The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-27
IMPORTANT PUBLIo INTERESTS.

X WARRINGTON, March 2o.-For the imme-
date time public attention is chiefly drawn
TO trust busting" enterprises which appear
to "bust' themselves rather than the al
legged trusts, and to violent efforts to pass
railway laws of doubtful constitutionality,
The clamor of these activities draws atten-
ton from a number of matters which are
perhaps of greater actual Importance to the
country. 1t is well to punish la~wbreakers,
but there seems to be little probability OF
cheaper beef ever in the event of convic-
ton of the beef packers. 1t is well to pro-
tect the public against railway extortion,
but the history Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission shows very few cases OF proved
o~vercharge. Yet the beef matter and the
rate matter nave consumed months OF time
and have cost the country millions In the
actual expense Of the campaign.
Meanwhile there are various construo-
tive enterprises, either In process or under
consideration, to which the public pays little
attention. One Of these is the work of the
Reclamation Service, to which THE Sun
has made more or less frequent reference.
Allied to this is a project which has not yet
passed the consideration point. 1t is said
that for every acre OF Western desert which
can be made fruitful by irrigation there is
IN acre Of Eastern swamp which can be
drained and made productive. A third
project, now in operation on a far too limited
scale, Is the reforestation Of our rapidly
disappearing timber areas. All this is
distinctly constructive work. 1t is sound
investment which means homes for mill.
lions, work for other millions and large
increase in national wealth.
1t is estimated that the irrigation work
now going on will give us sc, 900, 900 acres OF
highly fertile farm land, Most Of this lies
west OF the Mississippi. 1t is estimated
that there Is east of that river in the
neighborhood Of 100, 900, 900 acres Of swamp
land, a large part OF which could be made
available for productive cultivation by
proper drainage. A bill recently intro
duced in the House by Mr.. Steenerson Of
Minnesota proposes that these lands be
reclaimed by the operation of the same
financial system as that employed in the
work of irrigation. That is the use Of
funds obtained by the sale of public lands
as a working capital In the beginning, and
the use tof the money obtained from the
sale of reclaimed land for the reclamation
of more land.
This work cannot be done by Individual
enterprise as effectively as 1t can be done
by the Government, and in many cases it
could only be done as a Government en-
t~erprise. 1t Is said that Florida has some
7.0Oo,OoO acres Of swamp that can be
reclaimed; Illinois, 1000 900; Michigan,
5000 900; Iowa, 1000 900; and Minnesota,
5000 900. Virginia has her Great Dismal
Swamp, Arkansas has a huge swamp area,
and even New Jersey has many square
miles now useless and practically worthless.
Reclamation as it is now going on in the
desert regions and as it is proposed to carry
it on in the swamps does not call for APP
preparations and is not an expense. The
money comes back from the sale Of the re-
claimed land, and it could and perhaps
should be made to yield a margin Of profit.
There is a slowly widening realization
Of the necessity for a conservation of our
forest resources, for the reforestation OF
denuded areas and for tree planting in
~treeless areas. 1t is probable that one
fiftieth of l per cent. of our people are
already more or less interested in the work.
A little group is active and perhaps l per
cent have heard that something ought to
be done. In his message of 1904 Mr.. Roose-
welt gave about four times as much space
to forestry as he gave to railway rates.
A few weeks ago Secretary Wilson said:
II the present drain upon the timber re-
sources is not checked the lumber industry
will go the way Of the buffalo" Thu CON-
troll Of greedy trusts and the restraint OF
grasping railways are really matters OF
less Importance than the question of our
lumber supply and the conservation of
water supply through forest protection.
We are cutting off our timber at the rate of
some 50, 900, 900 900 feet a year, and in addi-
ton to that it is estimated that $40 ,00o, 900
worth Of standing timber is destroyed yearly
by forest fires.
In its battle against the exhaustion which
must follow this consumption and waste
the work OF the Forestry Department may
be compared with al attempt to dig the
Panama Canal with teaspoons instead OF
with steam shovels and dredges. There Is
a seeming activity indicated by the reports
that our half dozen planting stations set
out pine and fir seedlings in California, New
Mexico, Nebraska or elsewhere by the hum
bred thousand, but for every little Seeding
or shrub they put in the ground the wood
mans axe and the forest fire bring down
a thousand grown trees.
These are matters OF really greater inn
portance to the American people than the
imposition OF a fine on some corporation
that has violated an injunction, or the re-
duction of freight rates on tinware and
tomatoes. They are even more important
than joint Statehood where it is not wanted
or the collection of customs revenues in
Santo Domingo.