Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1936-04-09

been swept away. The problem is
not alone for the farmer. 1t is just
as much the concern of city, village,
and hamlet. Destroy any city, and
fertile lands and natural resources
will build it again. Destroy the
soil, and no city will survive. My
own state is one of the leading agri-
cultural states in the nation, yet the
soil survey made in every county
shows that one-half Of Ohio is sub
ject to erosion.
Unfortunately, the worst eroded
area in Ohio covers the whole OF
my district. Only 10 percent of my
district, located principally along
streams and rivers, is relatively
free from erosion. More than three
fourths of the topsoil and much OF
the subsoil has been washed COM
pletely away from no less than one
! fourth of my six counties.
| Near GAINESVILLE is a soil erosion
station, where many facts have been
established and many remedies
proven. We cannot get back the
soil that is lost, but we can save
! that which remains on our farms.
] Our problem is to prevent the quick
run-off of water. This can be ac-
! complished best on steep hills by
reforestation. On slopes too steep
to cultivate, grass or sod is most
effective. The only hope for large
areas where the soil is practically
gone is the planting of trees. II we
can make water move slowly, we ac-
complish two necessary ends. We
allow more of it to infiltrate into
the ground as source OF needed
moisture and we check erosion.
Many of our farms are hill farms,
and we must continue to cultivate
them. Nevertheless, there are many
things we can do. The first step is
to plan how we shall use every acre
of our farm to conserve the most
soil. Every farmer in my district
may go to the soil conservation SER
vice in GAINESVILLE and see in actual
operation the many things he car
do to preserve and improve the
farm upon which he and our district
must depend in the future. The fu-
ture of all our 100000 people vii
depend on our Willingness to learn
about conservation.
The value of wildlife in America
]. is $1,000, 100000 and the future OF
game and fowl depends upon the
shelter we give them by wise pro
gram of conservation. This wild
life produces $3.50, 100000 worth o1
fur and meat alone each year. For
ests and vegetation will protect an6
restore game as well as check eros
ion. Stop the waste of soil, clear
our streams of silt, mine acids, and
factory pollution. Nature will then
join hands with the sportsmen oi
the nation in filing our streams
with fish.
Seven million of our people be-
Long to fish and game clubs and
other sportsmen's organizations
Each year 100000 of our people
buy licenses to hunt and fish. All
these are vitality interested in con-
servation While soil is our basic
natural resource, we have two other
resources in my district from which
we derive great revenue and upor
which this nation depends for eco
nomic strength. These are coal anG
oil, and the conservation of both
cannot longer be neglected. Low
wages and cutthroat competition
have made it impossible to secure
the maximum amount of coal from
any given mine. When we realize
that under present consumption and
present conditions the greater part
of all coal cast of the Mississippi.
river will be practically gone within
100 years, this situation is appall
ing. Concern for future generations
as we'll as concern for those now en-
gagged in mining, demand that ac
ton be taken to stabilize the indus
try at the earliest possible moment
and to insure sufficient wages anC
profits to make it possible to mine
all the coal instead of part.
The miner who turns a Godgiv.
en-, natural resource into wealth
certainly has every moral right to ;
fair share of the wealth he pro.