The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-02-26

five hours each day for four days a
week, for about forty-fve weeks.
|If Congressional work Is congested,
with haste and jobbery incident to
1t; II Congress won't reform It's
procedure, or limit debate, or vote
Especial or night sessions, let them
|either sit more hours day, or more
days week. or more weeks in the
two years for which they are elected,
land give the people that service they
las business men. demand from their
|own employees. This Is one way in
which they can vindicate them
lselves and show their appreciation
for that proper so per cent. increase
TO- salary given to them lately bv
themselves.
THE AGRICULTURAL BILL.
AS al evidence of how Congress
can even waste time at the end OF
1.-THE session, when time Is SO valuable,
loOk at the extraordinarily slow pro-
gress the agricultural appropriation
bill made In the Senate this week.
The debate on it occupied most of
1.-THE time for four days, the exten-
sion of th- forest reserves, and the
proposition to fence in grazing lands
lot the West being especially the
Subject of attack. =
FIGHT ON TIE FOREST RE.
SERVE. fNf' =
| This fight proceeded mostly from
Senator's in States where timber IS
needed for the galleries of mines.
THE country as whole unquestion-
ably approves the system of forest
Preserves, and 1t would be more
warmly approved II 1t were extended
further eastward and not confined so
closely to the preservation OF Vest
lern forest lands.
DENUDED FORESTS AND THE
OHIO. .art.
| In tho last two weeks we have
seen in illustrated publications pie
lures OF great sections of the cities
lof Cincinnati and Louisville inun-
dated by river, which in summer
has so little water in its deepest
channels that the boats plying upon
| II are facetiously said TO be able to
run on a heavy dew. If you will
lcnk back TO the time before the
lumber men denuded the shores or
the tributaries of the Ohio River of
their trees you will find that the
lriver was seldom subject to freshets.
and never as to droughts.
FCRESTS AND POPULATION.
| The argument made by the Col
prado and Wyoming men that set
ting aside tracts of land as forest
reserves checks the flow Of immigra-
tion to their States and keeps large
tracts of territory out of settlement
land out OF cultivation, is plausible.
but 1t Is not conclusive. Under a
system OF scientific forestry, which
may not yet have been deyeloped
mere, the tracts go set aside should
oe able to support large number
o; settlers. If Colorado and wy
oming people who protest against the
saving of their natural resources
I
would go into the northern end of
Michigan, they might learn that the
ehort being made to save the for
,esis or their states is serving them
wei. There are more than ten
counties in Michigan once heavily
wooded with the finest pine that
ever gre win the United States. To-
Gay these counties are known as the
pine barrens. and one Of the prob
iems OF that State is to determine
what may be done with this terri
tory.
THE STATES AND FOREST PRES
ERVATiON.
Perhaps it would be better for
each individual state to act on this
forestry matter. IL would be bet-
ter. for example. for Virginia and
North Carolina to establish the An
paiachian reserve. just as New York
mas established and maintained its
adirondack reserve. But certainly
whether done by State or by nation
the establishment and maintenance
of these forest reservations is we'll
for all the people. 90
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