Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press. (Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D.) 1905-1909, 1907-12-06
President S Message a,
Continued I ON page three

are rapidly being exhausted and tina,
1 Il no change takes place exhaustion
/ will come comparatively soon and that
! the effects of It will be felt severely
!: In the everyday life Of our people.
Surely when these facts are so obvi-
Gus there should be no delay in taking
preventive measures. Yet we seem as
. a nation to be willing to proceed in
: this matter with happy go lucky indif-
ference even to the immediate future.
1t Is this attitude which permits the
self interest Of very few persons to
weigh for more than the ultimate in
terest Of all our people. There are per-
sons who find it to their immense Pc
euniary benefit to destroy the forests
by numbering. They are to be blamed
for thus sacrificing the future of the
nation as whole to their own self in
terest of the moment, but heavier
blame attaches to the people at large
for permitting such action, whether in
the White mountains, in the southern
Alleghanfes or in the Rockies and Sier-
Fas. A big numbering company, impa-
tent for immediate returns and not
caring to look far enough ahead, will
often deliberately destroy all the good
Timber in region, hoping afterward
TO move on to some new country. The
shiftless man Of small means who does
not care to become an actual home
enalor h,,t would lllyo {rnp,o1jo+o ,rof
It, will find it to his advantage to take
up timber land simply to turn it over
to such big company and leave it
valueless for future settlers. big
mine owner, anxious only to develop
his mine at the moment, will care only
to cut all the timber that he wishes
without regard to the future, proba bly,
not looking ahead to the condition of
the country when the forests are ex
hausted any more than he does to the
condition when the mine Ia worked
out.
do not blame these men nearly as
much as l blame the supfne publ :
opinion, the Indifferent public Opinion.
which permits their action to go I'M
checked. OF course to check the waste
OF timber means that there must he
On the part of the public the accept
ance Of temporary restriction in the
lavish use Of the timber in order to
prevent the total loss of this use in
the future. There are plenty Of men
In public and private life who actually
advocate the continuance Of the pres
ent system Of unchecked and wasteful
extravaganza. using as an argument
the fact that to check 1t will Of course
comfort of certain people who now get
lumber at less cost than they ought to
pay at the expense Of the future gen
era atoms. Some Of these persons actu-
ally demand that the present forest
reserves be thrown open to destruc-
ton because, forsooth. they think that
thereby the price of lumber could be
put down again for two or three or
more years. Their attitude is precise,
ly like that of an agitator protesting
against the outlay Of money by farm
erR on manure and in taking care of
their farms generally. Undoubtedly
II the average farmer were content alb
solutely to ruin his farm he could for
two or three years avoid spending any
money on it and yet make a good deal
Of money out of it. But only a say.
age would in his private affairs show
such reckless disregard Of the future.
yet it Is precisely this reckless disre.
gard Of tbs future which the oppo-
nents of the forestry system are now
endeav oring to get the people Of the
United States to show The only trou.
BILE with the movement for the preser.
vation of our forests Is that it has
not gone nearly far enough ana was
not begun soon enough. 1t is Il most
fortunate thing. however. that We be-
gan 1t when Ue did. We SHOULD! ac-
quire i'll the Appalachian and White
mountain regions all the forest lands
that 1t is possible to acquire for the
use of the nation. These lands be-
cause they form national asset are
as emphatically national as the rivers
which they feed and which flow
$fhrough SO many states before they
reach the ocean.