularly in the lower parts Of
that basin. From the mouth of the
Ohio to the Mississippi delta this dam
age reaches tens Of millions of dollars
year. The ratio Of ruin is steadily
increasing there, and is sure to con-
tinue to increase till the arboreal rem
edy above suggested is applied. This
Is not theory; it has been widely prov
ed by centuries Of experience in Eu-
afluents have Ylbrated between drear-
lily dry beds and torrents that were a
terror to all concerned after the defor-
esting of their watersheds. In well
known cases, especially in France,
equable flow has followed reforesting
Of those slopes. Study of the natural
philosophy involved in this problem
shows this must be the case; the logic
of events" practically corroborates
theory. The parts most needing to be
in forest are those least needed for
agriculture They are the steep banks
Of streams and the remoter hillsides,
especially = in regions Immediately
drained by theirs headwaters. Hence,
to be sufficiently remedial, states 1000
miles northerly from New Orleans
must help to save the region of which
that city is the center; Wisconsin,
Minnesota and the Dakotas, illinois,
iowa, Nebraska and Kansas must CO.
operate; their Legislators and the
boards of trade and chambers of COM
merce must be induced to act; the
boards of education must take the sub
ject into the common schools, SO that
the young grow up to understand the
practical philosophy of this subject.
In all these educative departments it
must and can be shown that it will pay
and pay promptly to wisely treat these
forest interests. Thus and thus only
can the people be led to demand need
ed forest legislation, and sustain such
legislation after it is secured No in
terests can better afford to favor for
est improvements than chambers of
commerce and boards Of trade. Water
transportation is secured by one-tenth
the traction to move a ton Of freight
than is needed to move it by rail. The
rivers are not reliable for navigation
unless their flow is more regular than
in most of our rivers. When they
plowed through "the forest primevaI'
there was little change in their vol
ume. A boat requiring a given depth Of
water could float pretty much all the
year when the stream was not ice
blocked. For well known reasons a
proper proportion of forests prevents
the Sitting of streams that ruin
many harbors, and create bars that
prevent sea-going vessels and others
requiring deep water from reaching
their docks. Philadelphia is case in
point in this connection In an address
by the writer before the recent South
ern Industrial convention in .Phila-
delphia, he showed that railways and
others have cleared millions in less
than two decades by tree planting.
Therefore the profits Of forestry are
the key to the situation. It. will pay
splendidly to intelligently engage in
tree planting. It is terribly ruinous
to fail to restore our wasted arboreal
wealth. Every year of delay to begin
to apply the remedy to evils here sug-
gested is a loss of many millions OF
dollars to the people Of practically each
and every state in the nation. It is an
opportunity that should be grasped.-
George May Powell in Philadelphia
Times. -
DfN..N ~