The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-07-22

or the Civil War. Old Abel, he
was nearing seventy at the time,
made a nuisance Of himself pro-
testing against the opening Of
the public domain for settlement
without some enlightened policy
Of land conservation.
He had gone part way West
with the Forty-niners and knew
something about Mid!WeStern
soil. He kept on screaming that
If the Buffalo grass was scooped
off and the soil ravished, it
would all blow away in a few
decades. He insisted that no
man should be allowed to farm
more than so acres Of land, and
that he must have capital Suf-
ficient to farm his land scientif-
ically, maintain a rotation Of
crops and from time to time
plant legumeS which would pro-
vide restorative nitrates.
Traversing the Atlantic sea-
board, often at Washington i'm.
portuning Congress, he kicked up
a fuss every once in while which
brought him a day Of two in jail.
He was an untidy, ill-favored little
man, with a scraggly brindle-gray
beard and q voice like q stripped
gear. My elders used to tell me
about him, with considerable
amusement. He was what would
now be called a little American"
One Of a few paragraphs Of his
vast and indignant outgivings sur.
wives:
Land distributed In small
holdings in the one safeguard Of
our new democracy. No man de-
serves an inch more of land than
he can cultivate SOundIy and
well. Here in America, we want
quality not quantity. Why try
to gObbIe up q whole continent
all in one bite? We will be
cursed II we do. We will make Q
desert out Of q beautiful coun.
try"
Old Abel carried a side-line Of
an elaborate coSmogony Of his
own which stamped him as a
curious eccentric. The railroads
were building their steel matrix
of empire, there was q grand,
new gusto as multitudeS Surged
westward for their own little
quarter-Section empires, and Abel
affected his times no more than
the killdeerS who protested
Gould'S railroads with their
mournful walls. And he is quite
as dead and quite as completely
forgotten.
END OF THE TRAIL
The dust storm Of May II,
1884, swept away 800, O00, 900 tons
of topsoil. About 400, 600, 600 tons
of topsoil flow annually into the
Gulf of Mexico, down the MiSsiS-
sippi. Wind and erosion together
remove about 5000, 100000 tons
Of topSoil.
We used to have S16, $4,000
acres of forests. Now we have
494, 1898, 900. In some States, so
per cent Of formerly rich soil Is
eroded beyond reclamation.
Some of our pioneers. no less
brave, no less reSourceful than
their forebearS, have reached the
end Of the trail.
"And the ilfavOred and
lean-fIeshed kline did eat up
the seven well favored and fat
kline. So Pharaoh 9wOke."
Pharaoh'S spirit was troubled
and che sent and called for all
the magicianS Of Egypt and all
the wise men thereof" AS do we.
These wise men, the scientists.
tell us that it requires centuries
to restore humified topSoil. But
they explain the intricate organic
relationship between waters, soils,
grasses and forests, and say that.
If we will, we still can save our
heritage and be worthy guests in
the house of life.
Can we thus integrate our ma
tional life and resources without
sacrificing our unique national ira
dition Of individual enterprise?
Our American dream may be at
stake.
Copyright. 1895. by King Features
Syndicate. Inc.)