THE ORATION.
"People of Solaris, I thank you for the honor of having been chosen as
the orator, for this our first Arbor-day Celebration! I assure you, that
I am both proud and happy to serve you in that capacity!
"In the beginning, let us consider the art of tree-planting, from the
stand-point of an acorn, as being a typical nut or tree-bearing seed,
such as I now hold in my hand.
"This tiny nut, with such a smooth hard shell of polished brown,
contains a kernel with magical possibilities. Within this kernel,
closely packed and safely cradled, lies the embryo oak. So small and so
insignificant is this nut, that one may travel for months over land and
sea, with the possible ancestor of a half-dozen future oak-forests
snugly tucked away in some inside pocket. This, too, without ever once
receiving a demand from the lynx-eyed custom officials, for the payment
of either import or export duties upon it. Half way round the globe,
from the spot occupied by its parent tree, this highly-polished,
much-traveled nut, if given the proper conditions, will at once commence
the mysterious transformation process, which marks the beginning of the
life and growth of another oak tree. This growth, under favorable
circumstances, may continue for the historical period of ten centuries.
Ministering meanwhile, to the needs of forty passing generations of
people. Reproducing itself, perhaps a million times in the aggregate, by
the enormous annual crops of acorns it may have borne. What a history of
marvels, is the history of such a growth! As it is with the oak, so it
is in a large measure, with all other trees which are produced from
seeds.
"This fascinatingly mysterious process of passing from seed to
plant,--from passive to active life, we have watched with keen interest
and growing pleasure, as from week to week, in the seed beds and nursery
rows of our tree-garden, it has steadily progressed, under the varying
conditions of sunshine and storm. Having reached a suitable size for
transplanting, we have this morning commenced the actual work of tree
planting, by carefully placing the young trees in the proper soil and
location, where they may complete the sturdy growth they have so well
begun. The preparatory work, we began some months ago, when as
individuals, we selected the three trees, of some one chosen variety,
which we especially desired to plant in forest formation, on the
occasion of this festival.
"By the months of thoughtful care and attention which we have given to
these trees, we have gained a personal interest in them which we cannot
lose. In this initiative work, I am convinced that we have wisely
established such a broad foundation of general interest in forestry and
kindred topics, that sooner or later, it will lead us to a complete
mastery of the whole subject. The individual interest thus established,
will continue to expand until it embraces the entire tree-family of the
world. By constantly adding to our stores of knowledge in this
direction, we shall be surprised to find how much we have extended our
field of pleasure. In the same ratio, there will come to us a
corresponding increase of affection and appreciation for our
benefactors, the trees; a solace in the sojourn of life, so generously
supplied by Mother Nature.
"The location of Solaris as an experimental tree-planting farm, is
particularly fortunate. It possesses a soil and climate which will
promote the perfect growth of more than one hundred different varieties
of trees. Among these, we find a majority of the valuable timber and
nut-bearing trees of the world. Consequently, a very wide field of
experimentation awaits our efforts. Let us improve our splendid
opportunities so industriously, that a wide spread interest in forestry,
may follow and become firmly established in the minds of the people of
our Republic.
"By way of an introduction to the general subject, of the importance of
trees, as an adjunct to the progress, welfare and civilization of
mankind. I wish to relate to you the story of my first great lesson in
the seductive lore of forestry.
"Near the beginning of the last decade of the Nineteenth Century, in the
year of 1893, it was my good fortune to visit the World's Columbian
Exposition at Chicago. I was then a lad of fifteen years, full of boyish
enthusiasm, in the enjoyment of my first vacation from the preparatory
school, where I was being fitted for my collegiate course.
"I was born and reared on my father's farm, on the broad rolling
prairies of Nebraska; up to that time I had never been far from home; as
a consequence my knowledge of growing trees was limited to the following
fast-growing varieties, which were planted and cultivated by prairie
farmers for fuel, fencing and storm-protection. I will name these
varieties in the order of their value for fuel and timber. White ash,
soft maple, cottonwood and white willow. At a later period I learned
that perhaps with the exception of white ash, the timber furnished by
these trees, is considered valueless, in the markets of the world.
"Under such circumstances you may imagine my astonishment when I first
beheld that wonderfully unique, Forestry Building; with its bristling
array of tree-trunk flag poles. Try first to picture in your mind's eye,
a building in the form of a parallelogram, large enough to afford two
acres of floor-space; with the first story surrounded on every side by a
wide, open veranda: with a full length second story one hundred feet
wide, rising gracefully from the central roof of the first; altogether,
completing a design of exterior so boldly rustic in its general effect,
as to suggest the idea of trees and forests at every point; then, you
may get the delightfully novel effect, which the architect conveyed to
my mind as I approached this curiously fascinating structure. A closer
inspection increased the rustic effect of the general design. The main
outside walls, were composed of thousands of wide, bark-coated slabs,
cut from the choice typical trees of our American forests.
"The wide roof, was in itself an ideal creation; it was thickly covered
with curving tiles of rough bark, in alternating layers of the varying
kinds, which formed a picturesque combination redolent with the spicy
resinous odors of birch, basswood, hemlock and fir.
"Completely encircling the building, with feet firmly planted on its
solid stone foundation, rising to the roof through the floor of the
veranda at its outer edge, were the thickly planted supporting pillars.
These pillars like a long line of watchful sentinels, were placed in
trios. The two outside pillars of each trio, were only separated from
the middle one by a few inches of space, and were as nearly as possible,
ten inches in diameter. The one in the center was much larger and held
the post of honor as the flag bearer of its triumvirate. By pushing its
way through the roof it became a huge flag pole, fifty feet from base to
tip, with a beautiful banner proudly waving from its ball crowned
summit. These pillars, both large and small, were bark-coated below the
roof. Each one had been carefully selected for its symmetrical
straightness, as a representative tree from the different forests of the
world. Altogether, they formed a most interesting collection, to which
might well be devoted, many hours of admiring inspection, by every lover
of trees.
"A wide lattice work of bark-laden tree limbs, of a uniform size
completed the charmingly rustic cornice, which, like some endless
curtain seemed to hang suspended from the caves of this bark-thatched
roof.
"Having sufficiently studied the exterior beauties of this remarkable
building, of such arborescent magnificence; let us mount the steps to
the broad, breezy veranda. Pausing a moment to inhale the refreshing
coolness of the crisp air; and to admire the wave curving sparkle of the
blue waters of Lake Michigan, we then pass to the shining portal of
richly colored, highly polished woods, which form the main entrance.
Here, covering the entire available floor-space, piled high in splendid
profusion; we behold the garnered riches from the forests of the world.
"I shall not attempt to describe my varying emotions of wonder and
delight, as I wandered for hours through a bewildering maze of the
wonderful exhibits, which formed this unrivalled collection of choice
woods. As I advanced, my admiration for its variety and extent continued
to grow. I began to perceive that, spread out before me, was the
opportunity of a life time, which, if properly utilized would prove for
me the permanent foundation of an education on the subject of timber,
trees and forestry products. With this realization came the resolve,
that I would devote time enough to each exhibit, to permit me to examine
it in detail, leisurely and carefully.
"The separate exhibits from the States of the Union and from other
nations, were skillfully classified and so artistically arranged, as to
show in the most effective manner the lovely grain, color and finished
beauty, of the different woods.
"All the valuable timbers were represented by three specimens. The first
and second, were polished planks displaying the grain-finish, of both
radial and transverse sections. The third, a cross section or disc,
showing the heart, body-wood, sap-wood and bark; the full size of the
tree represented. These discs proved by far the most interesting part of
the exhibit. To me they were a revelation! They at once introduced me to
the individuality of the tree. I could read the history of its life as I
scanned the ever-widening circle of annual rings, which, from center to
circumference, marked the slow growth of ages, as the tree advanced from
infancy to maturity.
"By means of these polished discs, I could touch and become personally
acquainted with the precious, the famous, and the historical trees of
the world. The mighty teak and deodar from India. The giant mahogany
from Central America. The olive of Palestine. The cedars of Lebanon. The
ancient oaks of Dodona. The magnificent dye-wood and rosewood of
Brazil. The majestic live-oak of Florida. The druidical-oaks of England.
The smooth, elastic bamboo, which by its size and strength becomes so
useful in house-building, in both China and Japan. The towering spruces
and sugar pines of our Pacific Coast. The great elms of New England. The
justly famous, white pines of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The
wonderful spice-woods of Java and Ceylon. The curious soap and rubber
trees of Brazil. The tall sugar maples and smooth, symmetrical beeches
of New York. The great hemlocks of Pennsylvania. The stately cypress,
the royal tulip tree, and the beautiful evergreen white holly, of our
southern forests. The highly prized black-walnut of Tennessee and North
Carolina. The fruitful, free-growing chestnut, so common all over the
United States. Finally, that towering king of all trees, the matchless
mammoth redwood of California.
"These redwoods are such veritable giants in size, that the half disc
displayed in the California Section, with its thick ring of bark on the
rounding side uppermost, stood sixteen feet high. From the huge trunk of
this tree came the accompanying plank of such extraordinary dimensions,
that a placard proclaimed it the largest plank the world ever saw. This
plank was five inches thick, twenty-five feet long and sixteen feet nine
inches wide; containing about two thousand feet of lumber, board
measure.
"In the Brazilian Section I found a large disc, accompanied by a
specimen branch, with the leaves, flowers and fruit of a most remarkable
tree. To this tree, the world owes a debt of gratitude for its generous
unfailing supply of a rich wholesome food. Almost every child through
the sense of sight, touch and taste, is familiar with that peculiar,
triangular-shaped, sharp-edged, black-coated nut of commerce, with such
a delicious kernel, known as the brazil nut. Very few however, know
anything of the tree which bears them, or how they are attached to the
branches from which they are suspended. As it is a matter of such
general interest to both old and young, I shall take the liberty of
devoting a few moments to a brief description of this gigantic tree,
which the botanist has named 'The Bertholletia Excelsa.'
"These wonderful trees grow most abundantly in the valleys of the
Amazons, and generally throughout tropical America. In size and beauty,
they rank as monarchs of their native forests. They attain an average
height of one hundred and thirty feet, having smooth cylindrical,
beautifully proportioned bodies; which often have the astonishing
diameter of fourteen feet, when measured fifty feet above the ground.
Like columns in some vast cathedral, these majestic representatives of
the vegetable kingdom, raise their massive trunks one hundred feet
toward heaven, before they commence to branch out, and to form a medium
sized, symmetrical top. At this height grow the flowers and fruits.
"The fruits are globular, with a diameter of five or six inches. Each
fruit contains within its black, woody, shell, from eighteen to
twenty-five closely packed seeds or brazil-nuts. These fruits, as they
ripen, fall from their lofty position. At the proper season they are
collected, broken open and marketed by the Indians, who roam through
these dark, gloomy, miasmatic forests. The extraordinary abundance of
the crop may be measured by the fact, that one port alone on the Amazon
River, exports annually more than fifty millions of these excellent
nuts.
"Brazil-nuts are largely eaten as a nutritious and palatable food, by a
multitude of people in many lands. They yield a generous supply of fine
bland oil, which is highly prized for use in cookery, and also for
lubricating all kinds of delicate machinery.
"The timber furnished by these fruitful and beautiful trees, is light
and durable, easily worked, well adapted to the purpose of
boat-building; especially canoes of the largest size. Indeed! I may add
as a final tribute to these noble trees, that they are the peculiar
product of the American Continent, of which it may well be proud! They
have bodies so tall, so straight, so large, so symmetrical, so free from
knots, and so easily dug out, that the largest ship used by the hardy
and fearless old Vikings of the Eleventh Century, could easily have been
fashioned from a single one!
"In connection with the main exhibit in the Forestry Building itself, I
visited and examined the magnificent and astonishing timber displays
shown in the State buildings of California, Oregon, and Washington.
These exhibits were in every way worthy of those three great states of
the Pacific Coast; they also served to largely increase the
preponderance of the exhibit from the United States as a whole, over
that of all other nations combined. The demonstrated extent, variety and
wealth of our timber supply, was a matter of profound astonishment to
visitors from other lands; while at the same time these things were
equally a source of surprise and pride to every citizen of the Republic
who saw them.
"After a most delightfully well spent week, devoted almost entirely to
forestry productions, I was prepared to sum up my impressions of the
significance and value of the knowledge I had gained in my first
lesson. It was plain to me that the magnitude and importance of the
subject, was but little understood or appreciated, by the average
American citizen. I saw that our people were very much in need of some
great object lesson like the forestry exhibit of the Columbian
Exposition, to make them properly realize the immensity of our debt of
gratitude to Mother Nature for her munificent gift of trees to mankind.
"I shall now conclude my story of the Forestry Exposition, by naming
from the exhibit the following, as a few of the many things of use and
value, which we owe to our benefactors, the trees; things which are so
necessary to our comfort and happiness, which in so many ways, affect
the progress, welfare and civilization of the world's people.
"Among the more important gifts from the trees I shall place lumber and
shingles, used in the construction of houses, barns and all kinds of
habitable or industrial buildings; bridges, boats, ships and sailing
vessels of all kinds; furniture, fencing and a great variety of farming
utensils. Under the head of fuel, I may mention fire-wood and charcoal.
In the class of vehicles we have wagons and all kinds of carriages from
the stage coach to the pullman palace car. Some kind of lumber or timber
enters very largely into the construction of almost every kind of
machinery. In the miscellaneous group we find wood-alcohol, dye-wood,
medicinal barks, roots and galls; precious gums, resins and all of the
spices; the various kinds of excelsior used for packing, bedding and
upholstery; wood-pulp and paper, inlaid work, vegetable ivory, and
cocoanut shells; the entire series of willow ware, and wooden, or
hollow ware. In food products, we are confronted by a most astonishing
array of edible sprouts, berries, delicious fruits and nutritious nuts,
forming altogether a multitude of things which, in civilized life, we
could not possibly do without.
"In considering the impressions conveyed to our minds by growing trees,
which inherently possess a sturdy vitality, that can resist the
vicissitudes of passing ages; we instinctively recognize them as
nature's noblest gift to man. As majestic monarchs, in the empire of
plant life, they appeal to us as companions, which become dearer with
the associations of each passing year, until love for them becomes a
feeling almost akin to worship.
"This worshipful feeling, no doubt, comes to us as a heritage from a
remote ancestry. In the days of ancient story, groves of noble trees
offered primitive man, nature's grandest and most appropriate
cathedrals, for the celebration of his worshipful rites. Is it a matter
of wonder, that he unhesitatingly accorded to them, the distinction of
being sacred? The emotional nature of this primitive man was a mystery
which he could neither understand nor control. Often, he suffered untold
tortures from the agonizing perturbations to which it easily became a
prey. Hidden in the deep shade of his sacred grove, in his happier
moments, the sighing of each passing breeze through his leafy canopy,
become to his untrained ear, the whispered blessing of nature's placated
God! When the dark pall of the Storm King shrouded all things with a
terrifying gloom, the restless moaning of such a mass of writhing
boughs, lashed by the fury of the blast, became the angry shriek of the
Demons of Destruction, which left him prostrate and trembling in the
throes of a paroxysm of worshipful fear. Analyzed, these actions show
the result of man's environment.
"By the way of a contrast, and as a testimonial to the planetary growth
of man's emotional nature, gained from the ages of progress; let us
question modern man as he leans confidingly, in a contemplative mood,
against the broad trunk of some giant of the forest. With uncovered
head, he muses in silence; he senses a vague feeling of awe for this
magnificent specimen of matured life in the vegetable world. With every
sense attuned to the overtones and undertones, produced by the
vibrations of nature's harp; he catches the rythmic song of the sappy
currents, as they swiftly fly to feed the swelling cells, where the
building energy of their tiny hearts of protoplasm, ceaselessly changes
the elements of soil and sunlight, into the woody fibre of this mighty
tree. How beautiful! How like the complicated mechanism of the human
body! Wonderingly he questions! Can it be possible, that the pulsing
energy of the protoplasmic life of the tree, is identical with that of
man, and all other forms of cosmic life? Does each great throb of the
planetary heart, re-energize and move in unison, the protoplasmic
centers of all forms of life? Who shall say?
"In discussing the peculiar fitness of our present organization, to deal
effectually with the question of tree planting, we discover, that in the
co-operative association of so many people, we possess a marked
advantage over the small farmer, which enables us to treat large tracts
of land as a single farm; by devoting all of the rough, stony ground,
steep hill sides, unsightly gullies and areas of poor, gravelly soils,
to the purposes of timber and fruit culture.
"Harmoniously united, we are financially and intellectually stronger;
less influenced or retarded by motives of selfishness and greed;
surrounded by conditions of easy comfort; armed with skill by study and
experience; and withal inspired by a knowledge of the great necessity
for replacing our forests; we are exceptionally well prepared to carry
forward this great work, so successfully and to such an extent, that a
few decades hence our hill sides and mountains, shall be re-clothed with
beautiful forests of much finer trees--all choice timber--vastly more
valuable than the original stock.
"By more systematic methods of terracing the steep hills; by close
planting of the young trees, with varieties selected by reason of their
value for lumber, timber, nuts and fruit; by a judicious thinning out of
these young trees so soon as they have grown to a useful size; a
profitable crop of timber may be secured each year, with a positive
benefit to the remaining trees. This operation may be repeated many
times, before a partial replanting becomes necessary. By an extended use
of these methods, the excellence of the timber supply may be doubled,
while the aggregate yield will be trebled. The landscape will be
beautified and permanently changed. Barren, unprofitable hills, and
rough unsightly mountain tracts, rejoicing in a new growth of beautiful
verdure-clad trees, will become objects of general admiration; while at
the same time, the value of these lands, as a source of wealth, will be
increased a thousand fold.
"As these forests continue to grow, the shade deepens, the store of
retained moisture increases, perceptible changes in the climate are
effected; the evils of flood, erosion and drought are checked; the soil
made deeper and richer; the rainfall largely increased; the climatic
conditions become more genial, and the cooling, drouth-dispelling rains
become more frequent.
"The interesting and beautiful process, by which these changes are
accomplished, may be briefly stated as follows: With the growth of each
year, the area of the leafy surfaces of these forest trees is enormously
extended. Measured by the same increasing ratio, many additional
thousands of tons of moisture are pumped up and given to the winds in
the form of a fine vapor, by the tireless industry of these lovely
leaves. This vapor is taken up by the clouds--nature's aerial
reservoirs. Soon this treasure of waters thus accumulated, is restored
to the thirsty earth by a largely increased rainfall. Autumnal frosts
ripen and loosen each crop of leaves; they fall silently to the ground,
where they quickly form a thick, soft carpet of ever increasing
thickness. Through the action of shade and moisture, the under surface
of this carpet becomes a layer of fine leaf mold, which in turn offers
rich food for the sustenance of millions of tiny feeding rootlets from
the trees of the forest. The closely interwoven fibre of these rootlets,
everywhere forms a strong web for the carpet, which firmly holds in
place the soft, porous, underlying soil, safely protecting it from the
destructive erosion which, especially on the steeper slopes, swiftly
follows the dashing violence of heavy rain storms. Gradually this leafy
carpet grows in strength and thickness; like some great sponge it sucks
up and retains the waters of the snows of winter, with those of the
increased rain-fall of summer.
"Thousands of mountain torrents, the beginnings of destructive floods,
are thus checked, absorbed and shorn of their disintegrating energies.
The garnered waters from this wonderful leafy sponge, slowly percolate
through the soil, to reappear in a multitude of living springs of pure
sparkling water. From these springs gently flow the tiny rivulets, which
in turn become the full streams that gladden the plains and valleys
throughout the long scorching months of summer.
"By a close analysis of the beneficial results which follow the annual
recurrence of these beautiful processes, we may form a correct estimate
of the vast importance of this tree-planting labor, to which this day,
we gladly offer our best energies and our best thought. We begin to
perceive the magnitude of the blessing which may be conferred on
mankind, in general and on the agriculturist in particular, by the
continued work of covering our hills and mountains with valuable
forests.
"We have discovered from nature the secret of a power that shall enable
us to control many of our environmental conditions. We hold the key to
the solution of a great problem, which for the past quarter of a
century, has puzzled the brightest minds and best thinkers among our
statesmen. The problem of how best to control the devastating floods,
which each year, with increasing power and violence, continue to destroy
hundreds of lives and millions of dollars worth of property, on the
farms and in the towns and cities throughout the river valleys of our
broad land. For this growing terror, we hold the cure! With the
completion of this system of forestry, the floods will disappear. The
interests of our coastwise and inland commerce, will be greatly extended
and benefited. Many rivers, with beds choked and obstructed by the
unsightly rocks and debris deposited by the annual floods, and for the
same reason, dry for many months in each year, will again become
navigable. Perennial streams, fed by permanent mountain springs, will
serve to keep these rivers with full channels throughout the year.
"The clear water will be free from the lighter silt which now finds its
way to the sea; slowly filling up the river-mouth harbor, and finally
destroying the commerce of the city which depends upon it. In this way,
every individual, child or adult, who plants a tree, aids directly in
the restoring some distant seaport to its former commercial importance;
and has proudly earned the right to be placed as an important working
member, on the peoples' great 'Committee for Improvement of Rivers and
Harbors.'
"Tree-planting, persistent tree-planting, by all classes of agricultural
people, offers the only means or hope of checking the wide-spread,
calamity-producing floods and erosions, which commenced with the
destruction of our mountain forests. The destructive process is
accelerated with each passing year. Unchecked, it threatens, a few
centuries hence, to rob us of all fertile soil; to reduce our hills and
mountains to a dreary waste of bare, sun-scorched rocks: our plains and
valleys, to uninhabitable deserts. United action is therefore
imperative!
"Other incentives, worthy of our attention, urge us to commence the
work. By yielding even one-half of the area of our tillable lands to the
needs of forestry, we have all the richest lands left in the remaining
half. The productiveness and fertility of these lands is sure to be
speedily doubled. The amount of labor required to produce the same crops
from the diminished areas, will be reduced one-half. A most important
consideration!
"The third generation of people, after the planting of these forests,
will gather from them, such an abundant harvest of nuts, fruits, and
valuable timbers, as will more than repay the entire cost of the land
and labor required to produce them; leaving a handsome surplus to be
devoted to carrying forward the work on a still larger scale; in regions
less promising and more remote, even within the borders of the arid
lands. With this lesson before us, how can we hesitate or falter in our
efforts to successfully carry forward this important work?
"I wish now, to call your attention to the following facts regarding the
farms and farmers of our Republic, which altogether offer additional
incentives for the speedy adoption of co-operative farming on a scale
large enough to admit of timber culture, as the only available source of
relief. The significance of these facts has scarcely been considered, by
those most deeply interested. The farming lands now owned or controlled
by our agricultural people, represent the accumulated capital or savings
of a life time; frequently of several generations of the same family.
"A steady decline in the market values of all farm products during the
past twenty-five years, has in the same ratio, affected the selling
value of the farm to such an extent, that from forty to fifty per cent
of its value at the commencement of the decline, has been swept away and
lost to the farmer, from the credit side of his available resources.
This alarming shrinkage, has in the aggregate, amounted to many
millions, yes, billions of dollars! The financial distress which has
followed, has correspondingly affected many other industries. It has
been the real cause of the forced sale of many fine farms at such
ruinously low prices, as to sacrifice at one blow, the savings of a
life-time. Each sale of this character serves to depress the market
value of all lands in that particular locality. In this way the disaster
spreads and gathers additional force.
"A very large number of farmers, who have not as yet been forced to sell
their farms, have found themselves so financially cramped, as to be
unable to secure the additional lands they had hoped and planned to
purchase for their children. What is the result? A most abundant harvest
of blasted hopes for the sons and daughters of our American farms!
"Capital in the hands of shrewd people, is always on the alert, waiting
for such opportunities for investment. These investors through capital
wish to live without effort, upon the proceeds of the labor of others.
They seem to understand clearly, that to own land, is to own the
services of the people who must have access to the land in order to
live. This is why a land monopoly is more to be feared than other kind.
For this reason we may well be alarmed, as we note from time to time,
the large tracts of land which are being purchased by wealthy
individuals, foreign syndicates, home corporations and land monopolists
generally, who are quietly operating, while prices are so abnormally
low, to obtain such complete control of our valuable agricultural lands,
as will enable them in the near future, by a concert of action, to raise
prices to such a pitch, that practically they would then be beyond the
reach of the ordinary farmer.
"These shrewd, far-seeing monopolists, having obtained control of the
lands in question, can dictate such rents to all applicants, as will
barely enable them to live. As a matter of fact, it is quite probable
that they would much prefer not to rent their lands, because they could
save for their own pockets, the wages of a great many workers, for at
least five months in each year, by placing five-thousand-acre-farms in
charge of a superintendent; who with two assistants, could live on the
farm, taking proper care of the stock, tools and machinery, throughout
the year. During the seven busy months, beginning about the first of
April, transient labor, of the homeless tramp order, could easily be
procured to work by the day, week or month, as the needs of the farm
might demand.
"The growing competition for even this kind of uncertain employment,
would tend constantly to reduce the wages. The danger from this source
has been fully demonstrated during the past twenty-five years, by the
adoption of this disposition of their holdings, on the part of a great
number of large land owners. The success of the bonanza farm, has proved
perniciously infectious. Our small farmers, already in financial
distress, cannot hope to compete with such large farms, so recklessly
cropped by the monopolist for the largest possible cash returns, without
regard for the future condition of the soil. To double the capital
invested in five years' time, is the only concern of the investor.
Whatever the land will sell for thereafter, is only so much additional
profit.
"We cannot close our eyes to these warning facts. They foretell the
coming whirlwind of disaster. We may be sure that, if these things are
allowed to continue without opposition, long before the close of the
twentieth century, our agricultural people will be reduced individually
to the abject serfdom of a houseless, homeless day-laborer. At this
time it is almost impossible for a majority of the sons and daughters of
the farms of our Republic to obtain possession of enough land to enable
them to follow in the footsteps of their parents, by devoting their
lives to agricultural pursuits. Many of them have already entered the
downward path of the unfortunate tenant. Many others have been forced to
find employment in other pursuits.
"You ask how can this coming disaster be averted? How can our people be
saved from such a hopeless future?
"I answer, by the farmers, united with those who wish to become farmers,
coming together everywhere in force; by pooling their issues; by helping
themselves; by organizing co-operative farms like this, armed with
schools in which skilled workmen may be taught to successfully carry on
profitable allied manufacturing industries. Monopolistic farms cannot
then successfully compete. With demonstrations, such as we are making
here to-day, springing up by hundreds and thousands in each county and
state, during the next thirty years, what may we expect? The last
remaining serf will have been emancipated. The hopeless tenant and the
landless farmer can no longer be found. No one can be induced to toil,
for owners of the monopolistic farm. The owners will not and cannot work
themselves. The experience of a few unprofitable years will urge them to
sell their lands to the co-operators at such prices as they may be
inclined to offer. The victory will be ours. A glorious victory truly!
But, we must not expect to gain this victory without a severe struggle.
In the earlier stages of the movement, the monopolist will soon
recognize the co-operative farm as an enemy which must be fought to the
bitter end, must be stamped out. To this end they will strive in every
way to prevent us from obtaining possession of desirable lands.
"This determined opposition we must expect and be prepared to meet.
Forestry will help us to another solution of the problem. As the
tree-planting farms continue to multiply, the increased rainfall will
cause the area of tillable lands, to gradually extend beyond the borders
of the arid lands. Therefore in case of necessity, we may turn to these
arid lands for relief. In such an event, the question of forestry
becomes an important factor.
"By referring to the tenth annual report of the director of the U. S.
Geological Survey, we learn that the arid regions of the United States,
comprise the astonishing area of one million, three hundred thousand
square miles. This immense region contains more than one-third of all
our lands; a territory much larger than that of the thirteen original
states combined. North and south, it stretches for hundreds of miles on
either side of the Rocky Mountain Range, that great backbone and
water-shed of our Continent. On the west, it covers nearly all of the
surface of that vast, broken and irregular basin, lying between the
Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. On the east, it occupies that
extended and peculiar domain of high plateaus, treeless plains and
alkali barrens, known as the Great American Desert.
"From this broad expanse of arid lands, in accordance with the
statements of the survey officials, we may choose an area of one hundred
and fifty thousand square miles of irrigable lands; that is lands which
may be restored to productive fertility, by means of irrigating ditches
along the valleys, and by building great catch basins, near the head
waters of a multitude of mountain streams, in which may be conserved,
the wasting waters of melting snows and those of the heavy mountain
rainfalls combined. At this point we may mention incidentally, that this
area of irrigable lands could be largely increased, by covering the
available slopes of the Rocky Mountains with dense forests of fine
timber. With this accomplished, the annual rainfall would be doubled,
while the necessary conditions would be established, which, a few
decades hence might yield an annual crop of valuable timber, that would
soon repay the entire cost of planting and culture.
"In addition to the last named increase, we may add an area of lands
equal in size to the state of Illinois, which are beyond the reach of
irrigating streams. We find these lands along the eastern foothills of
the Rocky Mountains, and around the borders of the Great American
desert. They may easily be restored to fertility, by the skillfully
applied labor of a legion of co-operative farms. At varying depths
beneath these lands, flow perennial streams of artesian water. By the
spouting, life-giving waters of a vast number of artesian wells, a large
proportion of these desert lands can be transformed to an agricultural
paradise. The cost of these wells, would be but little more than the
expense of the labor required to bore them.
"But, says the objector, are not these mostly alkali lands? Of course
they are! And for that reason offer greater possibilities of value! Can
they be made to grow wheat, and thus increase the bread supply? Is a
question that comes from the mouths of the world's great army of bread
eaters, six hundred million strong. Just think of it!
"For reasons which I shall state presently, I hope to be able to show
why these alkali lands when properly irrigated, can be made to produce
abundant crops of wheat.
"For the past twenty years, leading men of science, who, alive to the
importance of increasing the world's supply of wheat; have given close
attention to statistics which seemed to indicate that the yield per
acre, of the wheat fields in all countries, is steadily decreasing.
Decreasing to such an extent as to make it probable, that in the near
future, the yield on a large proportion of these lands, will become too
meagre to pay the cost of cultivation. A long series of carefully
conducted experiments demonstrated the truth of these alarming
statistics.
"This discovery led to a general search for some cheap, available,
chemical, compound, which might restore these worn out wheat lands to
their former productiveness.
"In an address, delivered at Bristol, England, near the close of the
nineteenth century, by Professor William Crookes, president of the
British Association for the advancement of science; he says; 'Wheat
pre-eminently demands as a dominant manure, nitrogen fixed in the form
of ammonia or nitric acid. Many years of experimentation with nitrate of
soda, or Chili salt-petre, have proved it to be the most concentrated
form of nitrogenous food demanded by growing wheat. This substance
occurs native, over a narrow band of the plain of Tamarugal, in the
northern province of Chili, between the Andes and the coast hills. In
this rainless district for countless ages, the continuous fixation of
atmospheric nitrogen by the soil, its conversion into nitrate by the
slow transfiguration of billions of nitrifying organizations, its
combination with soda, and the crystallization of the nitrate have been
steadily proceeding, until the nitrate fields of Chili have become of
vast importance, and promise to be of inestimably greater value in the
future. The growing exports of nitrate from Chili at present, amount to
about 1,200,000 tons annually.'
"In carefully analyzing this lesson from the lips of Professor Crookes,
we discover that the same peculiar climatic conditions which made a
Chilian desert so valuable, have been continuously at work in our great
American desert for a great many thousands of years.
"For this reason, our uncounted acres of alkali lands, are so rich with
stores of this valuable nitrogenous compound, that by proper treatment
they may become the most valuable wheat-producing lands in the world.
The desert shall become the source of abundance! Under the transforming
influence of a generous water supply, forests shall spring up, and
fields of waving grain shall flourish around the village homes of a
happy, prosperous people! Altogether, we have an empire of these
irrigable lands now worthless, awaiting the transforming labor of the
homeless and landless, to restore them to productive fertility.
"When thus restored, these lands, at the lowest estimate, will be worth
the enormous sum of two billion, eight hundred and eighty million
dollars, which in due time may be transferred to the credit side of the
wealth account of the nation! Long before this available domain of such
vast possibilities has been conquered and reclaimed, the longing desires
of all who wish for land, and for agricultural lives, for themselves and
their children, will have been most abundantly satisfied.
"In looking over this broad field of possibilities spread so temptingly
before us, we are able to discover the importance of the work of
tree-planting, which now demands our attention. Strengthened by
concerted action, encouraged by new ideas and better methods we become
firm in our convictions, that it is an imperative duty for us to
continue the good work. We must increase the number of our co-operative
farms with their tree-planting schools, until, educated and moved by the
force of so many demonstrations, a great majority of the people of this
Republic shall demand, that the entire area of the range of the Rocky
Mountains within our geographical limits, shall become a permanent,
public park; with such a wealth of territory and variety of climate,
such beauty of scenic grandeur and magnitude of picturesque proportions,
as the world never saw before. This matchless reservation is to be
devoted to the needs and uses of forestry, mining, the preservation of
its great variety of natural curiosities, and of American Game.
"In addition to this Pride-of-the-World-Park, the people shall also
demand, that all of the most available portions of the mountains of the
Pacific Coast Range, the Sierra Nevadas, the Alleghenies, the
Adirondacks and the White Mountains, shall be reserved by the
government, and set apart for the same uses and purposes.
"With the passing of this magnificent domain of mountain territory to
the permanent control of the government, would come the beginning of the
great public forests; which would clothe with new beauty, cover and
protect in the most useful manner, the principal water-sheds of our
broad continental possessions. Thus increasing to a degree approaching
perfection, the purity and abundance of the crystal flood, that shall
flow from a countless multitude of new springs of living water. The
volume of water from these springs, shall furnish a supply sufficient to
maintain with full channels, a perpetual flow in that net-work of lakes
and rivers, that arterial system of fertility and commerce, which
variegates and adorns the bright face of our fair land.
"Altogether, in considering the broad scope of this stupendous plan as a
whole, we have before us a most important work, which must be
accomplished! A work which affects the welfare and happiness of every
citizen of our Republic! A work which is in every way worthy of our most
earnest and persistent effort!
"This day, we have made a propitious beginning, which augurs well for
success. Let us on all occasions encourage tree-planting as a sacred
duty which we owe to future generations! A duty which must not be
neglected! From this time forward, let us strive in every way to
organize a broader, wiser, more powerful movement! Carried forward by
the resistless force of an enthusiasm born of a mighty purpose; with
strong hands and willing hearts, let us undertake the speedy
accomplishment of our chosen task! Let us remember our responsibilities
as immortal beings! Let us be mindful that life on this plane of
existence is very brief; that an eternity of countless ages lies beyond!
Therefore we cannot afford to be selfish! Let us heed the warning of
nature's just law of compensation, which declares that in the higher
life, selfishness becomes a torment in comparison with which a crown of
thorns would seem a coveted blessing!
"In our devotion to this noble work, let us ignore all unworthy
thoughts of self interest! Possibly we may not as mortals, live long
enough in the material form to reap many of the benefits that are to
follow. But, being immortal; and having passed to a higher realm, where
we are endowed with a keener, broader, mental, and spiritual vision;
lost to the sense of time or physical pain, we may then behold the
results of our work, in the increased enjoyment of our children and our
children's children; while the centuries, like moments, glide swiftly by
and are lost in the endless procession of passing ages!
"Finally, as an additional source of encouragement to continue a work
which we may not live to see mature; let us consider carefully the
significance of the fact, that he who causes two blades of grass to grow
where only one grew before, is counted a public benefactor. Judged by
the same standard, he who causes two trees to grow where only one grew
before, is a benefactor of mankind, whose good works shall earn for him
the blessings of a hundred generations! By the same logic, it surely
follows, that the people, who cause a forest of trees to spring from the
arid bosom of desert earth, become the distinguished benefactors of the
human race, who offer shade, shelter, fuel, fertility and sustenance, to
a thousand future generations! They shall be thrice blessed! Having
arisen to the demands of a higher life of unselfishness, where the
solidarity of all life is recognized as a self-evident truth; they have
gathered a sufficient store of love and wisdom to admit them to the
domain of causation. Classed as worthy workers in that domain, they are
entrusted by nature, with the magical key which unlocks the climatic
gate, to her pent up floods of fertility.
"In conclusion, people of Solaris, I leave this presentation of the
subject for your earnest consideration until the recurrence of our next
annual festival. During the interval, I feel confident that you will all
join me in a closer study, of a topic which has already proved one of
such absorbing interest,--of such vast importance.
"Thanking you for your close attention, and for the frequent applause,
which has demonstrated your approval, I recommend that we do now
adjourn, to enjoy the waiting banquet which is to follow as the next
order of the day."
* * * * *
Great applause greeted Fillmore Flagg at the close of his oration.
George Gerrish arose and paid a glowing tribute to the wisdom and
eloquence of the orator; after which, grasping him by both hands, he
said, "Fillmore, I am proud of you! Solaris is more than proud of the
masterful way in which you have treated the entire subject! Your
presentation of the theme, seemed to me to be so perfect, so exhaustive
and eloquent, that in the future I may not expect to again hear its
equal."
The next moment Fern Fenwick came forward, radiant in her loveliness,
her beautiful eyes shining with emotions of love and gratified pride. In
a voice, whose clear, well modulated tones, thrilled him as no music
could, she said, "Nobly done, Mr. Flagg! I knew you would not disappoint
me! Your speech was the most lovely poem in prose that I have ever
heard! So perfectly charming, that I find it far beyond my best words of
praise! In return for such an eloquent tribute, the trees should join in
a grateful anthem! You have sounded the key-note; it is the evident
destiny of co-operative farming in the twentieth century, to restore
these noble trees to their rightful domain."
The banquet, which followed the oration proved a great success. It was
really one long, interwoven garland of witty speech and inspiring music,
together with the merry jingle and melodious crash of silver and china.
The enjoyable zest of the entertainment, was spiced and flavored with
the appetizing aroma of an abundance of delicious, well-cooked food.
Placed at the head of the first table, our hero and heroine were at all
times the center of attraction; the observed of all observers. "A
handsome couple, evidently heaven-ordained for each other," was the
universal comment.
The dance in the evening, was fittingly chosen as the closing function
of this famous festival. In arranging the program, Fern and Fillmore
were selected by the floor managers as the leading couple. Inspired by
the music of an excellent band under the leadership of Gilbert Gerrish,
the assembled guests with the vigor and enthusiasm of youth caught the
prevailing spirit of merriment, and gave themselves up to the
fascinating movement of musical measures. Lost in the charm of the mazy
dance, the merrymakers noted not the flight of time. The last number on
the program came all too soon for them.
Dismissed by George Gerrish, the people of Solaris left the hall in a
joyful mood. They declared with one accord, that the day of the
tree-planting festival, had proved the happiest one on the farm.