Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-09-08

| III NnlCn inc women Of minnesota tlu
work which should secure to them the
perpetual gratitude OF their state.
Minnesota won her national forest.
! and will keep II: hut tho fight to create
| the southern Appalachian and white
mountain forests In tho East Is not
vet over. Tho biz has passed tho
House. ana will come before the SON
ate for vote next February. The
rcorle VI tho United states. regardless
Of party or section. should stand solid
~ behind It. ana soc that their repre-
seutatvcs do likewise.
If any proof wore needed that forest
prot cction IS national duty, tho recent
destruction Of forests in the West by fire
would supply II. Even with the aid Of the
nrmv added to that OF the forest service
the loss has been severe. without either
It would have been vastly greater.
WHAT FOREST SERVICE DOES.
| But the forest pcrvico docs moro than
protect the national forests against fire.
| It makes them practically and Increasing
|ly useful va we'll. During tho last year
| for which have tho figures the national
forests were used by 22.0r0 cattlemen with
their herds, 500 shecprnen with their
| nocks 300 timbcrmcn with their crews,
and sou miners More than 5000 persons
used them for other special Industries,
| Nearly H00U settlers had the free use of
wood The total resident population of
the national forests is about Il quarter
! OF Il million which IS larger than the
population OF certain States.
! More than 10000 acres Of agricultural
land have been patented or listed for
patent within the forests. and tho re-
ports Of the forest officers show that more
than 100 people a year use the forests
| for recreation, camping, hunting, fishing,
| and similar purposes. All this is done.
OF COURSE without injury to re timber,
which has n value of at least n thousa nd
million dollars.
Moreover, the national forests protect
| the water supply of Il thousand cities ana
towns, about 500 irrigation projects. and
| more than 800 power projects, not count
ing the use OF water for these and other
purposes by individual settlers. I think
| that hereafter we may safely disregard
any statements that the national forests
| are withdrawn from settlement and use.
A COUNTRY LIFE INSTITUTE.
The Investigations OF the country life
|
country to realize that they have not
been getting their fair share of progress
and oil that 1t brings. Some OF our farm
ing communities In the Mississippi valley
and in the middle West have made mar
velous progress, yet even the best of
them, like communities of every other
kind are not beyond Improvement while
much needs to be done in some other Sec
| lions improve country life.
| AS yet we know comparatively little of
the basic facts Of rural civilization. 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 given schnt
attention. One of the most urgent needs
of our civilization Is that the farmers
themselves should undertake to get for
| themselves a better knowledge along
these lines. and then to apply it. SIR Hor-
acc Plunkctt. for many years "A Wyoming
cattleman, and now devoting himself I'm
| Ireland to the country life problem there.
\ has suggested in his recent book on the
| Country Life Problem in America" the
| creation of a country life institute MS n
| center where the work and knowledge of
| the whole world concerning country life
may be brought together for the use of
every nation. am strongly in sympathy
with this idea, and I hope to see 1t car
| ried out with the cooperation and assist
| ance Of our own people
Last spring. while visiting the capltal
of Hungary, Budnpesth. ! was immense
ly impressed by the museum Of country
| life, containing an extraordinary series
| Of studies in agriculture. in stock raising
| In forestry, in mining The exhibits were
| of tho utmost practical Importance and
were also intensely Interesting and In
structive, I greatly wish we had such a
museum IN WASHINGTON; and Soma of
your farmer congressman ought to get a
| full and detailed report Of this Budauesth
museum TO be printed for distribution in
| q public document.
| HUMAN EFFICIENCY.
! AS people we have not yet learned to
| economize. One of the virtues we Amer
leans most need is thrift 1t is A mere
truism to say that luxury and extravo-
GRANGE are not good for q nation. So far
| as they affect character tho loss they
cause may be beyond computation. Rut
IN the material sense there Is a loss great
er than is caused by both extravagance
ana luxury put together | mean the
needless. useless, and excessive loss To
our people from premature death and
aNo'oaoie diseases. Wholly apart from
the srief, the suffering. and the wretched-
| hess "hich thoy cause. the material loss
each year has been calculated at nearly
twice what 1t costs TO run the federal gov
erhment. In addition to the State and
o''S heai'h officers and organizations.
'here If urgently needed q federal bureau
OF heaith. 10 act, so far as the national
government properly may. to relieve our
people from this dreadful burden.
one OF the most important meetings
IN our recent history was that of the
toVcrhors In the White House In May,
lsoS, TO consider the conservation
hors tho meeting was followed by the
appointment Of a national conserva-
ton commission. The meeting OF the
Governors directed the attention OF
the country to conservation as nothing
else could have done. while the work
OF the commission gave the movement
defniteness and supplied It with Il
practical program. But at the moment
when the commission was ready to be-
gin tho campaign for putting It's pro-
gram into effect an amendment to the
sundry civil service bill was introduced
by a congressman from Minnesota with
the purpose OF putting stop to the
work so admirably begun.
BELIEVES THE ACT VOID.