The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1913-02-21
THE NATIONAL FORESTS.

The Putlio, a current editorial
journal of note, sees disaster for
the Democratic party in Congress If it
takes cognizance of proposed states
rights in the regulation of national
forests, The Public says:
"lf the demooratio party in con-
gress were seeking political shipwreck,
it could hardly set its Prov better for
the purpose in the present state OF
public opinion than Ey following
blind policy of State rights with ref
erence to any of the national resources
of this country which concern the
country as whole. There is indeed
a profound political truth in the doc
trine Of state rights. Local govern
ment ia local affairs is a pola-etar of
democracy. 1t is principle to which,
let US fervently hope, this republic
and it's constituent republics which
VIC call States will grow toward and
not away from. But the traditional
State rights doctrine though it be Wit
allied by the home rule principle, is
in fact something else than home rule.
Not infrequently it is something
different. No mole important is it to
the principle Of looal self government
that each of our smaller oommunities
regulate its own affairs, than that our
national community regulate the COM
mon affairs of all. The doctrine Of
State rights which onoe committed
this republic to perpetuation of human
slavery was false and pernicious
doctrine then; its application to ma
tional problems of the present day ia
a false and psrnioious doctrine now
--and unnecessary TO boot.
zone of the forms which the resort
to that old citadel of slavery, the
traditional doctrine of State rights.
takes at the present. junoture in Con-
gress, has direct reference to national
forests. Big Business, seeing the
handwriting on the wall as to its
aforetime rich pasture fields In ma
tional politics, seeks now to exploit |
our common forests by having them
turned over to the States and then |
controlling them through State leg
islatures. The plea with which the
mouth-pieoes Of Big Business in those
states and in Congress make, is the
oldfashioned pro.slavery plea modern
ized. It should fall on deaf ears
among Democrats. Turn over our
national forests to the states within
whose boundaries they liel To do SO
would be the rankest folly. Congress
has done precisely this with national
school lands in the States, aud where
are those school lands now? With
but trifling exceptions, every acre has
been turned over to private exploit
alton. And Just that, IL the old
State-fights school land policy is pur
sued by Congress with reference to
the remaining natural resources. will
be the fate of our forests.
"All the people of this country are
interested, directly and Indirectly. 10
the natural resources Of the whole
country. TO tolerate State sovereign
ty over these resources in :he respect
I've States would be as truly an abuse
of the local self-government principle
as establishing county sovereignty
ever those lying within the respective
countieR In SO far as the Federal
government has already divested itself |
of sovereignty over natural resources
Its mines, forests, school lande, etc.,
the question Of rsstora.ion must of
necessity be left to the future, So
with the great natural resources OF
flo original States, like anthracite
Gal. in Pennsylvania, which came to
the states from the British crown,
Not so with natural resources still
within the sovereignty of the gene.ai
government. or these the federal
government must not he divested at
all. For Congress to disest the gen
eral government of this Sovereignty,
at our present stage of enlightenment
on questions Of social Justice, would
be folly 30 rank as to imply treachery
TO public obligations. "
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