tilt' sense of this. ;inv nidl'e than 1 lie average I 111 ll bel'mail would hesi- 

 tate to eul awav the forest : but llie l';iet remains. Of course, in any 

 very lirtiken country, so says Fnde Sain, there should he forestry 

 mixed with t'a rming : otherwise, the rainfall goes off in torrents. Kven 

 ("iiele Sam sometimes forgets this. for. after establishing forest re- 

 serves, he very often leases them out as sheep or goat ranges. These 

 animals trample little paths, \vhieh soon heeome Bullies, which, in 

 time, heeome uTeat avenues nf waste. I have seen mountains in Xew 

 Me.xidi ruined hv u'oats. 



For fuller particulars, any anxious inquirer might do much worse 

 than refer to the Department of Agriculture 1 , where many of these 

 great, slow problems are now under careful consideration. As to 

 actual remedy, however, nothing 1 can he done so long as we ourselves 

 remain ignorant or careless in politics, religion and business. AVe 

 must see higher than the walls of our little grooves. Also, we must 

 see about us in our own little grooves. Waste begins on your own 

 forty acres, right at your door. You are tin 1 unit, the individual 

 citizen. From you it is a step up to your hundred, under the old 

 Saxon law. Thence you go to your town, your State, your National 

 (rovernment. Your wish can prevail, if you like, at each and every 

 step of that advance. You can say to that legislator who thinks of 

 himself and not of you. that you would rather have in his place a 

 man who stands for guarded resources, for large reserves of forests, 

 rich soil, a proper water tlow. an unimpeded navigation, for fair play 

 all along the line. It all begins with you and me. We have a good 

 country and a good government, but they won't run themselves. The 

 reform of a great many things begins away this side of Washington. 

 District of Columbia. Some of it can begin in the caucus, or the 

 primary, or the forty-acre Held. Common-sense and enforced laws 

 now. or the piper to pay after a while which is better.' 



At our present nice little industrial gait, here in America, we are 

 burning- the candle at both ends. <|uile regardless of the fact that when 

 it is bin nt out. it can never he renewed. Such American fortunes as 

 were made out of theft of America's common resources must surely. 

 one day and in some way. pay the price, lint let us little fellows who 

 have not "succeeded'' in the world see to it that we keep our own 

 hands clean. 



This was a very wonderful and beautiful country. Having seen it 

 before civilization look it all over, perhaps, some of us do not care so 

 much for civilization as we might. 



Perhaps some of us would rather be Indians and pray to Chief 

 Mountain, or would rather have been members of the Saurus family, 

 before there was any such thing as taxes and when potato salad was 

 free. Yet here we are. cadi in his little groove, and. if we have to 

 play the game, we ought to understand th game and know what the 

 Li'ame is about. 



At least one truth is. we don't own the soil. We borrow it. We 

 Might to hand it over to the successor of our species in as good condi- 

 tion as when we asked the loan. The Saurus family played the game 

 as fair as that with us: and the tinot Saiiri in the world were raised 

 right here in the lulled States. Perhaps they didn't forget the hymns 



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