Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-12-08

states Is the only one of the great nations
In which the forest work of the Governmen
Is not concentrated under department.
In consonance with the plainest dictates Of
GOOD administration and common sense. The
present arrangement Is bad from every point
OF view. Merely to mention It Ia to prove
that II should be terminated at once As
nave repeatedly recommended, all the forest
work or the Government should be concen-
,,is raeeo IN me Department Of Agriculture.
where the larger part Of that work Is already
uohe, where practically all of the trained
ioresters or the Government employed,
Wnere chiefly In Washington there Is COM
prehenslVe hrst-hand knowledge Of the prob
lens OF the reserves acquired on the ground.
where all problems relating to growth from
the SOIL are already gathered and where all
sne sclences auxiliary to forestry are at hand
ior prompt and effective cooperation. These
reasons are decisive In themselves but 1t
should be added that the great organization
or citizens whose interests are affected by the
Forest reserves. such as the National Live
stock Association the National Woolgrowers'
Association, the American Mining Congress-
tne national irrigation Congress. and the
national Board of Trade. have uniformly.
emphatically, and most Of them repeatedly
expressed themselves in favor of placing
all Government forest work in the Depart
ment or Agriculture because of the peculiar
adaptation of that Department for it. It
Is true also. that the forest services OF
nearly all the great nations Of the world are
under the respective departments of agrfcul-
ture, while in but two of the smaller ma
tions and in one colony are they under tho
department of the interior. This is tho
result OF long and varied experience and It
agrees fully with the requirements Of good
administration in our own case.
The creation Of forest service in the De-
partment of Agriculture will have for its
important results
First--A better handling of all forest work,
because 1t Will be under a single head. and
because the vast and indispensable expert
ence OF the Department in all matters per-
tanning to the forest reserves, to forestry in
general, and TO other forms of production
from the soil, will be easily and rapidly
cessible.
Second-The reserves themselves, being
handled from the point of view of the man
In the field, instead of the man in the office.
will be more easily and more widely useful
to the people OF the West than has been the
case hitherto.
Third-Within a comparatively short time
the reserves will become self-supporting. This
Is important, because continually and rapid
ly increasing appropriations will be neces-
sary for the proper care of this exceedingly
important interest of the Nation. and they
IAN and should be offset by returns from the
National forests. Under similar circum-
stances the forest possessions of other great
nations form an important source of revenue
% their governments.
Every administrative officer concerned is
of the necessity for the proposed
consolidation of forest work in the Depart
nent of Agriculture, and l myself have urged
t more than once in former messages. Again
commend it to the early and favorable con-
deration of the Congress. The interests OF
he Nation az large and of the West in par
ocular have suffered greatly because of the
ielay.
l call the attention of the Congress again
o the report and recommendation OF the Com
mission the Public
Public Lands. Lands forwarded by
to the second ses-
ion of the present congress. The Commission
prosecuted its Investigations actively dur
10 second report
low in advanced stage of preparation.
In connection with the work of the forest
eserves l desire again To urge upon the
congress the Importance Of authorizing the
President to set aside
Game Preserves, certain portions of these
reserves or other pub
ic lands as game refugees for the preserva-
ion of the bison, the wapit and other large
,easts once 50 abundant in our woods ana
Mountains and on our great plains, and now
ending toward extinction. Every support
hould be given to the authorities OF the 1el-
owstone Park in their successful efforts at
the large creatures therein and
It very little expense portions of the pubic
omain in other regions which are wholly
imiarly utilized. We owe 1t to future gen.
rations to keep alive the noble and beautiful
reatures which by their presence add such
character to the American wilder
ess The limits of the Yellowstone Park
hould be extended southwark. The Canyon
the Colorado should be made National
ark; ana the National park system snOulu
lclude the Yosemite and as many as possible
f the groves Of giant trees in California.
The veterans Of the
Pensions. Civil War have claim
upon the Nation such
s other body Of our citizens possesses.
he Pension Bureau has never in its his
Dry been managed in more satisfactory
lanner than Is now the case.
The progress of the Indians toward civiliza-
on, though not rapid, Ia perhaps all that
ould be hoped for. in view of the circum-
tances Within the past year many tribes
ave shown, in a degree greater than ever
before, appreciation
Indians. of the necessity OF
work. This changed at
tude is in part due to the policy recently
ursued Of reducing the amount Of subsist-
nee to the Indians, and thus forcing them,
trough sheer necessity, to work for liveli-
ood. The policy, though severe. is a useful
ne, but 1t is to be exercised only with judg-
ent and with a full understanding of tho
which exist in each community for
hich 1t is intended. On or near the Indian
.servations there is usually very little de-
and for labor. and If the Indians to
arm their living and when work cannot be
FINISHED from outside (Which is always pref
able) then it must be furnished by the Gov
-nment. Practical instruction Of this kind
ould in a few years result in the forming
habits of regular industry, which would
nder the Indian a producer and would effect
nance
1t is commonly declared that the slow ad-
lnce Of the Indians is due to the unsa tis-
ctory character Of the men appointed to
Ike immediate charge OF them and to some
tent this is true While the standard OF
g employees in the Indian Service shows
eat improvement over that of bygone years.
N while actual corruption Of hagrant dis
nesty is now the rare exception, it is never
eleSs the fact that the salaries paid Indian
ents not large enough to attract the best
en- to that field of work. To achieve satis-
ctory results the official in charge of
dian tribe should possess the high qualiica-
ms which required in the manager Of
rye business but only in exceptional cases
it possible to secure of such type
r these positions Much better service. how
er might be obtained from those now hold
z the places were ii practicable to get OF
EN- the best that Ia in them, and this should
done by bringing them constantly into closer
uch with their superior officers. An agent
10 has been content to draw his salary, giving
return the least possible equivalent in ef-
rt and service. may, by proper treatment
suggestion and enCoura cement, persist
t urging be stimulated to greater effort and
1uced to take more active personal interest
his work.
rndar existing conditions an Indian agent in
. distant West may be wholly out of touch
tn the Office OF the Indian Bureau. He
~ very well feel that no takes A per
nal interest in him his efforts. Certain
ltiue duties in the way OF reports and
units are required OF him. but there is no
q with whom he NAV inteIligentlV consult