The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-10-04

/ 49, "a " IAiitt1sfl
Estates exceeds the annual value Of the
lpsodacts of all our mines. Fprthers
more. Il rs eaicnl5te ted that under Id:
dtc.cus ding the power ot orr
lstreans may be mad to pas for aJli
| the works feqhlfef for the complete
ll;deyeaop nlent and control Of our inland,
|waterwayss q \ d
st Forests are the most eifeettre pre-
yenters Of tloolsi especially waeli they
grow on the higher mountain slopes.
The iiattonal forest policy .iraagusat.i
ed5prtinarity to avert or MITIGATE the
timber famine which is now beginning
to be fell. has been effective also in.
securing partial control of floods ny
iretarding the run.oH and checking
the erosion OF the higher slopes With:
in the national forests. Still the loss
from soil wash Is enormous. 1t is
computed that ona.fittl, Of n3Gnbic.
mile in volume, or one billion tons in
weight Of the richest soil Of the Uni.
ted States. Is annually gathered in
storm rlrulets, washed Into the riv.
ers, and borne into the sea. The loss,
to the farmer is in effect a tax great
er than all other land taxes coz blned,
and one yielding absolutely no ~ =.
The Department of Agriculture is
now deyising and testing means to
check this enormous waste Il. ousii'
Improved methods Of agriculture and,
forest management. /.
Citizens Of all portions Ct the coun-
try are coming to realize that, how,
ever important the improvement OF
navigation may be, it is only one Of
many ends to be. kept in view. The
demand for navigation is harL,i more
pressing that the demands for re claim.
Ing lands by irrigation in the srl.l re-
Gians and by drainage in .hc h,In.i
lowlands, or for utilizing the vi ter
power now running to waste. or for
purifying the waters so rs 10 reduc.
or remove the tax OF soil waste, 10 pro-
mote manufactures and satexuard life.
It Is tile part Of wisdom to a tort not
! a tumble Of unrelated plans. but a sin.
gle comprehensive scheme for lpnt-t
ing all the demands so far as possi;-
bic ut the same time and oy the same
means. This is the reason why lie In
land Waterways Commission vas ere:
ated In; March last, largely In ,aspplse
to petitions from citizens of The mte.
rior, including many Of the members
Of this congress. Broad Instructions
were givenSto the commission III ac-
cordance withethis general policy that
no plan should be prepared for the
use of any stream for single pur-
pose without carefully considering,
and 10. far as practicable actually pro.
Willing for the use of that stream fog
every other purpose. Plans for nav..
cation and power should provide with
special care for-sites and terminals not
only for the Immediate present but
also for the future. It is because. OF
my conviction in these matters that
lgamE here. The Inland Waterways
Commission has a task broader than
the consideration OF waterways. alone.
There is an intimate relation between
our streams and the development anil
conservation OF all the other great
permanent sources OF wealth. 1t is
not possible rightly to consider the
one without the other. No study OF
the problem of the waterways could
hope to be successful which failed to
consider also the remaining factors
In the great problem OF conserving all
our resources. Accordingly I have
asked the Waterways Commission to
Take account OF the orderly develop.
meRt and conservation, not alone OF
the waters, hut also OF the soil, tl,s
forests. the mines. and all the other
natural resources Of our country.
Exhaustibie Resources.
Many Of these resources which We
have been in the habit OF calling mex
haustible are being rapidly exhausted,
or in. certain regions have actually
disappeared. Coal mines, oil and gas
fields, and iron mines In Important
numbers are, already worked out. The
coal and oil measures which remain
are passing rapidly, or have actually
passed, into the possession OF great
corporations, who acquire ominous
power through an unchecked control
OF these prime necessities OF modern
life; a control without supervision OF
any kind. We are consuming our for
ests three times faster than they are
being reproduced. Some of the rich.
est timber lands of this continent