The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-08

Solutely unnavigable. But we do not
have to depend upon written records.
The dry wells and the wells with wa
ter far below the former water mark
bear testimony to the good days of
the past and the evil days of the pres
emit Wherever the native vegetation
has been allowed to remain-as, for in
stance, here and there around a sacred
temple or imperial burying ground
there are still huge trees and tangled
| jungle, fragments of the glorious an
| Gent forests. The thick, matted for
est growth formerly covered the noun
tains to their submits. All natural
factors favored this dense forest
growth, and as long as it was per-
| mitted to exist the plains at the foot
of the mountains were among the
| most fertile on the globe, and the
| whole country was a garden. Not the
slightest effort was made however,
to prevent the unchecked cutting of
the trees or to secure reforestation.
Doubtless for many centuries the tree
cutting by the inhabitants of the
| mountains worked but slowly in bring
ing about the changes that have now
come to pass. Doubtless for genera
lions the inroads were scarcely no.
ticeable, but there came a time when
the forest had shrunk sufficiently to
make each years cutting a serious
matter. and from that time on the de-
struction proceeded with appalling ra-
pidity, for of course each year of de-
struction rendered the forest less able
to recuperate, less able to resist next
years inroad.
Mr.. Meyer describes the ceaseless
| progress of the destruction even
now, when there is so little left
to destroy. Every morning men and
boys go out armed with mattock
or ak, scale the steepest mountain
sides and cut down and grub out, root
and branch, the small trees and shrubs
still to be found The big trees dis
appeared centuries ago, so that now
one of these is never seen save in the
neighborhood of temples. where they
are artiicially protected, and even
here it takes all the watch and care of
the tree loving priests to prevent their
destruction. Each family, each COM
munity, where there is no common
care exercised in the interest of all of
them to prevent deforestation, finds it's
profit in the immediate use of the fuel
which would otherwise be used by
some other family or some other COM
munity. In the total absence of regu-
lation of the matter in the interest of
the whole people each small group is
inevitably pushed into policy of de-
struction which cannot afford to take
thought for the morrow. This is just
one of those matters which it is fatal
to leave to unsupervised individual
control. The forests can only be pro-
tected by the state. by the nation, and
the liberty of action of individuals
must be conditioned upon what the
state or nation determines to be neces-
sary for the common safety.
The lesson of deforestation in China
is a lesson which mankind should have
learned many times already from what
has occurred in other places. Denuda-
ton leaves naked soil. then outlying
cuts down to the bare rock. and mean
while the rock waste burieS the bot
tom lands. When the soil is gone men
must go, and the process does not
take long.
The ruthless destruction of the for
about or has aided in bringing about
the forests in central Asia aid in bring
ing ruin to the once rich central Asian
cities just as the destruction of the
forests in northern Africa helped to-
ward the ruin of a region that was a
fertile granary in Roman days. Short
sighted man. whether barbaric, semi
civilized or what he mistakenly regards
as fully civilized, when he has destroy
ed the forests has rendered certain the
ultimate destruction of the land itself
In northern China the mountains are
now such as are shown by the accom-
panying photographs, absolutely barren
peaks. Not only have the forests been
destroyed, but because of their destruc-
ton the soil has been washed off the
naked rock. The terrible consequence
is that it is impossible now to undo
the damage that has been done. Many
centuries would have to pass before
soil would again collect or could be
made to collect in sufficient quantity
once more to support the old time for
est growth. In consequence the Mon
goi desert is practically extending east
ward over northern China. The eli
mate has changed and is still chang
ing. 1t has changed even within the
last half century as the work of tree
destruction has been consummated.
The great masses of arboreal vegetation
on the mountains formerly absorbed
the heat of the sun and sent up cur
rents of cool air which brought the
moisture laden clouds lower and forced
them to precipitate in rain a part of
their burden of water. Now that there
is no vegetation the barren mountains,
scorched by The sun, send up currents
of heated air which drive away in