The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-03

good citizen. 1t is well to provide thar
CORPORATIONS shall not contribute to
presidentiaI or national campaigns
ana furthermore to provide for the
publication of both contributions ana
expenditures. There is. however, al
ways danger in laws of this kind,
which from their very nature are diff
cult OF enforcement; the danger being
lest they be obeyed only by the hon
| est, and disobeyed by the unscrup-
| ulous, so as to act only as a penalty
upon honest men. Moreover. no such
| Jaw would hamper an INSCRIPTIONS
man OF unlimited means from buying
| his own way into office. There is a
very radical measure which would. 1
| believe, work a substantial improve
| ment in our system of conducting a
| campaign, although I am we'll aware
| that 1T will take some time for people
| so to familiarize themselves with such
| a proposal as to be willing to consider
its adoption. The need for collecting
large campaign funds would vanish IL
| congress provided an appropriation
| for the proper and legitimate expenses
| of each of the great national parties.
an appropriation ample enough to
meet the necessity for thorough
| organization and machinery, which re-
| quires large expenditure of money
Then the stipulation should be made
that no party receiving campaign
funds from the treasury should ac-
cept more than a fixed amount from
and the necessary publicity for re-
ceipts and expenditures could without
difficulty be provided.
A National Gallery of Art.
There should be a national gallery
of art established in the capitol city
of this country. This is important
not merely to the artistic but to the
material welfare of the country; and
the people are to be congratulated on
the fact that the movement to estab-
lish such gallery is taking definite
form under the guidance of the
Smithsonian institution. So far from
there being a tariff on works of art
brought into the country, their impor-
tation should be encouraged in every
way. They have been no sufficient
collections of objects of art by the
government. and what collections
have been acquired are scattered and
are generally placed in unsuitable and
imperfectly lighted galleries.
The biological survey Is quietly
working for the good of our agricul-
tural interests. and Is an excellent
example of a government bureau
which conducts original scientific re-
search the findings of which are OF
much practical utility. For more
than twenty years it has studied the
food habits of birds and mammals
that are injurious or beneficial to
agriculture, horticulture. and for
estry; has distributed illustrated bull
to secure legislative protection for the
beneficial species. The cotton boil
weevil, which has recently overspread
the cotton belt of Texas and is stead
lily extending it's range, is said to cause
an annual loss of about $3,000.000.
The biological survey has ascertained
and given wide publicity to the fact
that at least 43 kinds Of birds prey
upon this destructive insect 1t has
discovered that 81 species of birds
feed upon northumberland enc
mics of the fruit grower. 1t has
shown that woodpeckers as a class.
by destroying the larvae of wood
boring insects, are so essential to tree
life that 1t Is doubtful If our forests
could exist without them. 1t has
shown that cuckoos and orioles are
the natural enemies of the leaf-eating
caterpillars that destroy our shade and
fruit trees; that our quails and spar
rows consume annually hundreds of
tons Of seeds of noxious weeds; that
hawks and owls as class Except
ing the few that kill poultry and game
birds) are markedly beneficial, spend
ing their lives in catching grasshop-
pers, mice and other pests that prey
upon the products of husbandry. 1t
has conducted field experiments for
the purpose of devising and perfect
ing simple methods for holding in
check the hordes of destructive ro-
dents-rats, mice, rabbits, gophers.
prairie dogs, and ground squirrels
which annually destroy crops worth
many millions of dollars; and It has
published practical directions for the
destruction of wolves and coyotes on
the stock ranges of the west. result
ing during the past year in an esti-
mated saving of cattle and sheep
valued at upwards of million dol
lars.
1t has inaugurated a system of in
spection at the principal ports Of en-
try on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts
fxry11f oh "a inf Of
noxious mammals and birds Is pre-
vented, thus keeping out the mon
goose and certain birds which are as
much to be dreaded as the previously
English sparrow and the
house rats and mice.
In the interest of game protection It
has co-operated with local officials in
every state in the Union, has striven
to promote uniform legislation in the
several states, has rendered important
service in enforcing the federal law
regulating interstate traffic in game,
and has shown how game protection
may be made to yield a large revenue
to the state-a revenue amounting in
the case of Illinois to 3128.000 in
single year.
The biological survey has explored
the faunas and floras of America with
reference to the distribution of ami
mails and plants; it has defined and
mapped the natural life areas-areas
in which, by reason of prevailing elf
matte conditions. certain kinds of ami
mails and plants occur-and has
pointed out the adaptability of these
areas to the cultivation OF particular
crops. The results of these investiga-
tons are not only of high educational
value but are worth each year to tl1e
farmers of the country
many times the cost of maintaining
the survey. which, it may be added.
Is exceedingly small. 1 recommend to
congress that this bureau, whose use
fulness is seriously handicapped by