The sun., 1905-10-20

theae hetltaeea Il our forest wealth n ID
the urtst altiiudea ~ tho fofcatcd mnun-
thina that arr most valuable tn the natl N
~ whole, capncinlly hcraupo ~ their
effects upon tho water supply. Neither
State nor nation can afford ~ turn these
mountains over Ia tho unfestrained greed
of those WIG would eSploit them a, the
expense of the future. We cannot arord
60 wait longer lcfore assuming control In
the interest ~ tho public ~ these forests
for " We do wait the vested interests ~
private parties In them may become so
strongly intrenched that Il may be most
serious aa well IA n most expensive task
to Dust them. IN the Eastern States are
wise, then from tho Ray of Fundy 10 the
Gulf we will see within the neN few years
n policy act on foot similar 10 that 40 for
tunately carried out In the high Scrfas Of
the West by the national Government All
the higher Appalachans should be reserved,
either by the States or by the ration. |
much prefer that they should be put under
national control, but IL IL a mere trusm to
say that they will not be reserved either by
the States or by the nation unless you
people Of the South show strong interest
therein,
Such reserves would be paying invest
ment, not only In protection to many inter-
ests, but in dollars and cents to the Govern
ment. The Importance to the Southern
people Of protecting the Southern mountain
forests Is obvious. These forests are the
best defence against the floods which In
the recent past nave, uurlnB hiiiEie t"eINe,
month, destroyed property officially valued
at nearly twice what IT would cost to buy
the Southern Appalachian Reserve. The
maintenance OF your Southern water powers
Is not less important than the prevention
Of floods. because II they are injured your
manufacturing interests will suffer with
them. The perpetuatioh OF your forests,
which have done so much for the South.
should be one OF the first objects OF your
public men. The two Senators from North
r. hox tal hon Darf in
this movement. But l do not think that
the people Of North Carolina or of anv other
Southern State have quite grasped the
| importance Of this movement to the COM
mercial development and prosperity OF the
South
GROWTH OF INDusTRIALISM.
The position of honor in your parade
| to-day is held by the Confederate veterans.
| They by their deeds reflect credit upon
their descendants and upon all Americans,
both because they did their duty in war
and because they did their duty in peace;
Now i the young men men tner sons tbs WIN
power Of fealty to an ideal, but will also
show the efficiency in the ranks OF indus
trial life that their fathers the Confederate
veterans, showed that they possessed in
this great and typically American Com
monwealth Is assured.
The extraordinary development Of in
dustrialism during the last half century
has been due to several causes, but above
all to the revolution in the methods OF
transportation and communicatlon; that
is, to steam and to electricity, to the rail-
road and the telegraph.
When this Government was founded
commerce was carried on by essentially
the same instruments that had been in use
| not only among civilized but among bar
barian nations ever since history dawned;
that is, by wheeled vehicles drawn by ami
| Il. l,xyI- linz oh
and rowboats. On land this meant that,
commerce went in slow. cumbrous and
EXPENSIVE fashion over highways open to
all Normally these highways could not
compete with water transportation. II such
was feasible between the connecting points
DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAYS.
All this has been changed by the develop
ment of the railroads Save on the ocean
or on lakes so large as to be practically inland
seas, transport by water has wholly lost
it's old position of superiority over transport
by land, while instead Of the old highways
open to every one on the same terms, but
OF very limited usefulness, we have new
highways-rairoa are owned by
private corporations and which are practi-
cally OF unlimited instead Of limited useful
ness. The old laws and old customs which
were adequate and proper to meet the old
order to meet these new conditions; The
cardinal features in these changed con-
ditions are, first, the fact that the new high.
way, the railway, is, from the commercial
standpoint, Of infinitely greater importance
in our industrial life thar, was the old nigh
way, the wagon road; and second, that this
new highway, the railway. is in the hands
of private owners, whereas the old high.
way, the wagon road, was in the hands OF
the State. The management OF the new
highway, the railroad, or rather the intricate
web of railroad lines which cover the coun-
try is a task infinitely more difficult, more
delicate and more important than the primi-
lively easy task Of acquiring or keeping in
prsperly no analogy whatever between the
two cases. I do not believe in govern
ment ownership Of anything which can
with propriety be left in private hands
and in particular I should most strenu,.
ously object to government ownership OF