anaheim-gazette 1909-08-05

MR. HYATT ON CONSERVATION QUOTES LYMAN ABBOTT ON TIMELY TOPIC State School Superintendent's Brochise on Conservation Attracting State-Wide Attention—Water Power California's Greatest Asset—How to Conserve It Mr. Hyatt's brochise on Conservation of California's natural resources is attracting attention from one end of the state to the other, and universal praise is accorded him for the timeliness of his work. We have hitherto quoted from his report, and again present our readers with facts of local interest. The Loss of our Soil We are in the habit of speaking of the solid earth and the eternal hills as though they, at least, were free from the vicissitudes of time, and certain to furnish perpetual support for prosperous human life. This conclusion is as false as the term "inexhaustible" applied to other natural resources. The waste of soil is among the most dangerous of all wastes now in progress in the United States. In 1896 Professor Shaler than whom no one has spoken with greater authority on this subject, estimated that in the upland regions of the states south of Pennsylvan's three thousand square miles of soil had been destroyed as the result of forest denudation, and that the destruction was then proceeding at the rate of one hundred square miles of fertile soil per year. No seeing man can travel through the United States without being struck with the enormous and unnecessary loss of fertility by easily preventable soil wash. The soil so lost as in the case of sense, and common business principles are applicable to national affairs just as they are to private affairs, and the time has come to apply them in dealing with the foundations of our prosperity. Our Water Power Unquestionably California's greatest asset is her water power. Every year the big, round sun lifts millions of tons from the waters of the Pacific, to be carried eastward by the winds and sprinkled upon ten thousand hills and valleys in the highlands of the Sierras. Slowly it trickles downward, returning to the sea. It is gathered into rivulets, brooks, torrents, that dash faster and faster down the deep canyons and steep gorges in the western flanks of the mountains. More and more we are learning to use the power of these millions of tons as they descend from highlands to lowlands. This power is destined to be the greatest single element in the future development of the state. It is destined to turn the wheels of industry, transport people and products, light and warm the homes of the whole state. It will be an absolute necessity to life and prosperity when oil and coal are gone. Those who control it will be the lords and rulers of mankind. Up to date our stupid laws give away this precious power forever to any one who wants it, and give him all that he wants, however much—for nothing. Thus we part with our great-grandchildren's birthright, and do not even get a mess of pottery in return. The descendants of us who foolishly part with this power now will pay tribute for centuries to the descendants of the men who get it. These Power Lords will rule over the lives and fortunes of the millions of vassals who must have the power in order to live. The pine of the Laurel exhausted; everywhere decimates for tanbark, wal saplings as we are being indicted by the pulp mills senseless tariff rich companies of our resource the builder to and inexhaustible da. Could folly. Reversing this ask, What has to us that we see to posterity? When the law "When the great reservoir in its vegetable and returns only to wash away to which that verted. The wet hills are turned rock, the debris bers the low great watercourses, tries favored bution of rain sons, and a modification of surface unless rescued the physical deptends, becomes a mountains, of b and of swampy There are parts northern Africa, of Alpine Eurotion of causes has brought th estimated that in the upland regions of the states south of Pennsylvanian three thousand square miles of soil had been destroyed as the result of forest denudation, and that the destruction was then proceeding at the rate of one hundred square miles of fertile soil per year. No seeing man can travel through the United States without being struck with the enormous and unnecessary loss of fertility by easily preventable soil wash. The soil so lost, as in the case of many other wastes, becomes itself a source of damage and expense, and must be removed from the channels of our navigable streams at an enormous annual cost. The Mississippi River alone is estimated to transport yearly four hundred million tons of sediment, or about twice the amount of material to be excavated from the Panama Canal. This material is the most fertile portion of our richest fields, transformed from a blessing to a curse by unrestricted erosion. The Largest National Task (From the address of President Roosevelt at the meeting of the Conservation Conference held at Washington, D. C., December 8, 1908.) I welcome you to Washington and to the work you have gathered to do. No service to the nation in time of peace could be of greater worth than the work which has brought you together. In its essence your task is to make the nation's future as great as its present. That is what the conservation of our resources means. This movement means that we shall not become great in the present at the expense of the future, but that we shall show ourselves truly great in the present by providing for the greatness of our children's children who are to inherit the land after us. It is the largest national task of today, and I thank you for making ready to undertake it. I am especially glad to welcome the cooperation of the states, through their Conservation Commissions and otherwise. Such cooperation gives earnest of mutual assistance between states and nation, and mutual benefits to follow. Without it the great task of perpetuating the national welfare would succeed, if at all, with difficulty. If states and nation work for it together, all in their several fields, and all joining heartily where the field is common, we are certain of success in advance. We are concerned with the people's rights; if any one who wants it, and give him all that he wants, however much—for nothing. Thus we part with our great-grandchildren's birthright, and do not even get a mess of pottage in return. The descendants of us who foolishly part with this power now will pay tribute for centuries to the descendants of the men who get it. These Power Lords will rule over the lives and fortunes of the millions of vassals who must have the power in order to live. This power should be leased, never permanently disposed of. Its title is not rightly vested in us at all. It belongs to the Future. It should never be granted to any one in perpetuity, but for a term of years, a century, if need be; but in perpetuity, never. "Blind Mouths" Literature is full of trenchant expressions of the recklessness of greed such as, "After us, the deluge." "Devil-may-care" and "Out of sight, out of mind"—but none of them compares with the lightning-like revelation of selfishness made by these two words of Milton's. Conveying, as they do, the sense of an all-consuming appetite, the very maw of darkness, they would seem to have come from the poet's vituperative prose, rather than from the flowing elegy of the gentle Lycidas. “What has posterity ever done for us that we should do anything for posterity?” is a saying as striking for the falsity of its suggestion as for the edge of its wit. The most obvious material and natural reasons impel us to work for posterity. Our happiness consists largely in procuring the happiness of our children and our grandchildren, whose happiness in turn will consist in the happiness of their children and grandchildren. However attenuated this altruistic sentiment may become with further extension, it is enough for practical purposes if it shall reach forward four generations. We bless our ancestors for the building of roads and the planting of trees, and it is what posterity will do for us in the way of benediction that rightly animates any one above the beasts. Indeed, it is hardly too much to say that civilization itself lies in the fact—and to the extent—that "out of sight" is NOT "out of mind." It is with the conservation of the forests that we are here concerned, for without them there would be far less range to administer. Until 1890 "The Alps offer terrible aspect. Climate of north form no concept mountain gorges bush can be found where, at most in summer here lavender, where dried up, and very hardy broken by insect, prevails forth, masses off from the mountains shattered gulfs, gating, deluge with soil they over descent, and leaded than it was nature. Man at fearful desert, a season, found new districts where enjoyed hospitality. "It is certain mould of the Alps increasing violence on mountains, diminishing within our Alps are proportionate scorched by these up by the hoofs not finding on they require fawn and scrape search of roots ger, is periodic ried off by melter storms." "I will not divide torrents." their Conservation Commissions and otherwise. Such cooperation gives earnest of mutual assistance between states and nation, and mutual benefits to follow. Without it the great task of perpetuating the national welfare would succeed, if at all, with difficulty. If states and nation work for it together, all in their several fields, and all joining heartily where the field is common, we are certain of success in advance. We are concerned with the people's rights; if this means national rights, well and good; if it means states' rights, well and good; we are for whatever serves the cause of the people's rights. The results of the inventory of resources will be laid before the present conference by the National Conservation Commission. I shall not attempt to review these results further than to say that the more striking facts brought out at the conference last May are simply confirmed. These facts are sobering. No right-minded citizen would stop the proper use of our resources, but every good American must realize that national improvidence follows the same course and leads to the same end as personal improvidence—and no man is a good American if he does not think of future Americans, any more than a man is a good citizen if he does not think of his children's welfare; for there isn't any man who we despise more than the man who has a good time himself and whose children pay for it. So with the nation; that nation is contemptible that riots in abundance by wasting the heritage it should leave to the citizens that are to come afterwards. Needless waste must stop. The time to deride or neglect the statements of experts and the teaching of the facts has gone by. The time to act on what we already know has arrived. Common prudence, common It is with the conservation of the forests that we are here concerned, for without them there would be far less range to administer. Until 1890 our land policy was all steam and no brake. Under a false individualism, due to consideration for the bona fide settler and the Civil War veteran, the larger interests of the region, which included their interests, were forgotten. Recklessness and waste were rampant. By false entries, bribery, and local terrorism millions of acres were acquired and held by individuals and corporations, and what was intended for the home-maker fell into the grasp of commercial exploiters, whose operations have not only left trails of devastation, but have poisoned the politics of many states. During Mr. Harrison's administration * * came a new policy. By a legislative provision, passed March 3, 1891, the President was authorized to withdraw from public entry and set apart and reserve in any state or territory such portions of the public lands as might in his opinion be desirable for the preservation of the forests and waters. Then began a campaign of education throughout the country so continuous that he must be ignorant indeed who does not know the impressive reasons why the upland forests must be preserved. The lingering tragedies of those Mediterranean countries—Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and the African coast—which permitted wholesale destruction of their forests, have ANAHEIM GAZETTE been rehearsed for our warning Till old Experience do attain To something of prophetic strain, while the success of the present far-sighted policies of Germany, France, and other countries have been cited for our encouragement. The walnut and white pine of the Lake States are virtually exhausted; the leather trust is everywhere decimating the hemlock for tanbark, while the soft woods, saplings as well as larger growth, are being indiscriminately devoured by the pulp mills. Meanwhile, the senseless tariff on lumber tempts the rich companies to further depletion of our resources, rather than permit the builder to buy in the cheaper and inexhaustible markets of Canada. Could folly further go? Reversing the witticism, let us ask, What has posterity ever done to us that we should do such things to posterity? When the Forests Are Gone "When the forest is gone, the great reservoir of moisture stored up in its vegetable mould is evaporated, and returns only in deluges of rain to wash away the parched dust into which that mould has been converted. The well-wooded and humid hills are turned to ridges of dry rock, the debris from which encumbers the low grounds and chokes the watercourses, and—except in countries favored with an equable distribution of rain throughout the seasons, and a moderate and regular inclination of surface—the whole earth, unless rescued by human art from the physical degradation to which it tends, becomes an assemblage of bald mountains, of barren, turfless hills, and of swampy and malarial plains. There are parts of Asia Minor, of northern Africa, of Greece, and even of Alpine Europe, where the operation of causes set in action by man has brought the face of the earth to OPPOSE STATE ROAD BONDS BOYS ARE JUMPING UPON GOVERNOR'S MEASURE Will Separation of State from Local Taxation Exempt Corporations from This Indebtedness?—Men Who Will Form the Commission While Gov. Gillett is campaigning the state in support of his projected issue of $18,000,000 of bonds for good roads, the newspapers generally look distrustfully upon the measure. They praise the governor for his beautiful word pictures of California, and agree with him that good roads are good things, but they seem disposed to regard with party despair the scheme for such collossal state indebtedness. It's a long ways off to the election yet, but it might be asked this early in the game, whether or not the adoption of the resurrected "Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 1" (which will be submitted to the voters again next year) will exempt railroads and other big corporations from taxation for these bonds? Will it, or will it not? Who knows? If such exemption be contemplated, the governor might as well hang his harp on a willow tree, for the people will have none of it. We have not seen this point discussed, and we should be glad to see what Deacon Pillsbury has to say about it. The Los Angeles Express takes a crack at the bonds to the following effect: The more closely Governor Gillett's state highway scheme is examined the more one is compelled to marvel at the unique wisdom of the mind that conceived it. What, as an instance, will be the judgment of the taxpayers of the ASKED MUCH, GOT LITTLE Sued for $10,000 Damages, Gets $46.50 John Carlson of Los Angeles, painter and paper hanger by trade, who sued Earl Tucker of Anaheim for ten thousand and thirty-five dollars for damages alleged to have been sustained by being injured by a blow on the knee from a floor scraper hurled at him with malice aforethought by the Anaheim man, was last week given judgment for the sum of forty-six dollars and fifty cents, which judgment does not carry costs of the suit. According to the evidence, Carlson was engaged to do some painting for Tucker, and while at the home of the latter he and Tucker were "cutting up," and in a spirit of sport Carlson went behind Tucker and squeezed a wet sponge on the latter's neck. Tucker had a floor scraper in his hand, and he whirled about and threw the scraper at Carlson, the implement striking the latter on the knee. When Tucker found Carlson had been hurt, he drove him to the office of Dr. Johnston and had the wound dressed and Carlson came back and resumed work, but soon quit and went home to Los Angeles, where he went to bed and remained there, according to the evidence, from four to eleven days. Still according to the evidence, when Carlson was able to get out of bed, he was forced to use a cane and was incapacitated for work for three or four months, and later he brought suit for damages in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and thirty-five dollars for doctor's fees. The case was tried without a jury, and Judge West gave judgment for plaintiff in the sum of forty-six dollars and fifty cents, thirty-four dollars and fifty cents for doctor's fees. bution of rain throughout the seasons, and a moderate and regular inclination of surface—the whole earth, unless rescued by human art from the physical degradation to which it tends, becomes an assemblage of bald mountains, of barren, turfless hills, and of swampy and malarious plains. There are parts of Asia Minor, of northern Africa, of Greece, and even of Alpine Europe, where the operation of causes set in action by man has brought the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon; and though, within that brief space of time which we call "the historical period," they are known to have been covered with luxuriant woods, verdant pastures, and fertile meadows, they are now too far deteriorated to be reclaimable by man, nor can they become again fitted for human use." "The Alps of Provence present a terrible aspect. In the more equable climate of northern France, one can form no conception of those parched mountain gorges, where not even a bush can be found to shelter a bird, where, at most, the wanderer sees in summer here and there a withered lavender, where all the springs are dried up, and where a dead silence, hardly broken by even the hum of an insect, prevails. But if a storm bursts forth, masses of water suddenly shoot from the mountain heights into the shattered gulfs, waste without irrating, deluge without refreshing the soil they overflow in their swift descent, and leave it even more searched than it was from want of moisture. Man at last retires from the fearful desert, and I have, the present season, found not a living soul in districts where I remember to have enjoyed hospitality thirty years ago." "It is certain that the productive mould of the Alps, swept off by the increasing violence of that curse of the mountains, the torrents, is daily diminishing with fearful rapidity. All our Alps are wholly, or in large proportion, bared of wood. Their soil, scorched by the sun of Provence, cut up by the hoofs of the sheep, which, not finding on the surface the grass they require for their sustenance, gnaw and scratch the ground in search of roots to satisfy their hunger, is periodically washed and carried off by melting snows and summer storms." "I will not dwell on the effects of the torrents. For sixty years they have not been affected to so much." The more closely Governor Gillett's state highway scheme is examined the more one is compelled to marvel at the unique wisdom of the mind that conceived it. What, as an instance, will be the judgment of the taxpayers of the state on the proposition to vest practically complete control of the proposed $18,000,000 in a board of "engineers" consisting of the head of the state insane asylums, the chairman of the state harbor commission, the state engineer and the governor? Yet that is exactly what is provided for in the bill that embodies the governor's scheme. Officials of the various county good roads associations urged the creation of a state highway commission, the members of which should be experts in the art of road making and who would devote their time exclusively to roads. But the governor would have none of it. He wanted the expenditure of the eighteen millions placed in the hands of the "department of engineering"—only one member of which is presumed to know anything about road construction—and being the possessor of the veto stamp, his wishes in the matter prevailed. As a matter of fact, the "department of engineering" is merely a name given to four men, all of whom will have their hands full if they attend properly to their present duties. If the general superintendent of state hospitals and insane asylums will perform properly the many and varied duties that are already his, he will find little time for extra labor, let alone becoming an expert on road construction—which he should be if the $18,000,000 is to be judiciously expended. So with the chairman of the state harbor commission. His duties are of such a character that it is absurd to expect that he would be able to give any time to the question of roads. And even if he had the time, it is not to be expected that his knowledge of harbor matters would make him especially fitted for advising on the subject of good roads. And the governor himself is supposed to have a few duties already that call for a good proportion of his time and energy. According to the report of State Mineralogist Aubury, Orange county's oil output in 1908 came to 3,376,689 barrels, of a value of $2,532,517. This is about 800,000 barrels over the estimate made by the county statistician for the year ending November 1, and the valuation is over a million dollars greater in the state mineralogist's report than in the statistician's report. Under the figures of the state mineralogist, Orange county's oil industry leads in the county's industries in point of value produced. The figures given by the state mineralogist by counties are as follows: County Barrels Value Kern $18,777,871 $9,388,935 Fresno $10,725,389 $3,898,964 Santa Barbara $8,847,589 $4,423,794 Los Angeles $6,244,347 $4,082,052 Orange $3,376,689 $2,532,517 Ventura $289,625 $217,219 Santa Clara $35,400 $17,700 S. L. Obispo $10,000 $5,000 Mr. Aubury's statement in closing says: "Classified under the general heading of hydro-carbons and gasses alone, as they will appear in the annual statistical summary of California for 1908, are substances that collectively make up a total of $28,-232,959. This includes the following items of interest: Asphaltum, $1-082,376; bituminous rock, $109,818; natural gas, $474,584; petroleum, $26,-566,181. The combined values of hydro-carbons and gasses produced in of the proportion, bared of wood. Their soil, scorched by the sun of Provence, cut up by the hoofs of the sheep, which, not finding on the surface the grass they require for their sustenance, gnaw and scratch the ground in search of roots to satisfy their hunger, is periodically washed and carried off by melting snows and summer storms." "I will not dwell on the effects of the torrents. For sixty years they have been too often depicted to require to be further discussed, but it is important to show that their ravages are daily extending the range of devastation. The bed of the Durance, which now in some places exceeds a mile and a quarter in width, and, at ordinary times, has a current of water less than eleven yards wide, shows something of the extent of the damage. Where ten years ago, there were still woods and cultivated grounds to be seen, there is now but a vast torrent; there is not one of our mountains which has not at least one torrent, and new ones are daily forming. "In the days of the Roman Empire the Durance was a navigable, or, at least, a boatable, river, with a commerce so important that the boatmen upon it formed a distinct corporation. "Even as early as 1789 the Durance was computed to have already covered with gravel and pebbles not less than 130,000 acres, which but for its inundations, would have been the finest land in the province." First Great Clearance Sale of Vehicles by the Wickersheim Implement Company. 20 per cent discount on all surreys. Every Vehicle at sale price, no reserve. Read their advertisement on another page. Potato Dip at Mullinix's. Dr. G. W. Closson, veterinary surgeon, has located at Oliver Hill's City livery stable, and will give prompt attention to all work entrusted to him in his line. Potato Dip at Mullinix's. "Classified under the general heading of hydro-carbons and gasses alone, as they will appear in the annual statistical summary of California for 1908, are substances that collectively make up a total of $28,232,959. This includes the following items of interest: Asphaltum, $1,082,376; bituminous rock, $109,818; natural gas, $474,584; petroleum, $26,566,181. The combined values of hydro-carbons and gasses produced in 1908 surpass the total value of all mineral substances produced in any year in California between 1887 and 1897, inclusive of both years, by about $3,000,000, in round figures." CAVE FILLED WITH SNAKES Women Berry-Pickers Have Hair-Raising Experience PITTSBURGH, Pa. July 28.—Three women who went out early this morning to pick berries on a farm about three miles from Latrobe, were rescued late this afternoon by farm hands after having been buried in an abandoned coal mine for five hours, during which they fought continually with a nest of huge snakes. Two of the women became hysterical on their release and are in a serious condition. As the women invaded an inviting field of berries, the earth suddénly yawned and swallowed them. All three fell about twenty-five feet through a break in the roof of an abandoned mine into a pool of shallow water. They forgot their injuries when they felt the snakes wriggling about them in the darkness. Picking up broken timbers they fought the reptiles and screamed for help. They killed fifteen snakes before their cries were heard. WEIGH THE ADVANTAGES of a loose cash system against a book account and you will find everything in favor of the latter. You can accomplish anything through the bank account that you can with the cash, and you have these advantages: Your money is in absolute safety all the time and you cannot lose it by thieves or fire. A little check book, which you can carry in your pocket, makes all your money available at any time. No one can make you pay a bill twice, because your canceled check is the best receipt known in law. You gain the respect of your fellow citizens, and have the influence of the bank behind you. Give up that dangerous cash system and start a bank account today. THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK ANAHEIM, CALIF. This is the season for the Children's Photos Studio OUR SPECIALTY Santa Ana Union Brewing Co. OF ANAHEIM Union Brewing Co. OF ANAHEIM Brewers and Bottlers of the CELEBRATED Anaheim Lager IN BOTTLES One Doz. (large) $1.50 One Doz. (small) $1.00 Bottles returned, doz. (large) 40c Bottles returned, doz. (small) 30c Prompt delivery to all parts of the city. Family trade Solicited Phone Sunset 301 Phone Home 1264 Talking about ICE you ought to know that we supply it in any quantity. We furnish small pieces for families, or large quantities for restaurants, butchers saloons, etc. Our prices are right, our delivery is prompt. Phones—Home 1542, Sunset 91 Get our prices on Hay, Grain, Seeds and Poultry Supplies before buying. It will pay you. about ICE you ought to know that we supply it in any quantity. We furnish small pieces for families, or large quantities for restaurants, butchers saloons, etc. Our prices are right, our delivery is prompt. Phones—Home 1542, Sunset 91 Get our prices on Hay, Grain, Seeds and Poultry Supplies before buying. It will pay you. H. H. Gardner Co. C. B. HOLLEY, Manager PACIFIC VEGETABLE COMPANY (CALIFORNIA) CARLOAD SHIPPERS AND BUYERS OF Celery, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Onions, Etc. Main Offices—625 Central Bldg, Los Angeles Gen'l Eastern Office—34 Clark st., Chicago Direct Representatives in All Principal Markets Local Representative, A. W. PHELPS. H. HOLLAND TINNING, PLUMBING AND GAS FITTING Estimates Furnished : Satisfaction Guaranteed 208 N. Los Angeles St. Phone—Sunset 716 Anaheim, Cal.