The Green Forest tribune., 1910-12-09

| opened in some clJleS ana LoHuS Ol the 1st of January, and there will be gradual extension of the benefits of the plan to the rest of the country"
 Tt is gratifying says the president, [ that the reduction ill the postal deficit has been accomplished without any curtailment of postal facilities. On the contrary, the service has been greatly extended during the year in all it's branches.
 Second-CIass Mail.
 "In my last annual message l in vited the attention of congress to the inadequacy of the postal rate imposed upon second-class mail matter in so far as that includes magazines. and showed by figures prepared by experts of the postofffce department that the government was rendering a service to the magazines, costing many mil lions in excess of the compensation paid An answer was attempted to this by the representatives of the magazines, and a reply was filed to this answer by the pOstoffice depart ment. The utter inadequacy of the answer. considered in the light of the reply of the post0fice department, l think must must appeal to any fair minded person. Whether the answer was all that could be said in behalf of the magazines is another question. l agree that the question is one of fact; but I insist that if the fact is as the experts of the postofice department show, that we are furnishing to the owners of magazines a service worth millions more than they pay for it, then justice requires that the rate should be increased. The increase in the receipts of the department result l ing from this change may be devoted to increasing the usefulness of the de partment in establishing parcels post and in reducing the cost of first class postage to one cent It has been said by the postmaster general that a i fair adjustment might be made under which the advertising part of the magazine should be charged for at a different and higher rate from that of the reading matter. This would re lieve many useful magazines that are not circulated at a profit, and would not shut them out from the use of the mails by a prohibitory rate.
 With respect to the parcels post, l respectfully recommend it's adoption on all rural delivery routes, and that II pounds--the international limit-be made the limit of carriage in such i post
 Abolish Navy Yards.
 The president calls attention to cer- tain reforms urged by the secretary of the navy which he recommends for adoption, and continues:
 The estimates of the navy depart ment are $5,000,000 less than the ap- propriations for the same purpose last year, and included in this is the build ing program of the same amount as that submitted for your consideration last year. It is merely carrying out the plan of building two battleships a year, with few needed auxiliary yes sels. I earnestly hope that this pro gram will be adopted
 The secretary of the navy has given personal examination to every navy yard, and has studied the uses of the navy yards with reference to the necessities Of our fleet. With a fleet considerably less than half the size of that of the British navy, we have shipyards more than double the number, and there are several of these shipyards eXpensively equipped with modern machinery, which, after inyes- tigation the secretary of the navy be- lieves to be entirely useless for naval purposes. He asks authority to aban- don certain of them and to move their machinery to other places, where it can be made of use.'
 The complete success of our coun. try in arctic exploration should not re- main unnoticed. The unparalleled achievement of Peary in reaching the north pole, April 6, 1909, approved by critical examination of the most ex- pert scientists, has added to the dis tinction of our navy to which he be- longs, and reflects credit upon his country. l recommend fitting recogni- tion by congress of the great achieve, ment of Robert Edwin Peary"
 Conservation.
 "The subject of the conservation of the public domain has commanded the attention of the people within the last two or three years.
 There is no need for radical re- form in the methods of disposing of what are really agricultural lands. The | Ior1 oo enlarged homestead law has encour- aged the successful farming of lands in the semi-arid regions.
 Nothing can be more important in the matter of conservation than the treatment of our forest lands It was probably the ruthless destruction of forests in the older states that first called attention to the necessity for a halt in the waste of our resources.
 ''ln the present forest reserves there are lands which are not properly for est, and which ought to be subject to homestead entry This has caused some local irritation We are care fully eliminating such lands from for est reserves or where their elimina- tlOH Is HOl pIdclIcdl IISClHS them Tor entry under the forest homestead act. Congress ought to trust the execu- tive to use the power of reservation only with respect to land most valu- able for forest purposes During the present administration, 62.25O, 900 acres of land largely non-timbered, have been excluded from forest re, serves, and 3,500,0OO acres of land principally valued for forest purposes have been included in forest reserves, making a reduction in forest reserves of on-timbered land amounting to