The Daily Missoulian., 1909-01-23

ceed at once, The cost of the whole
work should be met by direct appro'
priation if possible, but If necessar,
by the issue of bonds in small demon
inations.
1t is especially important that tn,
development of water power should
be guarded with the utmost care by
both the national government and by
the states in order to protect the
people against the upgrowth of mo.
nopoly and to insure to them a fail
share in the benefits which will fol-
low the development of this great as.
set which belongs to the people ant
should be controlled by them.
The Forests.
1 urge that provision be made fol
both protection and more rapid de.
velopment of the national forests
Otherwise, either the increasing use
of these forests by the people must be
checked or their protection against fire
must be dangerously weakened. 1!
we compare the actual fire damage
on similar areas on private and ma
tional forest lands during the past
year, the government fire patrol saved
commercial timber worth as much as
the total cost of caring for all ma
tional forests at the present rate for
about 10 years.
/ especially commend to the congress
the facts presented by the commission
as to the relation between forests and
stream flow in it's bearing upon the
Importance of the forest lands in ma
tional ownership. Without an under
standing of this intimate relation the
conservation of both these natural re-
sources must largely fail
The time has fully arrived for recog-
nizing in the law the responsibility to
the community, the state and the ma
ton which rests upon the private
owners of private lands The owner
ship of forest land is a public trust
The man who would so handle his
forest as to cause erosion and to in
jure stream flow must be not only
educated, but he must be controlled
The report of the national conserva-
tion commission says:
Forests in private ownership can
not be conserved unless they are pro-
tected from fire. We need good fire
laws, well enforced. Fire control is
impossible without an adequate force
of men whose sole duty is fire patrol
during the dangerous season.
l hold as first among the tasks be-
fore the states and the nation in their
respective shares in forest conserva-
tion 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 reforesta-
ton of cut-over land and the perpetu-
alton Of existing forests by use An
annual tax upon the land itself, exclu-
siVe of the timber and a tax upon the
timber when cut is well adapted to
actual conditions of forest investment
ana is practicable and certain. 1t is
far better that forest land should pay
a moderate tax permanently than that
II should pay an excessive revenue
temporarily and then cease to yield at
all.
Second only in Importance to good
fire laws well enforced is the enact
ment of tax laws which will permit
the perpetuation of existing forests by
use
Arabic 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 arabic area are not
great, and it will be necessary to OBJ
tain 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 of
wheat, corn and other crop plants,
with reduction in losses from sail
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 it should be literally
supported.
The remaining public lands should
be classified and the arabic lands dis
posed OF to home makers. In their in
terest the timber and stone act and
the communication clause of the home-
stead act should be repealed. and the
desert-land law should be modified in
''SSoA uhiSc Will lHe recommendations
of the public. land commission.
The use of the public grazing lands
should be regulated in such ways as to
improve and conserve their value.
Rights to the surface of the public
land should be separated from the
rights of the forests upon it and to
beneath it, and these should
be subject to separate disposal
The coal, oil, gas and phosphate
rights still remaining with the gov
ernment should be withdrawn from
entry and leased under conditions fav-
orable for economic development.
Minerals.
The accompanying report shows that
the consumption of nearly all of our
products is increasing more
rapidly than our population. Our min
eral waste is about one-sixth of our
product, or nearly $1,0OOO0O for each
working day in the year. The loss of
structural materials through fire is
about another million a day. The loss
of life in the mines is appalling. The
larger part of these losses of life and
can be avoided
Our mineral resources are limited
in quantity and can not be increased
Or reproduced. With the rapidly in
creasing rate of consumption the sup
ply will be exhausted while yet the
nation is in its infancy, unless better