The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-08-11
HOME BUILDING
FOR THE NATION

following address was delivered be-
fore the National Irrigation Congress
yesterday by Mr.. Clifford Pinchot,
United States Forester and Chair
man of the National Conservation
| Commission. Mr.. Pinchot said
The most valuable citizen of this or
any other country is the man who
owns the land from which he makes
his living. No other man has such
stake in the country. No other man
lends such steadiness and stability to
our National life. Therefore, no other
question concerns us more intimately
than the question of homes. Perma-
nent homes for ourselves, our children
and our Nation-this is the central
problem. The policy of National irri-
cation is of value to the United States
in very many ways, but the greatest
of all is this, that National irrigation
multiplies the men who own the land
from which they make their living.
The old saying, who ever heard of
man shouldering his gun to fight for
his boarding house, reflects this great
truth that no man is so ready to de-
fend his country, not only with arms,
but with his vote, and his contribu-
ton to public opinion as the man with
permanent stake in it,as the man
| who owns that from which he makes
his living
/ Our country began as a Nation of
| farmers. During the periods that
gave it its character, when our indie
pendence was won and when our I'm
ion was preserved we were preemi-
nently a nation of farmers. We can
not, and we ought MOTTO continue eX-
clUsively or even chiefly an agricult-
ural country, because one man can
raise food enough for many. But the
| farmer who owns his land is still the
the things we want most is more of
him.
the Nation. like any other citizen just
in proportion to his intelligence, char
acter ability, and patriotism but I'M
like the other citizens, also in proper
ton to his attachment to the soil
That is the principal spring of his
steadiness, his sanity, his simplicity
and 1ireptDpcs and MANY of hi. do
sirable qualities. He is the first of
home-makers.
The Nation that will lead the world
will be a Nation of homes. The OBJ
ject of the great Conservation move
ment is just this, to make our country
permanent and prosperous home for
ourselves and for our children, and
for our children's children and it is a
task that is worth the best thought
and effort of any and all of us.
To achieve this or any other great
result, straight thinking and strong
action are necessary and the straight
thinking comes first. To make this
country what we need to have it we
must think clearly and directly about
our problems, and above all we must
understand what the real problems
are. The great things are few and
simple but they are too often hidden
by false issues, and conventional I'M
real thinking. The easiest way to
hide real issue always has been and
always will be to replace it with
false one.
The first thing we need in this
country, as President Roosevelt so
well set forth in that great message
which told what he had been trying
to do for the American people, is
equality of opportunity for every citi-
zen. No man should have less, and
70 nan ought to ask for any more.
Equality of opportunity is the real OBJ
iect Of our laws and institutions. Our
institutions and our laws are not val
liable in themselves. They are valu- !
able only because they secure equality |
OF opportunity IOI happiness anu Wei
fare for our citizens. An institution
or a law is a means, not an end, a
means to be used for the public good
to be modified for the public good,
and to be interpreted for the public
good One of the great reasons why
President Roosevelt's administration
was of such enormous value to the
plain American was that he under
stood what st. Paul meant when he
said: THE letter killeth, but the
;pirit giveth life" To follow blindly
he letter of the law, or the form of
IN institution, without intelligent re-
;ard both for it's spirit and for the t
,ublic welfare, is very nearly as dan I
.erous as to disregard the law alto t
ether. What we need is the use of t
he law for the public good, and the {
obstruction of it for the public well D
are.
1t goes without saying that the law 0
c,,prapoa and r1uet he OheVpd Our o