El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-06

attempt to take control of our water
ways as fast as they are improved and
completed We must see to it that
adequate terminals are provided in ev-
cry city and town on every improved
waterway, terminals open under rea-
sonabIe conditions to the use of every
citizen, and rigidly protected against
monopoly, and we must compel the
railways to cooperate with the water
ways continuously, effectively, and I'M
der reasonable conditions.
Adequate terminals properly con-
trcled and open through lines by rail
and boat are two absolutely essential
conditions TO the usefulness Of inland
waterway Development.
The National Forests.
The people of the United States be-
Iieve in the complete and rounded de-
veIopment of inland waterways, for all
the useful purposes they can be made
to serve They believe also in forest
protection and forest extension. The
fight Tor our national forests In the
west has been won. If any PROOF Were
needed that forest protection is a ma
tional duty, the recent destruction of
forests in the west by fire would sup
ply II. Even with the aid of the army
added to that Of the forest service the
loss has been severe. Without either it
would have been vastly greater.
But the forest service does more
than protect the national forests
against fire. It makes them practically
and increasingly useful as we'll Dur
ing the last year for which I have the
figures the national forests were
used by $4,000 cattlemen with their
herds, 5000 sheepmen with their flocks
5000 timbermen with their crews, and
$4,000 miners. More than 5000 persons
used them for other special industries.
Nearly $4,000 settlers had the free use
Of wood. Moreover, the national for
ests protect the water supply of a
thousand cities and towns, about 500
irrigation projects, and more than 800
power projects, not counting the use
Of water for these and other purposes
by individual settlers. I think that
hereafter we may safely disregard any
statement that the national forests are
withdrawn from settlement and use.
A Country Life Institute.
1.-The Investigations Of the Country
Life commission have led the farmers
of the country to realize that they have
not been getting their fair share of
progress and all that it brings. The
means for better farming we have stud
led with care, but to better living on
the farm and to better business on the
farm. the farmers themselves have Civ
urgent needs of our civilization is that
the farmers themselves should under
take to get for themselves a better
knowledge along these lines, and then
to apply it.
Human Efficiency.
LAS a people we have not yet learned
to economic. One of the virtues we
Americans most need is thrift. 1t is a
mere truism to say that luxury and ex-
So far as they affect character the
loss they cause may be beyond compu-
tation- But in the material sense there
is a loss greater than is caused by both
eXtraVaganc and luxury put together.
[ mean the needless, useless and exces-
sive loss to our people from premature
death and avoidabIe diseases. Wholly
apart from the grief, the suffering, and
the wretchedness which they cause, the
material loss each year has been calcu-
lated at nearly twice what it costs to
run the federal government. In addi-
ton to the state and city, health Of
ficers and organizations, there is ur-
gently needed a federal bureau of
health, to act so far as the national
government properly may to relieve our
people from this dreadful burden.
National Conservation Commission.
''One Of the most important meetings
governors in the white house in May,
1908, to consider the conservation ques-
ton But the advice of the governors
the meeting was followed by the ap-
pointment Of e national conservation
commission. The meeting of the gov
errors directed the attention of the
country to the conservation as nothing
else could have done, while the work
Of the commission gave the movement
practical program. But at the moment
when the commission was ready to be-
gin the campaign for putting its pro-
gram into effect an amendment to the
sundry civil service bill was introduced
by congressman from Minnesota with
the purpose Of putting a stop to the
work SO admirably begun. Congress
passed the amendment. It's object was
to put an end to the work of a number
OF commissions, which had been ap-
pointed by the president, and whose
contribution to the public welfare had
been simply incalculable.
The National Conservation associa-
ton took up the work which other
wise would not have been done, and it
exercised a most useful influence in
preventing bad legislation, in securing
the introduction of better conservation
measures at the past session of con-
gress, and in promoting the passage
OF wise laws. 1t deserves the conf
dence and support Of every citizen in
terested in the wise development and
preservation of our natural resources,
and in preventing them from passing
into the hands of uncontrolled monop-
olies.
Pan-American Conservation
when the government of the United
States awoke to the idea of conserva-
ton and saw that it was good, it lost
no time in communicating the advan-
tages of the new point of view to its
Immediate neighbors among the ma
lions. A North American conservation
conference was held in Washington
and the cooperation of Canada and
Mexico in the great problem Of develop
ing the resources of the continent for
the benefit of its people was asked and
promised. The nations upon our north