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

of the interior to examine certain classes
OF entries on the ground before they
pass into private ownership. The GOV
eminent should part with its title only
to the actual home-maker, not to the
profit maker who does not care TO make
e home our, prime object Is to secure
| the rights and guard the interests of the
small ranchman, the man who pows and
pitches hay for himself. II is this small
ranchman this actual settler and home
maker, who In the long run is most hurt
by permitting thefts of the public land
in whatever form.
PRESERVING THE FORESTS
optimism is good characteristic but
u carried TO an excess 1t becomes fool
rssn,,ssa we ar. are prone to speak of the
| resources or this country as ineXhaust-
lble; this Is not SO. The mineral wealth
OF the country, the coal the iron. oil,
gas gas ana the like, does not reproduce It
sen, ana therefore Is certain to be ex-
hausted ultimately; and wastefulness in
oeahns with 1t today means that our de-
sc c, will feel the exhaustion a gen
eration or two before they otherwise
would. But there are certain other
forms OF waste which could be entirely
sstopped-the waste of soil by washing, for
gelou Of all wastes now i. progress in
the United States, is easily preVentable,
f 80 rhat this present enormous loss of
preservation or replacement of the for
ests Is one of the most Important means
beasinen'lng E this loss We have made
Is only a beginning. At present lumber.
ms Is the fourth greatest Industry in the
h hn,.ed states; and yet. rapid has
the United States in the past and 90
rapidly is the remainder being exhaust
e. that the country is unquestionably
will be felt in every household IN m' the
land There has already been rise in
"a me price OF lumber, but there is certain
the DC fuapre ,re T rapid and heavier rise in
sumption of lumber is certainly three
.ines az great as the annual growth;
t a,u ~ .ns consumption and growth con-
per VIII be exhausted in another genera
ion. while long before the limit to com
pts.s exhaustion is reached the growing
elightlng ways upon our national wei
fare; ABOUT 20 per cent of our forested
e eefrieo h Is now reserved in national for
valuaole timber lands. and in any event
ne proportion Is too small to expect that
she reserves can accomplish more than
ahead FOR the nation. Far more drastic
action is needed. Forests can be Ium-
PER Perez so as to give to. the public the
+ out the slightest detriment to the forest
any more than it is dctriment to
"a to furnish harvest; so that there
mines,
which can only, be completely used by
exhaustion But forests, il used as all
our our forests have been used in the past
and as most of them are still used. will
be either wholly destroyed. or so damag-
Cd that many decades have to pass be-
again. >9-A'
All these facts are so obvious that #
Is extraordinary that 1t should be neces-
saly to repeat them. Every business
rnam IN tne land, every writer in the
= or
ordinary school education ought to be
able to see that immense quantities OF
forests which supply this timber are rap
. ldly being exhausted. and that. if no
. change takes place, exhaustion will come
oG4mi ~ t1 soon and that the effects
gay life OF our people. Surely. when these
tacts are SO obvious there should be no
9eiay IN taking preventive measures
Yet we seem as a nation to be willing to
proceed IN this matter with happy-go-
lucky Indifference even to the immedi-
ate future: It is this attitude which per-
mlts the self-interest OF very few per-
mate interest of all our people.
There are persons who find it to their
; immense pecuniary benefit to destroy the
, forests by numbering. They are to be
! blamed for thus sacrificing the future Of
tlta nation as whole to their own self
blame attaches to the people at large for
permitting such action, whether in the
White mountains. in the southern AL
leghenies. or in the Rockies and Sierras.
A big numbering company. impatient for
immediate returns and not caring to look
FAR enough ahead, will often deliberately
, destroy all the good timber in a region,
new country. The shiftless man of small
means. who does not care to become an
mediate profit. will find it to his advan-
tage to take up timber land simply to
turn It over to such big company. and
big mine owner, anxious only to develop
his mine at the moment, will care ONLY
to cut all the timber that he wishes
without WI cut, regard TO the future,probahly
, country when the forests are exhausted,
/ any more than he does to the condition
when the mine is worked out 7 do not
blame these men nearly as much as T
. blame the sunine public opinion, the in
, different public opinion. which permits
their action to go unchecked
PUBLIC MUST ASSIST
or course to check the waste of timber
means that there must be on the part
. of the public the acceptance OF a tenn
porary 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 present system of unchecked and
wasteful extravaganza, using as an argll-
, ment the fact that to check 1t will Of
course mean interference with the case
and comfort OF certain people who now
get lumber at less cost than they ought
e to pay. at the expense of the future gen
erations. Some, of these persons actually
demand that the present forest reserves
! be thrown open to destruction. 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 precisely like that of an agi-
tator protesting against the outlay of
money by farmers on manure and in
: taking care Of tho farms generally
Undoubtedly. If the average farmer
were content absolutely TO ruin his farm
, he could for two or three years avoid
: spending eny money on It. and yet make
, a good deal of money out of it. But
only a savage would in his private af-
, fairs. show such reckless disregard of
) the future; vet it is precisely this reck-
: less disregard Of the future which the
, opponents of the forestry system
5 are row erdeavoring to get the
: people of the United States to show
The only trouble with the move
ment for the preservation of our forests
l Is that 1t has not gone nearly far enough
; and was not begun soon enough. 1t Is
9 a most fortunate thing, however. thai