Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1910-06-16
FLOODS NOT DUE
To DEFORESTAT|ON
ARMY ENGINEER OFFERS STRONG
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT
THIS DOCTRINE.
FOREST PRESERVATION DESlR-
ABLE BUT PEOPLE SHOULD
NOT BE FOOLED.

engineers, United states army, cOIl-
tributes to the Wheeling Register an
important article on the influence OF
forests on floods. Professor Willis l.
Moore, head of the weather bureau,
claims that the removal OF forests
| does not necessarily intensity our
great floods. The Register editorlally
asserted that he had not succeeded in
convincing any of the recognized au
thorities of the soundness Of his the
ory The editorial quotes from the
Outlook as follows: The experience
of the ages has crystallized this conn
mon knowledge into the common be-
| lief that beyond question forests do
! influence stream flow.
Il wish to raise my voice against
these two statements declares Cap
tain Alstaetter. Il contend that the
experience of the ages has not given
| this belief to everyone, and | also
| contend that the best authorities
agree with Professor Moore and not
with Mr. Clifford Pinchot. The ques-
ton OF how much forests affect stream
flow is too big a one for me to go into
at this time, but would like to state
that the contention between the two
parties in this case is concerned prin-
cipally with the effect of forests on
floods in large navigaDie streams and
not on floods in small branches.
Referring to the claim concerning
the experience of the ages, the only
way to refute that would be to re-
peat all the records available. | have
read hundreds of pages of such rec
ords which could not be repeated
here, and they most certainly do not
Indicate what the Outlook contends as
far as | have been able to discover,
and there are many engineers of
prominence who can not find this
proof. | wish to call attention to the
fact that the belief common nowadays
In this country regarding the effect of
forests on stream flow has been
spread through popular publications
and not through scientific ONES and
it is believed largely by people who
have given the matter only passins
attention. The scientific world neither
IN this country nor abroad has ever
accepted this theory. The broad
statement that SO and SO lis the ex-
perlence of mankind given without
proof is a typical forestry argument,
end is meant for popular consump-
tiOn
referring now to. the question: OF
no authority agreeing; with Professor
Moore, it is pertinent to ask who the
authorities are and which of them
agree with Mr.. Pinchot. If patient
wanted to know the value of a GER
tain patent medicine would he ask
the man who was interested in sell
ing the patent medicine OR would he
ask his doctor who was studying to
keep patients we'll regardless of
methods? Similarly if you want to-
know about what caused the foods,
would you ask Mr. Pincliot, ex-cf1ief
CT the forestry bureau. who, is anxious
TO plant all the trees he can, or would
you ask Professor Moore, chief of the
weather bureau, which, department
for years has conducted the matter of
forecasting foods, and which i'm this
work has been compelled to study
everything which caused the floods
You might also be inclined to ask the
corps OF engineers of the United
States army, whose business is the
Improvement of navigable STREAMS.
which is yitally affected by the num-
Der and height of the various floods
and necessarily studies them. The
weather bureau and corps of engfnr
GERS have no axe to grind except that
If trees would ameliorate floods it
would be a great advantage to the
corps of engineers, and a great as
slstance to them in their work tt, have
them planted in great numbers. The
corps and the weather bureau both
want to reduce floods but tfey have
no interest in trees except for the
results that may be derived from
them.
L have read Professor Moone's
pamphlet, written at the request of
the committee of agriculture of the
house Of representatives, and no one
can read it without realizing that he
is reading the results of the close
study of learned and scientific man
II MIR. Pfnchot has ever written any
thing as thorough and learned I never
saw it. and have read most matters
IN this regard that have come out in
recent years.
Referring to the authorities further
Captain Alstaetter says that if there
IS one of the $50 officers of the corps
OF engineers who in this day and gen
Grafton believes that forests ought
to be planted to alleviate extreme
goods or to improve navigation one
OF Mr.. Pinchot's arguments. he has
never heard of him. About a year