The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-19
TALKS ON RATES.
Continued from Page oue.)

T-"T- UUU TTTT |.
that upon il must be raised the super
structure Of a higher life, II the com
n0nWealth is to stand as IL snouia
stand More and more You are giving
care and attention to education. ano
education means the promotion not
only of industry but of that good cit
izenship which rests upon 1ndlNIuual
rights and upon the recognition by
each individual that he has dutles as
we'll as rfghts-in other words of tnal
good citizenship which rests upon NOR
al integrity and intellectual freedom
The man must be decent IN his nome
life his private life, of course; Dut
this is not by itself enough. The man
who fails to be honest and brave both
ia his political franchise and IN ms
private business contributes 10 polltl-
cal and social anarchy. SeI-gOVeIil-
ment is not an easy thing only IlOse
communities are fit for it in which the
average individual practices the virtue
Of command, OF selt-restralnL OF
wise disfnterestedness combined with
wise self-interest. where the individ-
ual possesses common sense honesty
and courage.
Forest Preservation.
And now I want to say a word TO
YOU on a special subject in which ali
the country is concerned, but in which
North Carolina has q special concern
The preservation OF the forests is vital
to the welfare Of every country China
and the Mediterranean countries oiIeI
examples of the terrible effect Of de-
forestation upon the physical geography
and therefore ultimately upon the ma
tioual Well-being, of the nations. one
of the most obvious duties which our
generation owes to the generations that
are to come after US is to preserve the
existing forests. The prime difference
between civilized and unciviliEed peo-
pies is that in civilized peoples each
generation works not only for its own
Well-being, but for the Well-being Of
the generations yet unborn, and If we
permit the natural resources of this
land to be destroyed so that we hand
over to our children a heritage dimin-
ished in value we thereby prOEeaOur I'M
fitness to stand in the forefront of civil
lied peoples. One of the greatest of
these heritages is our forest wealth
It is the upper attitudes of the fOrested
mountains that are most valuable to
the nation as a Whole, especially be
cause Of their effects upon the water
supply. Neither state nor nation can
afford to turn these mountains over to
the unrestrained greed of those who
would exploit them at the expense Of
the future We can not afford to
wait longer before assuming control, in
the interest OF the public, of these for
eSts; for if we do wait, the vested in
terests Of private parties in them may
become so strongly intrenched that it
may be a most serious as we'll as
the eastern states are wise, then from
the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf we viii
see. within the next few years a policy
set on foot similar to that so fortunate
~ carried out in the high Sierras Of
the west By the national government
All the higher Appalachians should be
reserved, either by the states or by the
nation. I much prefer that they should
be put under national control but it is
q mere truism 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 a paying in
vestment, not only in protection to
many interests, but in dollars and cents
to the government The Importance to
the southern people OF protecting the
southern mountain forests is obvious.
These forests are the best defense
against the floods which, in the recent
past, have, during a single twelve
month, destroyed property officially val
ued at nearly twice what it would cost
to buy the Southern Appalachian Re
serve.
Water Powers.
The maintenance Of your southern
water powers Is not less important than
the prevention OF floods, because if they
are injured your manufacturing in
terests viii suffer with them The per-
petuation 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
Carolina have taken an honorable part
in this movement. But I do not think
that the people Of North Carolina or
OF any other southern state, have quite
grasped the importance of this move
ment to the commercial development
and prosperity Of the south.
The position Of honor in your parade
today is held by the Confederate vet
Grams. THEW nv their daar7u
credit upon their descendants and upon
All Americans, both because they did
Inelr duty in war and because they did
their DUTY IN peace. Now if the young
men, their sons, viii not only prove
that they possess the same power of
realty to an ideal, but viii also show
the efficiency in the ranks of industrial
life that their fathers, the Confederate
veterans, showed that they possessed
IN me ranks OF war, the industrial fu-
ture OF this great and typically Anleri-
can commonwealth is assured
Inc extraordinary development of
industrialism during the last half cen
fury has been due to several causes
but above all to the revolution in the
methods OF transportation and com
municadon; that is. to steam and to
electricity. to the railroad and the tele-
graph.
commerce was carried on by essential
~ the same instruments that had been
IN use not only among civilized. but
among barbarian. nations, ever since
history dawned; that is. by wheeled
vehicles drawn by animals, by pack
trains, and by sailing ships and row
boats. On land this meant that com
merce went in slow, mberous. and
expensive fashion over highways omen
to all. Normally these highways couId
not compete with water transportation.
u such was feasible between the con-
Meeting points.
All Changed Now.
All this has been changed by the de-
yelopment of the railroads. Save on
the ocean or on lakes so large as to be
practically inland seas, transport BY
water has wholly lost its old position of
superiority over transport by land
while instead OF the old biehvs,-s cue
70 everyone on the same terms. but Of
z very limited usefulness. we have new
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