Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1911-08-03
IN SUNNY FRANCE AND SPAIN.
President c. r. Hightower Tells
Interestingly the Story Of His
Trim Abroad.

Confined from last week

From the Union Advocate-
Continued from last week.
The habit Of the Mississippian
in clearing away the timber from
the rolling land Of our beloved
state, blowing it constantly for a
few years, then abandoning il
to the washes and gullies. is a
crime against humanity. No man
mas any moral ri9ht to destroy
the soil. Il is a heritage given
by Divine Providence for the
benefit of mankind, and it il the
duty OF every individual who has
an immortal soul te leave mans
heritage for posserity in as good
condition as he found it. dare
say there is not one Mississippian
in hundred however, who will
be able in the final Judgment to
claim his reward for protecting
this God-given heritage. Each
state government ought to take
some drastic action looking to
the protection of the lands from
destruction by the plow fiend
Ii seems 10 be the mania of the
average American to Flow, pillow,
pillow, but to pillow very shallow
so that the last vestige of virgin
soil may be swept away by the
drenching rains of winter. Why
! net have good grass land, some
shade aud a small per cent OF
plowed land, instead of destroy
ing the greatest wealth we have
in washing our soil into gullies.
The soil IN Mississippi is as good
"a in any part of the American
continent, and much better than
any | saw while on my trip, but
the careless method of handling
and the destructive method OF
cultivation makes it compare very
poorly with other portions OF the
world. IL it were given the same
protection, cultivated with the
same care, in my Judgment, it
would excel any spot ia the world.
Anyone who has kept up with
my ideas of government and pub
lie policy knows that have al
ways been an ardent adv ocate
of economy. | can, therefore,
speak of the conditions Of the
American consulates in Europe
without being charged with al :
vocatlng extravagant expendi-
lures. | went % the American
Consulate 1T al points VISITED -,
and many times ] felt thorough
ashamed of the uiggardInes-
with which the great American
government dealt with its Con
suls. Their quarters, generally.
do not compare at all favOrabiy
with the quarters occupied by the
] cOnsuls or other and much small
er nations. In must cases the
small country of Sweden had oct
ter quarters, and their consulates
nude better appearance tian 0d-
own great government. believe
the United States government
would % well TO reduce the army
and navy expenditures. the ex-
pendirures tor federal pensions,
etc., and apply a portion of the
funds thus saved To equip2ia.
better quarters and paying better
salaries for thi government
agents in foreign countries.
| have referred before to the
collection OF custom duties az the
ports and when crossing the fron-
tier of each country. To be a
little more explicit on this i'm
portant national issue, it Is but
fair that | state that little atten
ton IS paid to import duty on
any commodities except whiskey
and tobacco. OF course, the Gus
toms collected by the towns on
local traffic is entirely I different
} proposition England il the
nearest perfect example of a free
trade country in the world. The
outside world may sell what il
chooses in the British Isles with
the exception OF whiskey and to-
oacco without hindrance, and
this IS one Of the things whcih ha.
made England one of the great.
est nations. The American gov.
eminent has at this time a nun
Der OF representatives in Euro
pean countries studying manu-
featuring conditions for the pur,
pose OF ascertaiIing. II possible
why the American manufacturer
= not able 10 compare W tn the
English manufacturers for tn.
trade IN the foreign markets o
the world. and if their agents ars
true 70 themselves and to tn.
government, they will report tn,
real cause whether il il in accor,
wilh the views and wishes OF tn,
administrative authority of tn,
United States or not. I have al
ways believed in the free trad,
policy for all countries, and
! aave been much puzzled to un
derstand why the farmers an,
others who are consumers o
manufactured articles, could &c
: themselves so befuddled on Il,
question Of protection as to be
lieve they would reap any bene
fits whatever from It's operation
: A protective traiff on any com
: modify enables the manufacture
OF that commodity to add to it
/. value very nearly the amour
i OF protection and keep out othe
/. goods of the same quality, an,
cause the consumer TO paw III