Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-12-07

this study has resulted in increasing
| their efficiency in their respective lines
special Importance from the. committee
on the subject of personnel and the
classification of salaries which will re-
quire legislative action before they can
be put into effect It is my intention to
submit to the congress in the near fu-
\ ture special message on those sub
| Jects
| CAMPAIGN EXPENSES
Under our. form of government, voting
is not merely right, but a duty, and,
moreover, a fundamental and necessary
It is well to provide that corporations
national campaigns, and Furthermore to
provide for the publication of both con-
tributions and Expenditures. There is,
kind, which from their very nature are
difhcult of enforcement; the danger be-
Ing lest they, be obeyed only by the
ious, so as to act only as penalty upon
honest men. Moreover. no such law
would hamper an unscrupulous man Of
way into office. There is very radical
measure which would, believe, work q
substantial improvement in our system
am well aware that 1t will take some
time tine. for people SO to familiarize them
selves selves with such a proposal as to be
need for collecting large campaign funds
would vanish II congress provided an
appropriation for. the proper and legiti-
tional parties. an appropriation ample
enough to meet the necessity for thor
ough organization and machinery, which
Then the stipulation should be made
that no party receiving campaign funds
from the treasury should accept more
h1 Fv al a. <,o, 1.-S
subscriber or donor; and the necessary
! publicity for receipts and expenditures
could without difficulty be provided.
| A NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
There should be a national gallery OF
art established in the capital city of this
country. This is important not merely
to the artistic but to the material well
IA tare E. Of the country; and the people are
movement to establish such a 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 i'm
portatlon should be encouraged in every
way. There have been no sufficient col
lections OF objects of art by the govern
ment, and what collections have been
acquired are scattered and are generally
placed in unsuitable and imperfectly
/ THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
The biological survey is quietly work
Ing for the good of our agricultural In
terests, and is an excellent example Of
a government bureau which conducts or
iginal scientific research the findings Of
which are of much practical utility. For
more than twenty years 1t has studied
the food habits of birds and mammals
that are injurious or beneficial to agri-
culture. horticulture, and forestry; has
distributed illustrated bulletins on the
subject, and has labored to secure leg
cies. The cotton boll-weevil, which has
recently overspread the cotton belt Of
Texas and is steadily extending its
of about 100000. The biological sur
vey has ascertained and given wide pub
Lefty to the fact that at least 43 kinds
sect. 1t has discovered that 81 species
Of birds feed upon Observation-Disclosures
enemies of the fruit grower. 1t has
destroying the larvae Of wood-boring IN
!, sects, are so essential to tree life that
1t Is doubtful if our forests could exist
without them. 1t has shown that cuck-
Of the leaf-eating caterpillars that de-
stroy our shade and fruit trees; that our
hundreds of tons Of seeds Of noxious
weeds: that hawks and owls as a class
excepting the few that XII poultry and md
Spending their lives in catching grass
:, hoppers mice, and other pests that prey
upon the products of husbandry. 1t has
conducted field experiments for the pur-
methods for holding in check the hordes
Of destructive rodents--rats, mice, rab-.
squirrels-which annually destroy crops
worth many millions of dollars; and 1t
has published practical directions for the
ranges 81 of the vest a RESULTING du
ing the past year IN an estimated saw
: wards Of million dollars.
1t has inaugurated a system of in
, spection at the principal ports of entry
. on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts by
!, means of which the introduction Of nox-
, thus keeping out the mongoose and GER
tain birds which are as much to. be
dreaded as the previously introduced
\ English sparrow and the house rats and
, mice
7 In the interest Of game profession Il
| has cooperated with local officials IN
promote uniform legislation in the rev.
eral states, has rendered important SER
e vice in enforcing the federal law regu-
: lating interstate traffic In game, and has
shown how game protection may be
3 made to yield large revenue to the
state.a revenue eo az IN the case
The biological survey has explored the
2 faunas and foras of America with refer
ence to the distribution of animals and
plants: it has defined and mapped the
natural life areas-areas In which. by
. reason of prevailing climatic conditions
! certain kinds of animals and plants &C
cur-and has pointed out the adaptable
! ity Of these areas to the cultivation OF
! particular crops. The results of these
investigations are not only OF high edu-
cational value, but are worth each year
to the progressive farmers of the
country many times the cost of main.
. tanning the survey, which, 1t may be ad:
= to congress that this bureau, whose use.
! fulness is seriously handicapped by lack
i of funds, be granted an appropriatiioe
= in some degree commensurate with the
Importance Of the work 1t is doing. .
. DIR FOREIGN MAIL SERVICE