The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-05-01
A Big Word

HERE are fashions in words JUST
as there are in clothes and books
and everything else that the peo-
pie OF the world say and do and think.
When Grover Cleveland was president.
it was the fashion 70 use the phrase.
'Innocuous desuetude" Space II too
short TO tell that story. but Juniors
will find themselves smiling ~ they
will look I'D the meaning Of the phrase
Within the past seven years il has
been. first the strenuous life: next.
delighted and as a last legacy OF
the outgoing administration. The word
conservation" And of them all. the
last word means the most. It contains
the greatest variety OF meanings. and
those meanings. in turn make I'D
whole dictionary in themselves A die
tionary OF meanings that spell all kinds
OF national trouble unless the word and
all it indicates are taken seriously
enough 10 set every man. woman and
child in the United States not merely
TO thinking. but 70 working
Americans are doing quite the big
gest things in all the civilized world.
We pride ourselves on the bigness-
and utterly fail to see that for every
big thing manufactured We nave vast
ed at least three times It's quantity in
value
one OF the big sawmiIIs. From the
moment he entered the sawmin prem
ises he began 10 walk on sawdust- And
no matter where he went. his foot never
touched earth anmixed with this waste
product of numbering. Everywhers he
turned he saw mounds OF IL, while IN
the mills It was impossible almost 90
tell whether there was floor under the
layer OF spongy sawdust-
If a Junior S-aa NJ a rrs-ir,,.. 4,,rn -
mind he asked what they used sawdust
for, and the reply would be that some
of the heating plants down town or
some of the manufactures bought r.
for cheap fuel Now. II that big word
conservation" We're only properly IN
deEstood by the American people that
same sawdust would be as carefully
gathered ND and put on the market as n
II were worth its weight In xofH For
out OF that despised sawdust chemists
could make oXslic acid enough not only
10 supply the demand OF the nation. but
Tor export. At present oxalic acid TO
the amount OF 5.000. 900 pounds Is being
imported annually. This is one OF the
little big things covered by the word
conservation.
When you strike a match which r.
fuses to burn long enough to light vnur
nre or the gas. You throw il away con
temPtuouSly-matche are 50 cheap
let those same cheap matches are helm
ing TO utterly DESTROY Our forests. be-
cause the match consumption of the
country means. in one short Il months
the cutting down clean cut. that Is
OF 10000 acres OF forest And when
the figures also show thai other lum-
Der consumption means the cutting
down OF three and a half times as
much timber as can be grown IN a
year-to say nothing OF the enormous
loss by fire. which must be added. the
word conservation" begins to loom m
like Jacks beanstalk
But the forest IS not all thar needs
conservation. In the spring when the
freshets come and the brooks. streams
and rivers All 70 their banks and over
now. il is gay holiday time for water
loving Juniors--and - there Junior
boy. at least. who Is not included under
tnat head3 But these same waters are
literally washing the land away on
which we live The larger streams
have greater force and they carry away
larger quantities OF earth. blowing
deeper into the fertile meadows and
carrying on the cream Of their value.
In years time the earth carried
away from the wheatfelds and corn
fields and cotton fields. and orchards
and gardens and berry patches would
make a block mile square and 1000
feet high. When the scientists know
that earth is made only at the rate OF
one foot IN 10000 years and the safe
rate of wearing Off IS one inch in 1900
years. the word conservation adds
good many inches TO its size and a good
many pounds to it's weight
These are only two OF the big things
that the word conservation means. 1t
is a word that is going to mean still
bigger things TO You Juniors when you
are old enough 70 take your share OF
the worlds work Meanwhile. although
II sounds like biz mouthful OF a word.
and its meaning seems too big for your
brains to understand. nevertheless. the
more familiar you become with il. the
more you heed it's manifold meanings.
when yours are the hands that viii
mold the nations destiny. the easier all
life will be. and the greater your own
work for your country.-Minneapolis
Journal.