DROUGHT AND BEAVERS.
Abnormal drought threatens the towns of Seattle and Tacoma with the failure of their electric light and power supply. And thereby hangs a tale interesting to advocates of wild life conservation. For the whole trouble, it appears, can be traced directly to the warfare begun a few years ago by fruit farmers and others upon the beaver. Beavers had until that time been protected by law. As dam-builders they are valuable in impounding water in the mountains during the freshets in spring. But the beavers multiplied, and sonic of them amused the wrath of farmers by invading farms and orchards. Against the advice of the game wardens and other authorities concerned in the conservation of wild life, the farmers induced the State Legislature to set aside the pro- tecting law and issue hundreds of beaver-trapping licences. Since then the slaughter of beavers has gone on with vigour, and the animals are now almost completely exterminated. Because their dam-building has ceased to conserve water abnormal drought has come, and with it a threatened failure of the electricity supply. The United States Navy Depart- ment has now agreed to permit the aircraft carrier ' Lexington to be used as an auxiliary power plant during the emergency. Sufficient power to supply a population of 2,000,000 will be carried by transmission lines from the • Lexington' to Tacoma Dock and then overland to other communities.
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