第49章

“Thereisafurtherandmoreimmediateandpracticalendinview。A

primevalforestisagreatspongewhichabsorbsanddistillstherainwater。Andwhenitisdestroyedtheresultisapttobeanalternationoffloodanddrought。Forestfiresultimatelymakethelandadesert，andareadetrimenttoallthatportionoftheStatetributarytothestreamsthroughthewoodswheretheyoccur。

Everyeffortshouldbemadetominimizetheirdestructiveinfluence。Weneedtohaveoursystemofforestrygraduallydevelopedandconductedalongscientificprinciples。Whenthishasbeendoneitwillbepossibletoallowmarketablelumbertobecuteverywherewithoutdamagetotheforests——indeed，withpositiveadvantagetothem。Butuntillumberingisthusconducted，onstrictlyscientificprinciplesnolessthanuponprinciplesofthestrictesthonestytowardtheState，wecannotaffordtosufferitatallintheStateforests。Unrestrainedgreedmeanstheruinofthegreatwoodsandthedryingupofthesourcesoftherivers。

“UltimatelytheadministrationoftheStatelandsmustbesocentralizedastoenableusdefinitelytoplaceresponsibilityinrespecttoeverythingconcerningthem，andtodemandthehighestdegreeoftrainedintelligenceintheiruse。

“TheStateshouldnotpermitwithinitslimitsfactoriestomakebirdskinsorbirdfeathersintoarticlesofornamentorwearingapparel。Ordinarybirds，andespeciallysongbirds，shouldberigidlyprotected。Gamebirdsshouldneverbeshottoagreaterextentthanwilloffsetthenaturalrateofincrease……Careshouldbetakennottoencouragetheuseofcoldstorageorothermarketsystemswhichareabenefittonoonebutthewealthyepicurewhocanaffordtopayaheavypriceforluxuries。Thesesystemstendtothedestructionofthegame，whichwouldbearmostseverelyupontheverymenwhoserapacityhasbeenappealedtoinordertosecureitsextermination……”

IreorganizedtheCommission，puttingAustinWadsworthatitshead。

MygeneralschemeofactionasGovernorwasgiveninaletterIwroteoneofmysupportersamongtheindependentdistrictorganizationleaders，NortonGoddard，onApril16，1900。Itrunsinpartasfollows：“Nobodycantell，andleastofallthemachineitself，whetherthemachineintendstorenominatemenextfallornot。IfforsomereasonIshouldbeweak，whetheronaccountoffaultsorvirtues，doubtlessthemachinewillthrowmeover，andIthinkIamnotuncharitablewhenIsaytheywouldfeelnoacutegriefatsodoing。Itwouldbeverystrangeiftheydidfeelsuchgrief。If，forinstance，wehadstrikeswhichledtoriots，Iwouldofcoursebeobligedtopreserveorderandstoptheriots。DecentcitizenswoulddemandthatI

shoulddoit，andinanyeventIshoulddoitwhollywithoutregardtotheirdemands。But，onceitwasdone，theywouldforgetallaboutit，whileagreatmanylaboringmen，honestbutignorantandprejudiced，wouldbearagrudgeagainstmefordoingit。Thismightputmeoutoftherunningasacandidate。Again，thebigcorporationsundoubtedlywanttobeatme。Theypreferthechanceofbeingblackmailedtothecertaintythattheywillnotbeallowedanymorethantheirdue。Ofcoursetheywilltrytobeatmeonsomeentirelydifferentissue，and，astheyareveryableandveryunscrupulous，nobodycantellthattheywon’tsucceed……Ihavebeentryingtostayinwiththeorganization。Ididnotdoitwiththeideathattheywouldrenominateme。Ididitwiththeideaofgettingthingsdone，andinthatIhavebeenabsolutelysuccessful。WhetherSenatorPlattandMr。Odellendeavortobeatme，ordobeatme，fortherenominationnextfall，isofverysmallimportancecomparedtothefactthatformytwoyearsI

havebeenabletomakeaRepublicanmajorityintheLegislaturedogoodanddecentworkandhavepreventedanysplitwithintheparty。

Thetaskwasoneofgreatdifficulty，because，ontheonehand，Ihadtokeepclearlybeforemethefactthatitwasbettertohaveasplitthantopermitbadworktobedone，and，ontheotherhand，thefactthattohavethatsplitwouldabsolutelypreventall/good/work。TheresulthasbeenthatIhaveavoidedasplitandthatasanetresultofmytwoyearsandthetwosessionsoftheLegislature，therehasbeenanenormousimprovementintheadministrationoftheGovernment，andtherehasalsobeenagreatadvanceinlegislation。”

ToshowmyreadingofthesituationatthetimeIquotefromaletterofminetoJosephB。Bishop，theneditorofthe/CommercialAdvertiser