The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-26

loses it's fbrous life, and by erosion ls rapidly washed down lnlo the streams, and thence the iNeis' where it is deposited to the detrlmeh' of navigation. The heavier forest de- bris which is not removed by thls pro cess dries up and becomes mass ol finder that easily takes fire when the hunters or wuodman's match falls lh- 10 it. or as is some cases, when llshl- ming strikes it. These fires, beginning in this debris, spread to the forests that are left and every year do lncal- culable damage.
 After this process is complete anu | the sides of the water sheds are Idlu bare, comes the deluge. tlrsl, the sources of the springs which feed the hundreds of tiny brooks are drled up and the streams and rivers in the ar! season get very low with consequent enormous loss of the water power which runs the great mills Of tohhec- i ticut. Merrimac and Sace rivers. Then the snows melt and the heavy later 1 rains begin. There is nothing now 10 hold and distribute this downfall or water on the steep slopes and we nave the devastating floods which ahhual- I ly entail to the great textile and other mills enormous losses and what goes
 on in New England pertains With Tar more serious consequences on ooth sides the Appalachian mountain re- zion from Pennsylvania down.
 The bill mentioned has been before congress in one form or another for the past six years. During that period the ! growth of favorable sentiment toward i it has been remarkable. The nearing ! on the question at Washington Janu- ary 80 brought together one of the most impressive and distinguished i gatherings ever assembled in Washing | ton for a similar purpose. The gov ernors of twenty states were present. either in person or by official represent atives or delegations, Boards Of trade and business organizations of most ot 1 the large cities in all the states Of the Atlantic coast and of the Central States were represented, and delegates from i local and national societies represent i ing several hundred members.
 A very conservative estimate of the ] interests represented by the men who
 were present at the hearing would show that tho industries whose total business amounts to nearly billion dollars year consider themselves im-
 mensely concerned.
 ! II was stated at the general confer ence of the delegates held prior to f the hearing that it was an open secret ! that Speaker Cannon had made up the house committee on agriculture with the view of majority report against the bill Whether this be true or not, an analysis of the personnel of the present committee shows a marked n- crease in the representation from the Middle West, and from those states west of the Mississippi. and conse- quently smaller representation from the eastern and southern states as com pared with the make up of the com-
 mttee of the previous congress. Last year the committee with F. Stevens
 Henry as sub chairman, favored the bill unanimously. but it never reached
 q vote because Speaker Cannon, for
 reasons which we have not yet heard
 would not allow it to. The senate had
 passed the bill; Mir. Cannons own com
 mlttee backed it, but it failed to be-
 come a law because of the rules oi
 the house of representatives were such
 that one man could, and did defeat the
 will ot millions Of the people of the
 eastern and southern states. Strange
 anomaly in our system of free govern.
 ment!
 Let us thpow in a side light or tive
 on this point. After the hearing tht
 delegates were received by Speake
 Cannon. Governor Hoke smith intro
 duced us and stated what we had conn . to Washington for. The speaker re
 piled in a few words, saying he didn'
 know but that he should have to with
 draw his opposition 10 the bill as WI
 seemed 10 be pretty dead in earnest
 Yet gentlemen, he further remarked they have been cutting down trees il
 my state ever since I was boy am
 trees have been growing up again
 guess the thing is about even A quick as flash Governor Smith retort
 ed, Any of those trees big enough L make presidential tmper of, Uncl : Joe?" At the last session of congress after a favorable report upon this bil had been unanimously made by tn house committee the Providence Boar
 of Trade, realizing that unless some
 thing was done MT, Cannon would no allow 1t to come to vote, telegraphe' ' to the speaker. deprecating further de 7 lay. Mir. Cannon sent a telegram | the Providence men, saving, Your rep
 resentative can call up the bill an } time he chooses This reply was I once wired back to the representativ
 from Rhode Island who thereupoi went to the speaker and asked if n would recognize him. "No"' thunder , ed the Speaker
 It would seem as though the grea
 west was either ignorant or indiffer ent to the needs of the East No, en tirely so. however, for there are wester,
 men in congress who are broad enougl
 and big enough to sec that what acute ly affects the interests of the east mus
 directly help to hake or mar the pros perity of the west By latest report
 from Washington it would appear tha even Speaker Cannons present com mittee Is wavering, Why, the mass 0 I expert and other testimony poured int the committee at the recent hearing fo
 six and onc-half hours waa g, irseslsi ' ible. so absolutely convincing, that a ' the close Chairman Charles F. Scot r did an unusual thing. He arose an addressing the delegates, thanked ther
 in behalf of his committee fer the yer [ able way in which the argument ha
 been presented, stating that they Ina been gpugH5llt impressed with the i'm portance of the question and woul ? give it their most careful and earnes attention. A hearing upon the consti , nationality of the measure has bee sprung at the last moment. It is SC for Tuesday, February 21 It was re 2 ferred to the judiciary committee . I the house by a resolution offered b ' Representative Bartlett of Georgi, Judge Bartlett bases his opinion of tn . ilnconstitutiOnalitv of inc measur