The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-09-06

the useful purposes they can be made Il
to serve They believe also in forest
protection and forest extension. The 4
fight for our national forests in the Il
in which the woman of Minnesota did 4
work which should secure to them the 1
perpetual gratitude of their state, Min
nesota won her national forest, and |
will keep it; but the fight to create I
the Southern Appalachian and White
Mountain forests in the east is not yet
over. The bill has passed the house /
and will come before the senate for a
vote next February. The people of |
the United States. regardless of party
or section should stand solidly behind |
it, and see that their representatives do |
likewise.
If any proof were needed that for
est protection is a national duty, the |
recent destruction of forests in the |
west by fire would supply it. 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. Il
But the forest service does more |
than protect the national forests
against fire. It makes them practically |
and increasingly useful as well. Dur
ing the last year for which 1 have fig
ures the national forests were used by
$4,000 cattlemen with their herds,
5000 sheepmen with their fiocks.
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. The
total resident population Of the ma
tional forests is about a quarter of a
million, which is larger than the popu-
lation of certain states. More than
100000 acres of agricultural land have
been patented or listed for patent with
in the forests, and The reports Of the
fnroQf ShnU that than
400, 900 people year use the forests
for recreation, camping, hunting, fish
ing and similar purposes. All this is
done, of course, without injury to the
timber, which has a value of at least
a thousand million dollars. Moreover,
the national forests 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. think
that hereafter we may safely disregard
any statements that the national for
ests are withdrawn from settlement
and use.
A Country Life Institute.
The investigations of the country life
commission have led the farmers of
this country to realize that they have
not been getting their fair share of
progress and all that it brings. Some
of our farming communities in the
Mississippi valley and in the middle
west have made marvellous progress,
yet even the best of them, like COM
munities of every other kind, are not
beyond improvement, while much
needs to be done in some other sec
lions to improve country life. AS yet
we know comparatively little of the
/ basic facts of rural civilization. The
means for better farming we have
studied with care, but to better living
on the farm and to better business on
the farm the farmers themselves have
given scant attention. One of the most
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. Sir Horace Plunkett. for
many years Wyoming cattleman, and
now devoting himself in Ireland to the
country life problem there, has sug-
gested in his recent book on the
| Country Life Problem in America"
| the creation of a country life institute
as center where the work and knowl-
edge of the whole world concerning
| country life may be brought together
| for the use of every nation. 1 am
strongly in sympathy with this idea,
and 1 hope to see it carried out with
the cooperation and assistance OF our
| own people. Last spring, while VISIT
Pesth, 1 was immensely impressed by
| the museum of country life. contain
ing an extraordinary series of studies
in agriculture, in stock raising, in Tor
estry, in mining: the exhibits were OF
the utmost practical Importance ano
were also intensely interesting and in
structive. I greatly wish we had such
a museum in Washington; and some OF
your farmer congressman ought TO ge'
a full and detailed report of this Buda-
Pesth museum to be printed for dis
tribution in a public document.
) AS a people we have not yet learned
to economic. One of the virtues we
Americans most need is thrift. 1t il
a mere truism to say that luxury ant
extravaganza are not good for ma
; ton So far as they affect character
l the loss they cause may be beyond
> computation. But in the materfa
sense there is a loss greater than Il
caused by both extravaganza and lux
ury put together I mean the need
: less useless, and excessive loss to ou
I people from premature death ant
, avoidable diseases. Wholly apart from
/ tho griei, the suffering and tn
2 wretchedness which they cause, tn
material loss each year has been cal
culated at nearly twice what 1t cost
to run the federal government. In ad
dition to the state and city health of
fcers and organizations, there is ur
gently needed federal bureau o
health, to act, so far as the nationa
government properly may, to reliev
our people from this dreadful burden
4 National Conservation Commission
= One of the most important meeting
1 in our recent history was that of tn
governors in the White House in Ma,
1908, to consider the conservatio
. question. BY the advice of the gov
: errors the meeting was followed b
= the appointment of a national cor
u servation commission. The meetin
Il of the governors directed the after
ton of the country to conservation
> nothing else could have done, Will
the work of the commission gave til
movement definiteness and supplied
with a practical program. But at tt
moment when the commission we
ready to begin the campaign for pu
L ting it's program into effect an amend
ment to the sundry civil service bi
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