EDITORIAL 229 



A BOURBON OF BOURBONS 



XT IS much to be regretted that the couutr.v as a whole does not know 

 Senator Heyburn of Idaho, and his unreason and absurdities are not 

 always analyzed and valued at their real worthlessness. We have 

 actually seen editorials from papers in the east accepting as valid his violent 

 attacks on the Forest Service and making them the text of appi'oving dis- 

 cussion. To those who are acquainted with the methods and habits of mind 

 of the senator from Idaho this seems impossible. It should be understood 

 that he is against the Forest Service, all its works, and anything connected 

 with it. With this knowledge as a key, much can be understood and allowed 

 for. His is a Bourbon mind — never learning and never forgetting anything. 

 His attack on the new national forest bill when it was before the Senate on 

 the fifteenth of February was so absurd as to be a serious reflection upon the 

 dignity of the Senate. With some opponents argument is possible. Senator 

 Heyburn's method is to press his point by brute force and yield only when 

 overcome by greater force. With him argument is impo.ssible. 



THE CRAWFORD NOTCH IN DANGER 



rs THIS is written, the project for the purchase of the Crawford Notch 

 by the state of New Hampshire halts in the Legislature. Meanwhile a 

 hundred ax-men have already begun the work of denudation. 



We have commented recently more than once on the notable progress 

 made by New Hampshire in forestry, and it is incredible that the state can 

 be so blind to its own best interests as to allow this opportunity for self-help 

 to slip by. In times past narrow and selfish interests have too often domi- 

 nated the state to its own detriment, but the recent awakening, the progressive 

 legislation, and the election of Governor Bass all gave promise of better things. 

 Here, however, is an opportunity that is likely to be a test. The cost is not 

 excessive. One hundred thousand dollars is a reasonable price for this property 

 when its many-sided value to the state is considered. On the other hand. 

 New Hampshire cannot afford at any price to have the Notch denuded and 

 thereby changed from a green and picturesque valley, one of the scenic wonders 

 of the state, to a gray, scarred waste. At every season of the year the Notch 

 has its peculiar beauty. As a travelled pass into the mountain country it is 

 worth much to the state of New Hampshire. As the source of the Saco it 

 means much to industry ; but it is one of the striking examples of mountain 

 sides that can never have Iheir forest growth restored if they are once laid bai-e. 



There is another side to the question. Neighbor states have been fighting 

 New Hampshire's battle for national preservation of the chief watersheds of 

 the White Mountains. The battle has been won, but it was hardly won, and 

 the fruits of it are by no means certain. It has been conceded that New 

 Hampshire is not a wealthy state and could not handle this whole project 

 alone; but it has not been conceded that New Hampshire with its nominal 

 debt is poverty stricken or helpless. The new national forest bill as passed 

 is a general bill and New Hami)shire can only have its share by deserving it. 

 If the state will not help itself when its interests are so plainly at stake there 

 will be slight inclination on the part of the national authorities to come to 

 its assistance. And there Avill be no lack of applicants for the few million 



