Putnam patriot., 1909-01-29
to the people and should be controlled
Forests.

wise. either the increasing use of these forests by the people must be checked or their protection against lire must be dangerously weakened If we com rarc the actual fire damage on similar areas on private and national feress lands during the past year. the govern l rnent fire patrol saved commercial tial- her worth as much as the total cost Of caring for all national forests al the present rate for about ten years I especially commend 10 the congress the facts presented by the commission as to the relation between forests and stream flow In it's bearing upon the im portauce of the forest lands in nation al ownership. Without an understand.
 inr of this intimate relation the con seryation of both these natural re- sources must largely fail.
 The time has fully arrived for reeogs nizing in the law the responsibility te the community, the state and the na- ton which rests upon the private own CTS of private lands, The ownership of forest land Is a public trust. The man who would SD handle his forest as to cause erosion and to tnjnrs stream flow must be not only educated but he must be controlled.
 The report of the national eonserya tion commission says;
 Forests In private ownership cannot be conserved unless they are protected from fire We need good fire laws, well en- forced. Fire control is impossible With out an adequate force of men whose sole tfa lar season.
 I hold as first among the tasks be fore the states and the nation in their
 respective shares In forest eonserva- ton the organization of efficient fire patrols and the enactment of good fire laws on the part of the states. The report says further.
 Present tax laws prevent reforestatton of cut over land and the perpetuation of existing forests hy use. An annual tax upon the land itself, exclusive of the tim Der and a tax upon the timber when cut Is we'll adapted to actual conditions of forest investment and is practicable and certain It is far better that forest land should pay moderate tax permanently than that it should pay an excessive rev enae temporarily and then cease to yield at all
  fire laws well enforced is the enact ment of tax laws which will permit the perpetuation of existing forests by use
 Lands.
 With our increasing population the time Is not far distant when the prob lem of supplying our people with food will become pressing. The possible additions to our arable area are not great. and 1t will become necessary to obtain much larger crops from the land. as Is now done in more densely settled countries To do this we need better farm practice and better strains l of wheat. corn and other crop plants. with a reduction In losses from soil 1 erosion and from insects, animals and other enemies of agriculture. The | United States department of agricul. | ture is doing excellent work in these | directions. and 1t should be literally ! supported
 The remaining public lands should | be classified and the arabic lands 1 disposed of to homemakers. In their | interest the timber and stone act and l the communication clause of the home l stead act should be repealed. and the | desert land law should be modified in I accordance with the recommendations 1 of the public lands commission. ] The use of the public grazing lands I should he regulated in such ways as l to improve and conserve their value. Rights to the surface of the public ] land should be separated from rights | to forests upon il and to minerals be | heath 1t. and these should be subject | to separate disposal
 The coal. oil. gas and phosphate | rights still rema ming with the govern | ment should be withdrawn from entry and leased under conditions favorable for economic development. Minerals.
 The accompanying reports show that the consumption of nearly all of our mineral products is increasing more rapidly than our population. Our min. eral waste Is about one-sixth of our product. or nearly S10O00O0 for each working day in the year. The loss Of structural materials through fire is about another million day. The loss of life in the mines Is appalling. The larger part of these losses of life and property can be avoided.
 Our mineral resources are limited in quantity and cannot be increased or reproduced With the rapidly increas Ing rate of consumption the supply will be exhausted while yet the nation Is h it's infancy unless better methods are devised or substitutes are found Fur ther investigation IS urgently needea in order 10 improve methods and to de velop and apply substitutes. It Is of the utmost importance that bureau of mines be established ln ae- eordance with the pending bill to re duce the loss of life in mines and the waste of mineral resources and to in vestigate the methods and substitutes for prolonging the duration of our min eral supplies. Both the need and the public demand for such a bureau are rapidly becoming more urgent. It should cooperate with the states In 1 supplying daa to serve as basis for state mine regulations. The establish ment of this bureau win mean merely l the transfer from other bureaus Of work which 1t is agreed should be transferred and slightly enlarged and reorganized for these purposes. Conclusions.
 The joint conference already men l toned adopted two resolutions to which l call your special attention. l The first was intended 10 promote co- operation between the stafes and the