The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-12-06

laws evils such as child labor, as the
over-working OF women, as the fall
uro to protect employees from loss of
life or limb. can be effectively reached,
any more than the evils OF rebates and
stock watering can be reached without
good laws. To fail to stop these prac-
tees by legislation means to force
honest men into them, because other
wise the dishonest who surely will
take advantage of them will have
everything their own way. II the states
I will correct these evils, we'll and good;
but the nation must stand ready to aid
them.
Inland waterway Systems
should he Developed.
THE conservation of our national re-
sources and their proper use constitute
the fundamental problem which under
lies almost every other problem OF our
national life. We must maintain for
our civilization the adequate material
basis without which that civilization
cannot exist. We must show foresight,
we must look ahead. As a nation we
not only enjoy a wonderful measure of
present prosperity but IL this prosper
ity Is used Alright It Is an earnest of
future success such as no other nation
will have. The eward of foresight fol-
his nation is great and easily foretold.
But there must be the look ahead.
there must be a realization of the fact
tndt W wdStt, " utstIoys out
resources. to skin and exhaust the land
instead of using II SO as to increase Its
usefulness. will result in ~ndermining
in the days of our children the very
prosperity which we ought by right to
hand down to them amplifed and devel-
oped. For the last few years. through
several agencies. the government has
been e~ndeavoring to get our people to
look ahead and to substitute a planned
and orderly development of our re-
sources In place of a h~aphazard striv-
ing for Immediate profit. Our great
river systems shoul be developed as
national water highways; the Missis-
sippi. with its tributaries, standing first
in Importance. and the Columbia sec
ond. although there are many others of
Importance on the Pacific and Atlantic
and the gulf slopes. The national gov
ernment should undertake this work,
and I hop a beginning will be made
in the present congress: and the great
est of all our rivers, the Mississippi,
hould receive especial attention. From
the Great Lakes to the mouth of the
Mississippi there should be a deep wa
terway, with deep waterways leading
from 1t to the east and the west. Such
a waterway would practically mean
the extension of our coast line into the
very heart of our country. 1t would be
OF incalculable benefit to our people. If
begun at once 1t can be carried through
IN ClTne dDpTeCldDly To TtlleNe tlS COn-
gestion of our great freight-carrying
lines of railroads. The work should be
systematically and continuously carried
forward in accordance with some we'll
conceived plan. The main streams
should be improved to the highest
point Of efficiency, before the improve
ment of the branches Is attempted; and
the work should be kept free from
every faint Of recklessness or jobbery.'
Attention is called to the work of ir-
rigation and reclamation of govern
ment lands. In the same connection he
asks for a revision of the public land
laws along the lines proposed by the
public lands commission. Believes the
government should increase its efforts
to conserve our forests and should In
crease by purchase the existing forest
preserves. On the subject Of the natural
resources of the nation he says:
I'm the eastern United States the
mineral fuels nave already passed into
the hands Of large private owners, and
those of the west are rapidly following
1t is obvious that these fuels should be
conserved and not wasted, and 1t would
be we'll to protect the people against
unjust and extortionate prices. so far
as that can still be done. What ha
been accomplished in the great oil
fields of the indian Territory by the
action of the administration offers a
striking example of the good results
of such a policy. In my judgment the
government should have the right &c
keep the fee Of the coal, oil and ga
fields in it's own possession and to lease
the rights to develop them under
proper regulations; or else, II the con.
gress will not adopt this method, thu
coal deposits should be sold under linn.
itations. to conserve them as public
utilities, the right to mine coal beine
separated from the title to the soil
The regulations should permit Goa
lands to be worked in sufficient guam
tity by the several corporations. Tit
present limitations have been absurd
excessive. and serve no useful purpose
and often render 1t necessary tina
there should be either fraud or els,
abandonment of the work Of getting
out the coal"
Progress of the Work
On the Panama Canal.
Work on the Panama canal is pro
ceeding in a highly satisfactory man
ner. In March the total excavation IL
the Culebra Cut. where effort wa!
chiefly concentrated, was SIS. 270 cubi'
yards. In April this was increased t,
s79. 527 cubic yards. There was a con
siderable decrease in the output 70
May and June owing partly to the ad
vent of the rainy season and partly t
temporary trouble with the steam
shovel men over the question Of wages
This trouble was settled satisfactory.
to all parties and in July the total ex
cavation advanced materially and II
August the grand total from all point
in the canal prism by steam shovel
and dredges exceeded all previou
United States records. reaching 1874,
404 cubic yards. In September this rec
, ord was eclipsed and a total Of 1.517.
412 cubic yards was removed. OF thi
|. amount 1.481. 307 cubic yards were fror
: the canal prism and 1910 cubic yard
were from accessory works. These re
, suits were achieved in the rainy sea
son with a rainfall in August of Ills
: inches and in September Of 1855 inche.
|. Finally, in October. the record wa
again eclipsed, the total excavation be
. ing 1.86S.72s cubic yards; a truly ex
. traordinary record, especially In viey
Of the heavy rainfall. which was IT.
. inches. In fact. experience during tn
. last two rainy seasons demonstrate
that the rains are a less serious oh
. stacle to ogres h has hilbert
: been supposed.
SyunrL or xha 1ooL. onA A.-~ n