Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-09-23

come seasonal torrents after the fire
and the burnt over land Is indeed
thirsty land. No caliper surveys how
ever carefully made of the burnt over
tract can furnish an estimate of the
actual loss to either the owners or the
people at large: The land at best has
been made non-productive for long
term of years s&nd' If the acreage Is
large the industrial equilibrium Of the
State is seriously disturbed. But no
truer statement of these disastrous re-
suits can be made than that set forth
by our Maine Supreme Court, in that
opinion which deservedly called forth
the admiration of President Roosevelt.
In this opinion, our jurists have
taken an advanced position in the pro-
lection of the public's interest in the
forest, yet they have not misjudged
the States need of protective legisla-
ton. For weeks now, we nave seen
the danger signal each evening as the
sun sinks in the West and the issue
of the hour is plainly the conservation
Of our forest lands. You business men
of Maine should stand shoulder 10
shoulder with your Supreme Court
justices and ask for the prompt enact
ment of laws which will preserve for
our children the forests and water
powers of Maine.
The forestry problem in Maine
presents to me a two-fold aspect. Flrst
nf all, the system of taxation of forest
lands must be one to encourage the
gathering not Of one crop alone Out
Of many harvests of trees from these
lands which are fitted only for timber
culture. / have very vivid memories
of the cut-over lands of Michigan and
that is a state where faulty policy
Of heavy taxation led the land owners
to strip their lands Of the vaiuanie
pine and then abandon the barren nils
and plains to the State. Ine most
practical precaution against over-cut-
ting on private lands would seem TO be
the automatic restriction which Is be-
ing advocated here in Maine. namely,
the method Of taxing what Is cut
rather than what is left. The otner
mart OF the problem, however, presents
q more urgent need than any scneme
Of protection of these timber lanos
from the greed of private owners ana
that Is the necessity Of safeguarding
these lands from utter devastation py
fire. Here lies the opportunity OF the
executive officials of the State, for l
deem 1t their duty to be as progress
siye and farsighted as the state
Judges. This is no time to fall back
behind precedent nor to stand pat up
on past procedure. There are
exigencies that create and justify new
methods Of protecting the public IN
terest Our Supreme bench Is quoteo
nv trade and commercial journals as
far as the Pacific coaSt-dO we wish IL
said that our judiciary constitute our
only guardians of the public interest!
Is there or Is there not law requlr-
ing efficient spark arrestors on loco
motives? If such law Is on the
statute books, why is 1t not enforced
by those appointed to execute the laws
of the State? Or are they awaiting
resubmission of this statute also?
It will be written down to the credit
Of the Roosevelt administration that
the federal, officials have been aroused
I, a new appreciation of their obliga-
tions not to this or that great interest,
hnt to the public ut large. The bureau
officer at the center of government no
longer complacently takes the Como
dore Vanderbilt view of public ser
nance of his whole duty as servant
uf the people. This reform mas pceh
ACCOMPLISHED by placing before the
whole department service the true ann
and purpose of government. har'eiy.
that of securing for every citizen all
his rights and privileges There IS
nothing new in this idea, but its mani
festation has rot yet become conltaoh
enough, and the Roosevelt idea of sur
ring up public officials might well so
beyond federal circles.
AS fellow servant of the people
then, I would urge the State officials to
meet the present emergency with lne
sole purpose of protecting the public
interest at stake. Roth executive ana
leRislative branches must approach
this forest problem not from the stand
point OF the railroad companies nor
that Of timberland proprietors. nor that
Of the pulp or lumber mill owners.
though we may agree that all these
classes deserve much consideration, nor
from that of any other special inter-
ests. but from the view point of the
whole people. whom alone you repre-
sent Burn off the forests OF the state
dry up It's rivers. lay waste It's lana.
and it will be not the timberland own
ers or the great manufacturing cor
porations, but the people at larg" VINO
will suffer most and as l understand
It,, that is the principle set forth in the
supreme court opinion that we do well
to quote. to consider. and 60 act upon.
am not satisfied that the idea now
current as to the status of the wlid
lands of the State as regards trepass
is correct. The right of the public to
hunt over the lands in private owner
ship Is q question I will leave to the
students Of the law but I would chal-
lenge the right of the public to build
fires upon these lands. l cannot be-
lieve that the common law grants to a
land owner the right to make any use
of his own land that will endanger the
property of his neighbor and the gen.
erai public should hardly expect any
privileges that do not belong to the
owner himself. Those who have i'll
charge the execution of our State Jaws
in protection of these wild lands may
we'll at time of exigency like the