The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-02-26

| Records of the Department of Justice
of great value, rcpose In the main
| building of that branch of the gov
crnment which was formerly an
| apartment house and IL tinder box.
The priceless archives of the State
| Department are in the state, War
and Navy building. q fine structure
| that was rated lireproof many years
| ago but hardly approaches the saf-
ETY. of modern structures. If those
papers should be destroyed Uncle
| Sans diplomacy would have no more
symmetry Than AN aeroplane after
butting into tightening express.
Many of these diplomatic questions
drag along for generations. The New
| foundland fisheries question is older
than the government and has not
yet been answered, il bobs up now
and again and the Secretary OF
state, before engaging in a parley,
must read every word his predeces-
sors have said on the subject, Dip
lomatically speaking. Uncle Sam
with his records burned would fare
III indeed
The Department of Commerce
and Labor is established principally
In "a large block designed for bus
mess purposes. IL too. has valuable
records, including the busting
information CLEANED in various inves.
legations. For all these reasons Sen.
ator Scott has planned to place the
three departments in a marble mas
terpicce of architecture to cost the
millions aforesaid and to occupy five
squares between t4th and 18th
streets and Pennsylvania avenue and
the hall. The site adjoins the park
ing south of the treasury and has
been acquired by the government.
Everybody agrees with the senator
that the thing ought to be done but
all the members of congress will not
vote for it. a good many of them
recon that St5,0O0,00O for this struc-
ture would mean some millions less
for building in their own districts.
and they figure that the need for
ornate federal structures i'm the cities
of Sauterville, Bad Axe, Halfway and
Fairview are reasonablcly important
Down ut the Forest Service. on the
wall of the office which "Gin" PIN
chot used to occupy, hang what ap-
pears TO be family tree. IL has
little wiggly branches, zig-zagging
out from main shoot. The trunk.
so to speak, was labeled Forester.
and the branches were designated as
aperation ''silviculture," silvice,"
and so on.
In Pinchot's day, that family tree
was pretty graphic plan of the or
ganization of the Forest Service II
showed just the relation each of
The subsidiary divisions Of the Bureau
bore to the other it indicated who
vas responsible. At a glance one
could see whether grazing matters
we're handled under Operation" or
knaintenancc,' or products" or
what, not.
But now the artist who should at
.empt to reconstruct the thing would
nave to break tie symmetry Of It's
branches and the tout the ensemble
would resemble nothing so much as
Christmas tree after two or three
uontas in q back yard.
No sooner had Pinchot been dis
nisse by Presidential order than
iecretar yOf Agriculture Wilson took
Up his official axe and began chop
ling off the branches of the tree as
pruning down the army of various
officials.
First he Topped Off that mannih-
cient branch which joined the main
trunk near the top and was labelled
Financial The splendid shoot which
tapered down TO the label Law"
was next ruthlessly removed. Then,
the crowning glory of the tree, that
fat branch, Educational Division"-
it was also called Division of In
formation" and ought to have been
dubbed Press Bureau"-was sac
rifced. There may be more chopping
in the future.
Secretary Wilson has so circums-
cribed the duties OF the Forest Ser
vice that all there is left to do is
TO grow trees, and water those al
ready growing. Henry Solon CLAWS.
Pinchots successor has already an
nounced that this Is his slogan. He's
decided 10 let the family tree Of