Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-10-20

the upper attitudes of the forcstcd
mountains that are most valuable to
the nation as whole, especially be
cause of their effects upon the water
supply. Neither state nor nation can
afford to turn these mountains over to
the unrcstraincd greed of those who
would exploit them ut the expense of
the future. We cannot afford to wait
longer before assuming control, i'm the
interest of the public, of these forests;
for If we do wait, the vested interests
of private parties in them may become
So strongly intrcnched that il may be
u most serious as well as a most eX-
pcnSivc task to Gust them. II the
eastern states are wise then from the
Bay of Fundy to the Gulf we will see
within the next few years policy set
on foot similar to that so fortunately
carried out in the high Sicrras of the
West by the national government. All
the higher Appalachians should be re-
served, either by the states or by the
nation. | much prefer that they
should be put under national control
but it is Il mere truism to say that they
" ill not be reserved either by the states
OF by the nation unless you people of
| the South show strong interest there
| in.
Such reserves would be q paying in
vcstmCnt, not only in protection to
| many interests, but in dollars ana cents
| to the government. The Importance
to the Southern people of protecting
! the Southern mountain forests is OBJ
vious. These forests are the best de-
| fCnse against the floods which, in the
| rtccrt past. have. during single
| tWolvemOnth. destroyed property
| officially valued at nearly twice what it
| would cost TO buy the Southern APP
palachian Reserve. The maintenance
OF your Southern water powers is not
less important than the prevention Of
floods, because if they are injured your
| manufacturing interests will suffer
with them.
| The pcrpctuation of your forests,
which have done 50 much for the South,
| should he one of the first objects of
your public men. The two senators
| from North Carolina have taken an
| honorable part in this movement. But
| | do not think that the people of North
| Carolina, or of any other Southern
state, have quite grasped the i'm
portamce of this movement to the COM
| mcrcial development and prosperity of
| the South.
The position of honor in your parade
| today is held by the Confederate vet
| erans. 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 if the young
men. their sons, will not only prove
| that they y Dsscss the same power of
| fca!ty to al ideal. but will also show
the efficiency in the ranks of indus
trial life that their fathers, the Con-
| federate veterans. showed that they
! possessed in the ranks of war. the in
dustrial future of this great and typ-
! Cally American commonwealth is as
| sur.d.
The extraordinary development of
industralism during the last half cen
tury has been due to several causes.
but above all to the revolution in the
methods of transportation and COM
nuncation; that is, to steam and to
electricity, to the railroad and the
| telegraph.
| When this government was founded
commerce was carried on by essentially
|
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
| mercc went in slow. cumberOus, and
expensive fashion over highways open
to all. Normally these highways could
!
if such was feasible between the con-
| meeting points.
All this has been changed by the de-
| veiOpment 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,
Will" instead Of the old highways open
/ to everyone on the same terms. but of
q very limited usefulness, we have new
| hShN ayS-railroads- which are owned
| by private corporations, and which are
practically of unlimited. instead of
| limited, usefulness. The old laws and
] old customs which were adequate and
| proper to meet the old conditions need
radical readJustment in order to meet
these now conditions. The cardinal
! features Ill Int-Se tndISeU cOnultlCnS
are, first, the fact that the new high
way, the railway, is, from the COM
| mercial standpoint, of infinitely great
| CT Importance in our industrial life
| than was the old highway, the wagon
| read, ard. second, that this new high
| way, 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 of
| the intricate web of railroad lines
| which cover the country. is a task
| infinitely more difficult, more delicate,
| and more important than the primitive
| ly easy task Of acquiring or keeping in
order the old highway; so that there
i5 properly no analogy whatever be-
| tween the two cases. do not believe
| i'll government ownership of anything
which can with propriety be left in
| private hands, and in particular r.
should most strenuously object to gov
| ernmcnt ownership of railroads. But 7
| believe with equal firmness that it is
| out of the question for the government
| not to exercise a SnnnrIiSnrv