St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-08-23
NO LONGER A DREAM
Aue o.sert Will Be Made to Bios
som as the Rose.
Bill Recently Passed nv
n3ress Will Stimulate tn.
a~pid Development Of tn.
Arid West.
Especial Washington Letter,


is said to be possible to irriea .
L d large portion of the great desert
a. VI sahara by making openings for
"eol'erranen sea and FLOODING the
ae sV acreage; but by retaining control
over the waters so that the desert sba II
no! become an additional sea All
enn are apparently possible to m 3D.
cru civil engineering and some of MS
naS I'VE to see the desert blossom $
the rose. q >
"nen the fathers and mothers of to-
way were school children they studied
biographies which showed upon their
maps OF the country west of Omaha
and Kansas City, a vast territory then
unAno"h and denominated "The
"reat American Desert That was
only 80 or 40 years ago. Just think of
"hat an immense empire has been de-
seiopeo IN that short space of time.
Ever since the railroads penetrated
tne Wllds and businesses and stretched
'helr arms to the golden gate our peo-
pie have been approaching the problem
OF retaining ''The Great American
DESERT by irrigating it's arid millions
OF acres SO that happy homes may
there be built of peoples comprising a
tremendous population.
1t is well-known fact that forestry
and irrigation must receive simultane-
Gus attention. It is not too soon for
the general government to take cog
nlzance of the palpable fact that the
destruction of the forests in the great
lake region has affected the Mississippi
river within one generation. Unless
the trees shall receive protection the
river will run dry and become glori-
Gus "reminiscences; and future genera
lions may place the Father of Wa
tiers" among the myths of the aborig-
ines. et.=t-,
There was time when the valley of
the Jordan was the most fertile and
beautiful in the then civilized world,
solomon, reputed to have been excep-
tionally wise, began the destruction
OF the forests in the hill country of
Lebanon. His successors continued
the crusade against the trees until the
hills became barren. and the Jordan a
miserable creek. The plain of Es-
draelon, which was famed for its fer
tility and beauteous grandeur, became
as it is to-day, almost kissing and q
byword for its barrenness.
Having broad view of the lessons
to be learned from the past, and to be
applied to the present and immediate
future, President Roosevelt in his mes
sage to the congress last December,
said: "The forest reserves should be
set apart forever for the use and bene-
fit Of our people as a whole and not
sacrificed to the shortsighted greed of |
the few. The forests are natural res
ervoirs. BY restraining the streams
in flood and replenishing them in
drought they make possible the use
of waters otherwise wasted. Forest |
is therefore water conser-
walton. The forests alone, however,
cannot fully regulate and conserve the
waters of the arid region. Great
storage works are necessary to equal
ize the flow of streams and to save the
food waters. The storing of the
floods in reservoirs at the headwaters
of our rivers is but the enlargement
of our present policy Of river control,
under which levees are built on the
lower reaches of the same streams.
The government should construct and