Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-12-08

The courts hold a place of peculiar
and deserved sanctity under our form
Of government. Respect for the law is
essential to the permanence of our in
situations. and respect for the law is
largely conditioned upon respect for
the courts. But we must face the fact
that there are wise and unwise judges,
just as there are wise and unwise ex-
ecutives and legislators. When a
president or governor behaves improp-
erly or unwisely the remedy is easy
for his term Is short The same is
true with the legislator, although not
to the same degree. With judge
who. being human. is also likely to
err, but whose tenure Is for life, there
is no similar way of holding him to
responsibility. Under ordinary condi-
lions the only forms of pressure to
which he is in any way amenable are
public opinion and the action of his
fellow judges. 1t is the last which is
most Immediately effective and to
which we should look for the reform
| of abuses.
Forests.
II there IS any one duty which more
| than another we owe it to our children
| and our children's children to perform
| at once it is to. save the forests Of
this country. for they constitute the
first and most important element in
the conservation of the natural re-
sources Of the country.
| Shortsighted persons, or persons
blinded to the future by desire to
make money in every way out of the
present, sometimes speak as If no
great damage would be done by the
reckless destruction of our forests. 1t
is difficult to have patience with the
arguments of these persons. Thanks
to our own reckleSsnesS in the use of
our splendid forests, we have already
crossed the verge of a timber famine
in this country, and no measures that
we now take can, at least for many
years, undo the mischief that has al
ready been done. But we can prevent
further mischief being done, and II
would be in the highest degree repre-
hensible to let any consideration OF
temporary convenience or temporary
cost interfere with such action, espe
cially as regards the national forests
which the nation can now at this very
moment control
1.-The president here cites In support
of his contentious the great destruc
ton wrought in China by the denuda
ton of the forest areas.1
What has thus happened in northern
: China, what has happened in centra
! Asia, in Palestine, in north Africa. IL
parts of the Mediterranean countries
, Of Europe, will surely happen in GU
, country if we do not exercise tina
!; wise forethought which should be on
Of the chief marks of any people call
ing itself civilized. Nothing should b.
: permitted to stand in the way of TIL
, preservation Of the forests. and it
criminal to permit individuals to pur
chase little gain for themselve
through the destruction of forest
: when this destruction is fatal to tn
, well being of the whole country in til
} future. al
+ Inland Waterways.
: Action should be begun forthwith
+ during the present session of congress
t for the Improvement of our inland wa
: terways-action which will result i
giving US not only navigable bu
] navigated rivers. We have spen
!, hundreds of millions OF dollars upo
: these waterways, yet the traffic o
: nearly all of them is steadily declir
= ing. This condition is the direct RI
n suit of the absence of any comprt
hensive and farseeing plan of water
l. way Improvement. Obviously we car
n not continue thus to expend the re,
= enues of the government without r,
It turn. 1t Is poor business to Spen
Y money for inland navigation unles
It we get 1t.
II Such shortsighted, vacillating an
l. futile methods are accompanied by d.
J crcasinS water borne commerce an
q increasing traffic congestion on Ian,
q by increasing floods and by the vast
It Of public money. The remedy lies |
q abandoning the methods which hay
q so signally failed and adopting ne
e ones in keeping with the needs an
y demands of our people.
III Il report Oh Il measure introduce
at the first session of the present COZ
" gress the secretary of war said, ''Tl
chief defect in the methods hither
e pursued lies in the absence of exec
II tive authority for originating compr
hensive plans covering the country
natural divisions thereof" In tn
y opinion / heartily concur
& Until the work of river improvemel
Is is undertaken in modern way it ca
10 not have results that will meet II
needs of this modern nation. The
needs should be met without furth
c. dillydallying or delay The plan viii,
e. promises the best and quickest result
TO Is that of permanent commission q
Is thorized to coordinate the work of
d. the government departments relatil
p to waterways and to frame and supe
r. wise the execution Of a comprehend
OF plan. The time for playing with O
r. waterways is past. The country d
e- mands results.
es National Parks.
~ I urge that all our national parks a
jacent to national forests be plac