The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-25

| ucfs, but neither the increase In acre
age nor the yield per acre has kept
pace with our Increase IN population,
within century we shall probably
have 10 feed three times as many
people ms now, and the main bulk o.
our food supply must BE- grown on our
own son. We have now nearly 1900.
900 farms. averaging l4d acres each,
but only a little more than two-ffths
OF the area Of continental United States
is under cultivation. The United
States can grow the farm products
needed by population moro than three
times as great as our country now con-
tains. but we must greatly increase
the yield per acre.
The greatest unnecessary waste Of
our soil Is preventabIe erosion. Second
only 70 this Is the waste, nonuse and
misuse OF fertilizer derived from AMI
mails and men. Other great causes Of
loss are due to Injurious mammals,
plant diseases and insects. Most Of
these farm losses are preventable.
The present public land laws as q
whole do not subserve the best inter
ests of the people. Title 10 the surface
Of the remaining nonmineral public
lands should be granted only to actual
homemakers.
Next TO our need Of food and water
comes our need OF timber. declares the
report. The preservation by use under
the methods OF practical forestry OF
all public forest lands either In state
or federal ownership IS essential to
the permanent public welfare Effec-
tive and immediate cooperation by pri-
vate enterprise. state ownership and
federal ownership is needed IL the pub
lie interest is to be subscrved. BY rea-
sonable thrift we can produce con-
slant timber supply beyond our present
need and with 1t conserve the useful
ness OF our streams for irrigation. wa
ter supply. navigation and power.
OF the 10000 900. 100000 cubic feet
Of water annually flowing into the sea
less than per cent is restrained and
utilized for municipality and commu-
nifty supply; less than . per cent (cr
some 10 per cent OF that In the arid
and semiarid regions) is used for irri-
CATION; perhaps per cent Is used for
navigation and less than 8 per cent for
power.
The freshets are attended by de-
structive soil erosion The soil matter
annually carried into lower rivers and
harbors or into the sea is computed at
Tso 600, 900 tons, Soil wash reduces by
10 to 20 per cent the productivity o.
upland farms and increases channel
cutting and bar building in the rivers.
The annual loss 10 the farms alone 10
$500, 900, 900. and large losses follow
the fouling OF the waters and the d.
mInished navigation OF the streams.
Broad plans should be adopted pro-
viding for a system Of waterway Inn
provement extending to all uses Of the
waters and benefits to be derived from
their control
Under the heading National Ell
ellen 7" the report says:
"Since the greatest OF our national
assets is the health and vigor Of the
American people, our efficiency must
depend on national vitality even more
than on the resources Of the minerals,
lands, forests and waters.
''our annual mortality from tuber-
culosis is about 10000. stopping
Of the loss OF life from
this cause and from typhoid and other
and preventable diseases
would increase our average length Of
fife over fifteen years
eff we count the value Of each life
lost at only $1,T00 and reckon the aver
age earning lost by illness as $500 per
year for grown men. we find that the
economic gain from mitigation Of pre-
disease In the United States
would exceed $1,000. 100000 year In
addition, we would decrease suffering
and increase happiness and content
nent among the people"
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