190 AITNUAL EEPORT 



the commouwealth. Let us call into requisition some portion of 

 this machinery in the protection of our native forests, now being 

 ruthlessly destroyed by* fire, in the care and protection of the hund- 

 reds of thousands of acres which have been burned over, and are 

 now struggling to again cover and reclothe the charred and denuded 

 surface, such legislation as will prevent the wholesale waste and 

 unnecessary destruction of young and growing timber in our lum- 

 bering operations; in such legislation as will abolish and prevent 

 the abuses now perpetrated with impunity under the Timber Cul- 

 ture Act; and also such legislation as will scatter broadcast such 

 practical information on the subject of Forestry among the people 

 on our prairie districts as will enable them not only to accomplish 

 the best results in this direction in the shortest possible time, and 

 with the least expense of labor, time and money, but also such 

 literature as will wake them up, arouse their enthusiasm and create 

 a generous emulation and rivalry for the best results. 



Mr. President, our broad, beautiful, fertile prairies, in our own 

 State and for hundreds of miles beyond, are fast filling up with 

 families from all parts of the globe, allured by the glowing publica- 

 tions of the State, the railroad companies, and the public press. 

 Their little board shanties, sod cabins and "dug-outs" already spot 

 tens of thousands of quarter sections far out in 



THE ILLIMITABLE WESTERN" HORIZOK. 



They are the pioneers of civilization — the advance guard of that 

 overwhelming wave of emigration that even now is the astonish- 

 ment of the world. The great mass are poorly equipped for the 

 struggle that awaits them. Fuel and shelter are their primal ne- 

 cessities, without which thousands will be driven back, cursing the 

 agencies which allured them hither. Those men are there not 

 merely to eke out a miserable existence. They are depended on to 

 raise food for the world; to furnish business for the railroads, and 

 revenues for the State. Consequently the State and the railroads 

 are mutually interested in keeping them contented. What better 

 way than to teach and assist them in planting forests and wind- 

 breaks for shelter and fuel, rendering them thereby fully as com- 

 fortable as they would be 300 miles further south. Is the State 

 doing her duty in this behalf? Do her representatives take any 

 interest in the matter at all commensurate with its importance? 

 Do you, gentlemen, and does this State university take such inter- 

 est in this cause as you might do without damaging your prospects 

 for time or eternity? 



