The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-11-16

! our lands of timber in what now seems
| to have been almost wanton fashion.
| We have thought only Of today, hav-
! ing no proper regard for the future.
! The demand Of the country for timber
/ needed to build our railways construct
our cities and homes, has been tremen-
| dous We have cut away our forests
and paid no attention TO the necessity
of taking steps for their ultimate res
toration.
I'VE now see that some of the older
countries in their experience have seen
! that ii is necessary TO adhere to
rational. scientific forestry system, not
only in the interests of our future for
ests, but in the interests of the impor-
tant subjects or irrigation and naviga-
! ton. It is but a truism that if the
| forests are swept away the rainfall
| quickly flows into the streams and is
! washed into the sea, whereas if the
/ trees are properly preserved upon the
watersheds the rainfall and melting
SHOWS are stored in natures reservoirs
and are gradually fed into the streams
| for the benefit of both agriculture and
navigation.
I'VE have not fairly begun to appre-
ciate the full value of our streams and
! rivers We have not fairly begun to
appropriate them to the benefit of our
agriculture. industry and commerce.
| The waters which come down from
the sides of these mountains may be
( converted into electrical power and
carried hundreds of miles with but lit
tie loss to the initial energy, and ap-
propriated to lighting and heating
cities operating mines and driving the
| wheels of industry We have thou
/ sands of miles of rivers which may
be made navigalble with the benefits
| flowing from their use in carrying
! commerce. There are thousands of
miles of rivers which are navigable
in a, degree but which should be deep
ened and improved so as to meet our
growing needs.
1T is impossible to give too much
emphasis to the importance of this
! subject Our rivers are the natural
! highways of commerce and the grow
ing density of our population and the
increase of our production makes IT
! essential that there should be addf-
tional facilities to insure cheap and
ready transportation. The capacity of
the railways of the country is already
| taxed to the utmost, and the rapid de-
velopment of traffic makes it neces-
sary that we should largely augment
the means of carrying it in the future.
! Moreover, there is no better equal
izer of rates than water competition.
| Water transportation is a perpetual
and certain guaranty against monop-
| oily on the part of the common car
riers. We are earnestly carrying for
ward the construction of the Panama
Canal, confessedly a work of great i'm
portance, not only to our commerce
| but to the commerce of the world.
Important as this matter is, it is not
more important than the Improvement
| of navigation upon many of our rivers.
| The improvement of navigation upon
them may well go hand in hand with
work upon the great canal. The one
| is in very considerable degree the
| complement of the other. This Is
large subject and must be considered
in a large way.
upon such an occasion as this
| would not venture to obtrude politics
nothing could be more inappropriate.
| The fact is that we have surfeit of
politics What we need most is more
business and less politics. Unless the
business affairs of the people are ar
rested by unwise policies; unless the
I seeds of distrust are sown among our
selves; unless commercial unrest is en-
couraged by doctrinaires, we shall con-
tinue to expand our industries, and
| the great West will continue to grow
and fulfill her mighty destiny. Can
we stand prosperity? We are in the
midst of a prosperity the like of which
was never before seen. Can we utilize
it to our benefit? Can we retain it,
or will we distrust each other and in
| volve it all in hopeless confusion?
There never was an hour when it was
more important that we should be gov
erned by sober judgment. We should
sedulously cultivate tolerant spirit
and a spirit of justice toward each
other. We should not forget that con-
fidence is the sure foundation of pros
perity and progress, and we should
have a care that we do not under
mine it,
At the conclusion of Mr.. Fairbank' $
address Clifford Pinchot, government
forester and personal representative of
President Roosevelt at the congress,
delivered the following message of the
Country's Chief Executive, which came
by telegraph:
Il send you hearty greetings. and
my earnest wishes for the fullest sue
cess of your convention. I congratu-
late you on the progress of the great
movement you represent. There is nc
movement more emphatically for the
benefit of the small farmer and the
small ranchman. There is no other
way to assist the actual settler and
homemaker who owns and tills his OWL
land so powerfully as through this
movement of yours for the wise use
and preservation of the waters anc
, the forests. The Reclamation Service
and the Forest Service are directly
adapted to help the small man make
and maintain a prosperous home; and
they are doing it. These services were
} recently inspected on the ground by
the Secretary of the Interior and the
1 Secretary of Agriculture, who have
them in charge. and I congratulate you
on the high standards of integrity and
efficiency they have attained.
1T is a matter of sincere satisfaction
to learn that you will not confine your