Problems in American Democracy Part 54

17. The tariff in France. (Ashley, _Modern Tariff History_, part iii.)

FOR CLa.s.sROOM DISCUSSION

18. Why has the wages argument increased in importance within the last half century?

19. How could our protective tariff be abolished without endangering present investments in protected industries?

20. The question of a national tariff policy.

21. To what extent should the formulation of our tariff acts take into consideration the wishes of foreign producers who desire to sell their goods in this country?

CHAPTER x.x.x

CONSERVATION

367. ATt.i.tUDE OF THE EARLY SETTLER TOWARD NATURAL RESOURCES.--The chief concern of the early American settler was to turn a virgin continent into homes as quickly and as easily as possible. During the seventeenth, eighteenth, and most of the nineteenth century, our natural resources were very abundant, while labor and capital were relatively scarce. As the settlers spread across the Appalachians and into the great West, it was to be expected, therefore, that the home- maker should use labor and capital as carefully as possible and that he should use generously such resources as forests, water power, and soil fertility. Little blame attaches to the early settler for this att.i.tude, indeed he acted in accordance with sound economic law. This economic law declares that under any particular set of circ.u.mstances factors of production should be carefully used in proportion as they are scarce, and generously used in proportion as they are abundant.

368. RESULT: GROWING SCARCITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES.--The rapid settlement of the West was essential to our national unity and development. Nevertheless, the extensive and even lavish use of natural wealth since colonial times has lately called attention to the scarcity of resources formerly considered overabundant.

More than three fourths of our original forest area has been culled, cut over, or burned, since colonial times. Wholesale logging methods have swept vast areas bare of valuable timber. Careless cutting has wasted a quarter of our timber supply. In the lumber mill about 40 per cent of the entire volume of the logs is lost by wasteful methods of work. Since 1870 forest fires have annually destroyed more than $50,000,000 worth of timber. Altogether our timber supply is diminishing three or four times as fast as we are replenishing it.

By holding sod in place, forests furnish a sponge-like reservoir which absorbs rainfall and then retains it sufficiently to insure that it will be paid out only gradually. The process of cutting down forests, called deforestation, destroys the sod, so that streams formerly fed from forested areas by a steady process become dangerously swollen in certain seasons and greatly reduced in size at other times. One effect of this alternation of freshets with abnormally dry periods is a loss of steady and dependable water power.

Deforestation has also an injurious effect upon agriculture. When heavy rains wash valuable surface soil from the tops and sides of hills these denuded areas are rendered less valuable for grazing, while the overabundance of top soil in the valleys r.e.t.a.r.ds effective cultivation. Agriculture also suffers from the fact that streams which would ordinarily furnish a steady supply of irrigation water are often either in a state of flood or practically dried up.

Despite the excellent work done by the Department of Agriculture, American farming methods are in many sections of the country both careless and wasteful. The abundance of land in past years seemed to justify our free use of it, nevertheless such use has in many cases resulted in a serious loss of fertility. Careless tillage and a failure to rotate crops have resulted in a heavy loss of nitrogen, pota.s.sium, phosphorus, and other essential soil elements.

Heretofore we have used coal very lavishly. Often as much coal has been wasted as has been mined. Mining corporations have often neglected low grade coal deposits, and have abandoned mines without having first removed all of the accessible high grade coal. Imperfect combustion, both in dwellings and in industrial establishments, is said to waste more than a third of our coal, as well as creating a costly and injurious smoke nuisance. Our consumption of coal is doubling every ten years. In view of the fact that our coal deposits are limited, this increasing consumption is a serious development.

Iron, too, has been used wastefully. The bog iron deposits of the Atlantic coast were used up before 1800, and as the result of an intense industrial development since 1850, the supply of high grade ores is being speedily diminished. Oil and gas have been used lavishly, and even, in some cases, deliberately wasted.

369. HIGH PRICES.--The lavish use of natural resources which has characterized the American people since colonial times has been an important factor in the cost of living. In early days there was an abundance of resources and few people to use them; at present the supply of many of our resources is greatly diminished, and there is a much larger population seeking to use them. In the case of every natural resource the supply is either limited or is failing to increase as rapidly as are the demands upon it. The result is higher prices for coal, wood, iron, oil, gas, and similar commodities. It is at least partly due to the heavy drain upon our resources that the cost of building homes, heating them, feeding the population, and carrying on the varied activities of American industry is steadily increasing.

370. MONOPOLY.--Throughout the history of our natural resources there has been a strong tendency toward monopoly. Natural resources should be safeguarded for the benefit of the people as a whole, yet much of our natural wealth has been monopolized by individuals. Four fifths of our timber lands are privately owned, and of that four fifths about half is controlled by 250 companies. Two thirds of the developed water power in this country is controlled by a small group of power interests. Defective land laws, the lax administration of good laws, and extravagant land grants to railroads have allowed private fortunes to be built up without a proportionate advantage to the public. Coal and petroleum deposits are controlled largely by a few corporations, while a heavy percentage of our copper and iron deposits is in private hands.

371. THE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT.--After the middle of the nineteenth century the growing scarcity of many natural resources called attention to the need of conserving them. Conservation means to utilize economically, rather than to h.o.a.rd. It means, furthermore, that resources should be used so that both the present and future generations will reap a proper benefit from America's great natural gifts. Thus conservation seeks, Mr. Van Hise once said, "the greatest good to the greatest number, and for the longest time." The dawn of the conservation idea stimulated a reaction against the careless administration of natural resources. Toward the end of the 19th century, there was an increasing amount of legislation encouraging the legitimate use of natural resources on the one hand, and repressing monopoly on the other. After the opening of the twentieth century interest in conservation increased. In 1908 President Roosevelt called a conference of the governors of the various states for the purpose of considering this vital problem, and from that meeting dates a definite and nationwide conservation policy in this country.

Some of the effects of this changing att.i.tude toward natural resources may now be noted.

372. FORESTS AND WATER POWER.--In 1891 a Federal law provided for a system of national forest reservations. These reservations now include a substantial proportion of our forests, and are steadily extending their limits. Since 1897 there has been a Bureau of Forestry which has performed invaluable services. Forest fires have been reduced, denuded areas have been reforested, forest cutting has been controlled, and a constructive program of forest culture developed. Forest reserves under the control of the individual states now total more than 10,000,000 acres. Of late years there has been an increasing use of dams and reservoirs for the storage of flood waters and the development of water power. This regulation of streams gives a uniform flow of water both for navigation and for irrigation purposes.

373. THE LAND.--The desire to encourage the home-maker has long been the motive power behind our public land policy, but unfortunately many of our earlier land laws did not prevent peculators and large corporations from fraudulently securing control of land intended for the _bona fide_ or genuine settler. Within the last quarter of a century our land laws have been reorganized, with the double aim of doing justice to this type of settler, and of suppressing speculation and monopoly. As the result of Land Office investigations in 1913, more than 800,000 acres were returned to the public domain, on the ground that they had been secured through fraud.

The Department of Agriculture has steadily extended its scope. Better methods of cultivation, lessons in soil chemistry, and experiments with new and special crops have helped conserve the resources of the land. An elaborate system of experiment stations has been built up since 1887. The Weather Bureau in the Department of Agriculture saves millions of dollars' worth of property annually by sending out warnings of frost, storm, and flood.

Reclamation is increasingly important. New crops are being developed for the semi-arid areas of the West. Swamp lands in the East and South are being drained. Levees and breakwaters along the Mississippi are helping to prevent the loss of arable land through the river's changes in course.

Even more important is the irrigation movement. In 1894 the Carey Act gave Federal encouragement to several western states in irrigation projects, and in 1902 the Reclamation Act provided for the construction of irrigation works under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. The plan provided by the Act of 1902 is self- supporting, the expense of the construction and improvement of the irrigation system being met from the sale of public lands. The administration of the Reclamation Act has already resulted in millions of acres being brought under cultivation.

374. MINERALS.--Until 1873 coal lands were disposed of on practically the same terms as agricultural lands. But after that date laws restricting the purchase of coal lands began to be increasingly severe. In 1910 Congress withdrew from public sale nearly 100,000,000 acres of coal, petroleum, and phosphate lands. At the present time the discovery of coal on land secured by settlers for purely farming purposes ent.i.tles the government to dispose of the coal deposits under special conditions. There is also a tendency for the government to demand higher prices of individuals buying public coal lands.

In some quarters there is a demand that all coal lands be leased rather than sold. The Federal government has not yet yielded to this demand, but Colorado and Wyoming now lease rather than sell their coal lands. Under the lease system in these states, the state retains ownership, but allows private individuals a definite commission per ton of coal mined. The lease system is also advocated in the case of lands containing iron, oil, and gas deposits, on the grounds that it safeguards the interests of the public and at the same time allows the mining corporations a fair profit.

375. REASONS FOR OPTIMISM.--In spite of the appalling waste which has been characteristic of our administration of natural resources, the outlook is distinctly encouraging. Resources used by past generations are gone forever, but at last we are making rapid strides in conserving what is left. Not only this, but we are perfecting plans for an increased supply of those resources which can be replenished.

The admirable work of our Forest Service promises not only to reduce the present waste of wood products, but actually to increase the supply of timber. The Service deserves high praise both for its work in saving and replenishing forests, and for its wise handling of forest problems involving other resources. "By reasonable thrift,"

runs a report of the Forest Service, "we can produce a constant timber supply beyond our present need, and with it conserve the usefulness of our streams for irrigation, water supply, navigation, and power."

We now appear thoroughly awake not only to the necessity of safeguarding what is left of the public domain, but also to the necessity of increasing the productivity of inferior lands. There are still in this country more than 300,000,000 acres of unappropriated and unreserved land. Three fourths of this area is at present fit only for grazing, but the rapid development of kaffir corn, durum wheat, Persian clover, and other crops suitable for dry soils bids fair greatly to increase the productivity of this land.

The irreplaceable character of our mineral deposits, together with the tendency for large industrial interests to monopolize minerals. has greatly stimulated the conservation of these resources. A valuable step forward has been the recla.s.sification of public lands to allow of special treatment of lands containing mineral deposits. Coal is still used lavishly, but nine tenths of our original deposits are still in existence. Furthermore, water power, electricity, and other subst.i.tutes for coal are being developed. Our high grade iron ores will be exhausted in a few decades, but an iron shortage may be prevented by more careful mining, the use of low grade ores, and the use of subst.i.tutes.

376. DIFFERENT RESOURCES CALL FOR DIFFERENT TREATMENT.--A wise conservation policy will take note of the fact that different resources call for different types of treatment. Coal, petroleum, oil, and gas are limited in extent and are practically irreplaceable. These should be taken from the earth and utilized as economically as possible. The same is true of the metallic minerals, such as iron and copper, though here the use of subst.i.tutes is of greater importance than in the case of non-metallic minerals.

Water can best be conserved by the wise development of water power sites, and by the careful utilization of streams.

Forests may be renewed, but slowly. Their conservation requires the prevention of fires, the reduction of waste in cutting and milling, the use of by-products, and scientific reforestation.

Soil elements may also be renewed, though slowly and with difficulty.

Reforestation prevents erosion and thus conserves soil fertility.

Systems of crop rotation designed to retain nitrogen, pota.s.sium, and phosphorus are valuable.

377. SOME CONSERVATION NEEDS.--The above considerations indicate some of our conservation needs. It is believed by most students of conservation that the Federal forest holdings should be extended and consolidated. There is need for more stringent forest fire regulations, especially in the case of private forests. In order to reforest the denuded areas and to grow timber scientifically some such plan as the German system of forest culture might be adopted. There is urgent need of a systematic development of our inland Waterways. The construction of more dams and reservoirs, the dredging of rivers and harbors, the coordination of ca.n.a.ls and inland waterways, and the improvement of the Mississippi-Great Lakes system, all these would be helpful measures. Irrigation and other reclamation projects, including the drainage of swamp lands, should be developed systematically.

American farming methods ought still further to be improved. We are in need of laws penalizing wasteful methods of mining and prohibiting uneconomical methods of combustion. Probably the system of leasing rather than selling mineral lands should be extended.

A last vital need in conservation is cooperation between state and Federal authorities, and between private individuals and public agencies. This is of great importance. Where rivers course through several states, and where forest fires in one section threaten adjacent forest areas, cooperation must be secured. The Governors'

Conference of 1908 stimulated cooperation between the states and the Federal government, and since 1909 the National Conservation a.s.sociation has been a means of coordinating the work of all persons and agencies interested in conservation. There is still, however, little cooperation between state or Federal governments on the one hand, and private owners on the other. It is a matter of special regret that although four fifths of our forests are privately owned, both fire prevention and scientific forestry are little developed on private estates.

378. THE QUESTION OF ADMINISTRATION.--Though it is conceded on all sides that our natural resources ought to be utilized economically, there is much discussion as to whether the states or the Federal government ought to dominate the conservation movement.

Those favoring the extension of Federal control over conservation point out that forest control, irrigation, conservation of water power, and similar projects are distinctly interstate in character, and are thus properly a Federal function. Federal administration is said to be necessary in order to insure fair treatment of different localities. Finally, it is maintained, the states have either neglected the question of conservation, or have handled it in their own interests rather than with regard to the national welfare.

A strong party maintains, on the other hand, that conservation is primarily a state function. The movement is said to be too large for the Federal government to handle. It is contended that there is no specific warrant in the Const.i.tution for the Federal control of conservation. It is also claimed that Federal administration of natural resources has been accompanied by waste and inefficiency.

Conservation is said to be a local question, best administered by those most interested in the problem, and, by reason of their proximity to it, most familiar with it.

The problem of administration is a difficult one. In a number of cases the claims for and against Federal control are obviously sound. But from the standpoint of the public the whole matter is of secondary importance: the problem of administration ought to be decided on the basis of what is best under particular circ.u.mstances. Some phases of conservation are probably best looked after by the states, others by the Federal government, still others by the state and Federal governments jointly. The problem of conflicting authority ought somehow to be solved. Conservation is too vital a matter to be hampered by the question of method or means.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What was the att.i.tude of the early settler toward natural resources?

2. Discuss the growing scarcity of natural resources.