Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-10-07

playground for health and recreation.
seekers; to say nothing of the salts.
faction of making good use Of what
would otherwise be waste land and
making beautiful and attractive what
would otherwise be a cheerless uni.
formity. This cannot be done in one
! generation, but we owe it to ourselves
and to those who will come after us
to proceed along economic lines to
the accomplishment of this result.
| Forest Conservation.
The great enemy of the forest is
fire, and there should be adequate ap-
preparations each year for fire proven
ton. Last year we lost through these
forest fires $4,000.
| Next, each year some portion of the
nonagricultural land not owned by the
state should be acquired and made a
part of our public domain, and no year
portion of such land should be planted
to trees. We may we'll be proud of
our position as an agricultural state
third in the production of wheat,
third in the production of oats, and
first in the production of barley. But
this is not all; our iron ranges are
now yielding more iron ore than is
produced in all the rest of the states
| together-fve-eight DIETER than G2
per cent? of the total of the United
States in 1918; Minnesota alone pro-
ducing more iron ore than any foreign
nation in the world except Germany.
Nor is this all. It is the greatest lunl-
ber-prcducing state east of the Rocky
mountains Thousands of our citizens
find employment in it's lumber camps,
on the rivers, in the mills and in the
manufactures handling this product.
Possibilities for development appear
now to be without limit, and it is the
part of wisdom to take advantage of
our opportunities. We receive from
the federal government $4,000 year
to aid in this work; our state should
stand first in forest conservation and
forest culture.
Lake Superior Canal.
The relations of Minnesota with 9th
er states and with the federal govern.
ment are naturally of great impor-
lance. In March of last year, by act
of the legislature, the Minnesota, Lake
Superior and Mississippi canal com.
mission, composed of the governor,
the state drainage engineer and the
chairman of the board of railroad and
warehouse commissioners, was estab.
lished, and the state of Wisconsin, in
the July following, appointed it's Lake
Superior and Mississippi canal COM
mission, composed of three members
to be appointed by the governor of that
state. The two bodies have co-operat-
ed in an effort to bring about the con.
struction of canal from Lake Supe-
rior to the Mississippi rivera work
that will cost in the neighborhood of
eight millions of dollars. The federal
river and harbor act of August II,
1894, appropriated $4,000 for the max
ing of surveys and for examinations
to determine the best route to con.
meet these waterways, and in March,
1899, the legislative provision was
supplemented by directing that a re-
port be made upon the advisability of
such construction. From an engineer
ing standpoint the work was feasible,
but commercially, the engineer in
charge held that the plan was not one
which should be undertaken by the
government. Another report was
made subsequent to the river and har-
Dor act of 1909, which was likewise
unfavorable to the project, but the
matter was again presented to the
government engineers by the river and
harbor act of 1912, and the unfavor-
able report of the local board of Unit.
ed States army engineers, being un.
satisfactory to the Minnesota and
Wisconsin commissions, an appeal
was taken to the general board of en-.
gineers on rivers and harbors, at
Washington, where the matter is now
pending. Should the decision of the
local beard be reversed, and the fed
eral government committed to this
project, congress will be asked to
make suitable appropriation for the
construction, and a great avenue or
waterway of communication opened
up. With the rapid development of
Minnesota and Wisconsin territory,
the canal is likely to become of great
Importance commercially.
Plan Is Promising.
The advocates of improved water
ways have unlimited enthusiasm, and
have succeeded in obtaining great
sums of money from the federal treas
ury for the Improvement of rivers and
harbors. So far, it must be admitted,
the results have not been very encour.
aging, but it would seem that this
plan of uniting the Great Lakes, pos.
sessing the greatest inland commerce
in the world, with the Mississippi
river-the most important navigable
stream in the United States, promises
exceedingly great value to commerce.
OF course, the state of Minnesota
has concurrent jurisdiction of the Mis-.
sissippi and all other rivers and wa.
tiers on it's borders so far as they
form common boundary of our state
and other states.
Congress passed what is known as
the Swamp Act" in 1850. 1t was en-.
titled, AN act to enable the state OF
Arkansas and other states to reclaim
the swamp lands within their limits.
BY the act of March II, 1860, the pro
visions Of the law were extended to
Minnesota and Oregon. Thereby the
government granted to the state OF
Minnesota the swamp lands within its
borders, but the original purpose OF
the grant was 80 to enable the state