The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1934-01-11

An army officer stands holding
tree sprout in one hand and pointing
to the root end with the other, while
grouped around him is wide-eyed
group of young men in nondescript
uniforms, establishment and awe writ
ten clearly across their faces.
Such were the early days of the
Civilian Conservation Corps satirized
in a popular humorous journal. And,
officials of the CCC admit, there was
as much truth as humor in the car
toon. Recruits for the Forest Army"
were not selected for their knowledge
of forestry, not altogether unfortu
nate circumstance, because the multi
farious duties that have fallen to the
lot of the 100000 men in the corps
today range from flood control and
road building in national parks to
the restoration of historic shrines and
insect and disease control in public
domain.
X has even been suggested that the
scope of the corps be widened to in
clude development and Identification
of unused land bordering our seaports
OF to strips of unsightly waterfront in
many of our cities. Cleaned up, plant
ed with flowers and trees, and made
sanitary, thousands of miles of river
bank and shoreline could be converted
into Fairgrounds and parks for the
people. Plague hazards, too, would
be reduced.
Since April 10, when the first quota
of $4,000 men were called out, the
CCC has gone about its work of build
ing both men and natural resources
so quietly and efficiently that the av-
erage person is scarcely aware Of the
many material benefits that have ac-
crued from their activities. Extra
dividends" of course, can be shown
in the mental alertness and physical
fitness of the personnel as result OF
camp life, and in the money, as pay,
that the members have sent home to
dependents. Young men who had de-
SPARED of finding employment have
been taken off the tops Of box cars,
from public roads, from "hobo" jun
gles.'' and from crime breeding slums.
They have been given chance to
"fill in" a social gap in their lives,
and the record for the first six months
Indicates that they have worked hard
for their keep.
Perhaps it is too early to make
conclusive appraisal of the soundness
of this phase of emergency conserva-
ton work, but even a casual perusal
of the major items performed by the
corps in some ,434 camps situated in
the forty-eigh states in the Union re-
veals that hundreds of thousands Of
acres of land have been improved and
planted in our State and national for
ests, and other thousands of acres of
land have been saved from costly
erosion in farming districts. Removal
of fire hazards and flood-control work,
building of roads and trails in parks
and mountain regions, eradication of
poisonous plants and insect pests, the
erection of permanent park struc-
lures, cutting of fire breaks, and a
score of other different types of work
have been undertaken by this largest
of peace time "armies."
Statistics, however, fail to reveal
many other odd jobs done by the
corps. Worthwhile projects in many
parts of the country have been pro-
posed from time to time by various
civic and national bodies, but no &C
ton has been taken because the Gov
ernment lacked an "odd-job man"
around the place. Local agencies, as
a rule, have been unable, through
lack of funds, or unwilling, because of
the national aspect of the projects, to
undertake the development and i'm
provement of historic spots and bat
tlefelds. Yet the value and need for
such RESERVATIONS is generally recog-
nized, not only by educators and his
torical societies, but by the average
person who wishes "objectives" for
motoring and vacationing.
Last summer and during the fall
more than $500 members of the CCC
were engaged in rehabilitating several
of the most noted and interesting bat
tlefields of the Revolutionary and
Civil Wars. No attempt was made to
restore completely any battlefield
area, but fire hazards were removed,
vegetation was cleared from trenches,
earthworks and gun emplacements,
and trails cut so that the average Wis
itor will come away with clearer un-
Outstanding not only of the important
events that there took place, but their
relation to the growth and develop
ment of the nation. Each project has
hann uuder the watchful eve of his