The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-12-10
PRESIDENTS
MESSAGE.
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o,amation Service, which is conducting
tto surveys and examinations, has been
thoroughly organized, especial pains
heing taken to secure under the civil
service rules a body of skilled. expert
enced and efficient men. Surveys and
examinations are progressing through
out the arid states and territories, plans
for retaining works being prepared
and passed upon by boards of engineers
before approval by the Secretary of the
interior In Arizona and Nevada, in
localities where such work is pre-
eminently needed, construction has al
ready been begun. In other parts of
the arid West various projects are well
advanced towards the drawing up of
contracts, these being delayed in part
by necessities of reaching agreements
or understanding as regards rights of
way or acquisition of real estate Most
of the works contemplated for the con-
struction are of national Importance.
involving interstate questions or the
securing of stable. self-supporting COM
munities in the midst Of vast tracts of
vacant land. The nation as a whole IS
of course the gamer by the creation
Of these homes, adding as they do to the
wealth and stability Of the country,
and furnishing a home market for the
products of the East and South. The
reclamation law, while perhaps not
ideal, appears at present to answer
the needs for which it is designed. Fur
ther legislation is not recommended
until the necessities of change are more
apparent.
Preservation of Forests.
The study of the opportunities Of re-
clamation of the vast extent of arid
land shows that whether this reclama-
ton is done by individuals, corpora
TONS or the state, the sources of water
supply must be effectively protected
and the reservoirs guarded by the pres
ervation Of the forests at the head
waters of the streams. The engineers
making the preliminary examinations
continually emphasize this need and
urge that the remaining public lands at
the headWaterS of the important
streams of the West be reserved to
insure permanency of water supply for
irrigation. Much progress in forestry
has been made during the past year.
The necessity for perpetuating our
forest resources whether in public or
private hands is recognized now as
never before. The demand for forest
reserves has become insistent in the
West, because the West must use the
water, wood, and summer range which
only such reserves can supply. Pro-
gressive lumbermen are striving,
through forestry. to give their business
permanency. Other great business in
terests are awakening to the need of
forest preservation as business mat
ter The governments forest work
should receive from the Congress
hearty support, and especially support
adequate for protection of the forest
reserves against fire. The forest re-
serve policy of the government has
passed beyond the experimental stage
and has reached a condition where
scientific methods are essential to it's
successful prosecution. The admins
trative features of forest reserves are
at present unsatisfactory, being di-
vided between three bureaus Of two
departments 1t is therefore recon-
mended that all matters pertaining to
forest reserves, except those involving
or pertaining to land titles, be con-
solidated in the bureau of forestry of
the Department of Agriculture.
Brief mention is made of the army,
navy, and Indian Office affairs: better
safety appliance laws are recommend
ed; also an extension of civil service
rules.
The Isthmian Affair.
The President gives a complete re-
view of the relations of the United
States government to the matter of
transit across the isthmus. He tells OF
the revolution on the isthmus, and de-
tends the action of the United States
and recounts the disturbances on the
lsthmus since 1916. He names in all
hfty-tEree disturbances, ranging from
serious riots to revolutions.
Following iS tho ms in nOrfiOp of the
residents argument in favor Of ratifi-
cation Of the treaty with Panama, and
IN justification of the recent acts of
the government regarding the recent
event on the isthmus:
lsthmian Canal.
BY the act of June %, 1902, the Con-
gress authorized the President to enter
into treaty with Colombia for the build
ing OF the canal across the Isthmus OF
Panama; 1t being provided that in the
event of failure to secure such treaty
AFTER the lapse of a reasonable time, re-
course should be had to building q
canal through Nicaragua. 1t has not
been necessary to consider this alter
native, as 1 am enabled to lay before
.he Senate a treaty providing for the
building of the canal across the 18th
mus of Panama. This was the route
which commended itself to the delib-
crate judgment of the Congress, and
we can now acquire by treaty the right
10 construct the canal over this route
Inc question, now, therefore, is not by
winch route the isthmian canal shall De
quilt. for that question has been DEN
hltely and irrevocably decided. Inc
question is simply whether or not we
snail have an isthmian canal.
When the Congress directed that we
should take the Panama route under
treaty with Colombia, the essence or the
condition, of course referred not TO tne
government which controlled tnat
route, but to the route itself; TO tne
territory across which the route lay, not
70 the name which for the moment tne