Fergus County Democrat., 1915-12-30
Tom Stout's Weekly Letter

Tom Stout's Weekly Letter
WASHINGTON, Dec 21.-Norman
Hapgood, editor of Harper's Weekly,
recently said that Franklin X. Lane,
secretary of the interior, has one OF
the finest literary senses on exhibition
in this country. Having just finished
reading the annual report OF Secretary
Lane, ! am ready. unhesitatingly, to /
agree with Mr.. Hapgocd. This is the +
open season for annual reports issued
by the several heads of the great ex-
ecutive departments of the govern I
ment. Being directly interested in the I
varied activities of the government,
try religiously to read all of these re /
ports. They do certainly contain mines
of information such as all citizens
should be in possession of and which
every member of congress should, as
matter OF course, be acquainted with.
But candor compels me to confess
that the perusal Of some OF those of
ficial reports bears striking resem-
blance to hard work. They are well
written, to be sure, but in a style
which, ii not actually heavy, is any.
thing but thrillingly entertaining
There are pages OF figures all done UP
in comparative tables, and since my
first Introduction to the MULTIPLICATION
tables, | have never found any great
enjoyment in pouring over an array
| Of figures all punched up with no read
ing matter between.
But Lanes report is different. 1t
is all inspiring, graphically written
story of the activities, the achieve
ments, the hopes of the greatest Of all
the executive departments of the gov
| ernment Lane has not only fine
| literary taste but also one of the most
/ robust imaginations in captivity. More
over, he has the opportunity to give
that imagination free play in his an
nual report. He is the executive
guardian of more than 100000 acres
of unappropriated, unreserved govern
ment land. He's the overseer of
Alaska, that unknown land of virgin
resources. He is the real big chief of
all the Indians of the country nearly
100000 of them. and the executor of
dreds of millions. He administers the
control over nearly 20,000,000 acres of
government coal land, exclusive of
that in Alaska, which is worth billions.
He manages Uncle Sans 100000
acres of proven oil lands, the value of
which no man can even roughly estl-
mate He exercises temporary SUI
erainty. at least, over more than g.
100000 acres of land withdrawn, as
valuable for the generation of electri-
city. He exercises supervision over
the IL great national play grounds,
our national parks, with combined
area of more than 100000 acres and
which were visited this year by 334,-
600 tourists. Under his direction are
l9 national monuments, historic and
prehistoric structures, and other OBJ
jccts of historic and scientific inter
est, which are owned or controlled
by the national government. He is
the custodian of our vast reclamation
projects. % of them, which contem-
plate the reclamation of more than
100000 acres of arid and semi-arid
lands, at a cost of$150 000,0 900, two
thirds of which has already been
spent. He is the directing head of
half a dozen other great federal EN-
terprises, projected for the general
advancement and happiness of our
people.
When Lane starts i'll to tell of these
activities of the government, what
they mean to the hundred million folks
; of this country, what their develop
| nrtn tbn ft,t q, ro
Of our country, he turns loose that
wonderful imagination of his and the
result is literary achievement It
reads more like romance than a
mere recital of the works of great
central government. In language
; which thrills the SOUL he casts a horo-
: scope of the expanding future and
tells what advantages our children and
our children's children will enjoy as a
result of the paternalistic enterprises
of the present day and generation. As
one reads Lanes prophesies of what
Alaska holds in store for us when
! railroads are built, mines of gold and
coal opened up and vast stretches of
agricultural land made available for
{ public use, the glaciers and ice fields
Of that far northern possession of ours
: tade from view, the snowcapped peaks
i, reflect the radiance of perpetual sum
mer and the little frontier villages
which stretch up to the edge of the
arctics stand forth as majestic cities
throbbing with enterprise, the centers
of culture and industry.
} But while the secretary of the inte
rior embellishes his annual reports
, with considerable literary foliage. il
! is not lacking in substantials It tells
, actually and truly what is being done
and can be done, but tells it in a
manner which arrests attention and
eompells perusal to the very end. II
requires mind of some breadth, a
fsr-reaching vision, a grasp of the es
5entlals OF our national hopes and as
pirations to inform the public of the
things which they should know con
i corning the work of the department
, which Franklin X. Lane presides over
with such ability as to mark him as
not only the greatest secretary of the
fInt