The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-11-12
FARMS SUSTAIN
ENORMOUS Loss
SOIL WASH WOULD RUN THE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.
COAL AND IRON ARE GOING
Startling Figures Are Advanced by
a Louisiana Man in Speech
Before the Red River I'M
provement Association.

Denison, Tex, Nov. 6.--The farmers
Iof the United States lose each year In
soil washed from their land enough to
|pay the entire expenses Of the national
government at Washington, declared
Congressman ]. T. Watkins of Louis
lana, today in an address before the
Congressional Red River Improve
lment Association, which Is holding its
lsecond annual convention in this city.
forest preservation and waterway i'm
lprovement and advanced some start
ling figures regarding the rate at
which the national resources are be-
ing exhausted.
From the soil which is washed
from the land and the caving of the
river banks one billion tons of silt
accumulate in our river beds annu-
Tally" he said. This soil Is the most
fertile part of the land and it is worse
than wasted. 1t is not only lost for
| all practical purposes, but forms an
| impeachment to navigation in making
sandbars, catching logs and filling up
the channel of the stream; often eaus-
ing 1t to go entirely dry.
| While millions of dollars worth of
ilevees have caved and washed into
the river, this does not constitute the
main expense of this soil wash. 1t Is
usually the virgin soil which first
washes into the streams. This virgin
soil usually produces more abundantly
Than mn niaI
mercial fertilizers are worth $4,000
per ton and we should estimate this
soil which is washed off of the land
at the same value, we see that there
lis lost twenty billion dollars every
year. If the value should be divided
lby twenty the loss would still be one
billion dollars-enough to pay the en-
tire expenses of our national govern
ment, including the executive, the
Legislative and the judicial depart
ments.
When a man puts a ton of CONNER
cial fertilizer on a piece of land and
1t is washed away by single freshet,
[he realizes his loss and begins meas
lures to circumyent recurrence. But
when the surface of his soil Is being
gradually destroyed by erosion. he
neither plants shrubs or terraces his
land to prevent it, There has been
time when he could move his new
ground from field to field simply by
clearing it, but that time has passed.
The primitive settler had one hundred
and sixty acres of land given to him
by the government for home. His
four children each inherited forty
acres of this from him. But his grand
children will not have enough land up
on which to make a living and the
public lands of the government are
practically exhausted, at least so far
as they are adapted to agricultural
pursuits 1t becomes necessary for
each land owner to conserve in every
possible way all the land which he
owns.
One of the great problems before
the American people today is the
Conservation of Our National Re-
sources In solving these problems
the question of reservoirs at the head
waters Of our streams viii play an
important part. When these reser-
voirs are constructed the stream flow
will be so regulated as to enable the
marsh lands to be the more readily
drained. That these lands will event
ually be reclaimed there can be no
doubt, as it is evident that our popu-
lation will increase to two hundred
million within fifty years and enter.
prises of all kinds, having for their
object the development of our naIur-
al resources, will be inaugurated and
these lands, when redeemed, will add
millions of wealth to our natural re-
sources
The water courses of this country
are capable OF producing energy suffi-
Client to generate thirty million horse
power OF electrical force. This force
can be distributed over the entire
area of this country. When our tim.
Der is exhausted for the purposes of
fuel and our coal is gone we must
look TO our streams to supply our mo.
tive power in the form of electricity
with which to propel our engines and
furnish light and heat, and while our
forests are being renewed we must
look to our vanishing supply of iron
to perform many of those functions
now performed by wood.
No individual. no local or state
government can utilize our navigable
streams for profit to the detriment of
navigation. The national government
VIII not improve them except for pur-
poses OF navigation, and as the grow.
ing OF forests, the building OF levees.
drainage and revetments will tend 10
Improve navigation. it is evident that
We must look to the national govern.
ment to protect our streams from de-
struction. AS an incident to this pro-
lection, locks and dams are neces-
sary, and through them the electrical
power will be generated which gener-
atoms now unborn will enjoy when
the oil, gas and coal shall be no
Tha pfh<