CHAPTER XXX

CONSERVATION

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movement

175. Why conservation of natural resources is necessary In the earlier decades of our national history, the abundance of the conser

vation land, minerals, forests and other natural resources was so great that they were used generously and even lavishly. To a considerable made little

headway extent such use was economically justified; nevertheless the shortage

until Presiof these resources has recently called attention to the need of con- dent Roose

velt called serving them. The conservation movement began toward the close

a Conferof the last century, but until after 1900 made relatively little headway. ence of

Governors Realizing the urgency of the problem, President Roosevelt in 1908

in 1908. called a Conference of Governors of the states and territories of the United States to consider this important question. On May 13, 1908, the President opened the Conference with an address to the governors and other guests, speaking, in part, as follows: I welcome you to this Conference at the White House. You have President

Roosevelt come hither at my request, so that we may join together to consider

welcomes the question of the conservation and use of the great fundamental the dele

gates. sources of wealth of this nation. This Conference on the conservation of natural resources is in Importance

of conservaeffect a meeting of the representatives of all the people of the United

tion. States called to consider the weightiest problem now before the nation; and the occasion for the meeting lies in the fact that the natural resources of our country are in danger of exhaustion if we permit the old wasteful methods of exploiting them longer to continue.

In Washington's time anthracite coal was known only as a useless black stone; and the great fields of bituminous coal were undis

The situa- covered. As steam was unknown, the use of coal for power production tion in

was undreamed of. Water was practically the only source of power, Washington's day. save the labor of men and animals; and this power was used only

in the most primitive fashion. But a few small iron deposits had been found in this country, and the use of iron by our countrymen was very small. Wood was practically the only fuel, while the forests were regarded chiefly as obstructions to settlement and cultivation. The man who cut down a tree was held to have conferred a service

upon his fellows. Significance Since then our knowledge and use of the resources of the present of the rapid territory of the United States have increased a hundredfold. Inof the deed, the growth of this nation by leaps and bounds makes one of United

the most striking and important chapters in the history of the world. States.

Its growth has been due to the rapid development, and alas, that it should be said! to the rapid destruction, of our natural resources. Nature has supplied to us in the United States, and still supplies to us, more kinds of resources in a more lavish degree than has ever been the case at any other time or with any other people. Our position in the world has been attained by the extent and thoroughness of the control we have achieved over Nature; but we are more, and not less, dependent upon what she furnishes than at any previous

time of history since the days of primitive man. The great

The wise use of all of our natural resources, which are our national material

resources as well, is the great material question of to-day. have question of to-day. asked you to come together now because the enormous consumption

of these resources, and the threat of imminent exhaustion of some of them, due to reckless and wasteful use . . . calls for common

effort, common action. ... Rapid ex- This nation began with the belief that its landed possessions haustion of

were illimitable and capable of supporting all the people who might care to make our country their home; but already the limit of unsettled land is in sight, and indeed but little land fitted for agriculture now remains unoccupied, save what can be reclaimed by irrigation and drainage - a subject with which this Conference is partly to deal. We began with an unapproached heritage of forests; more than half of the timber is gone. We began with coal fields more extensive than those of any other nation and with iron ores regarded

as inexhaustible, and many experts now declare that the end of both iron and coal is in sight. We have become great in a material sense because of the lavish The time

has come use of our resources, and we have just reason to be proud of our

for consergrowth. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen vation. when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils shall have been still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields, and obstructing navigation. These questions do not relate only to the next century or to the next generation. One distinguishing characteristic of really civilized men is foresight; we have, as a nation, to exercise foresight for this nation in the future; and if we do not exercise that foresight, dark will be the future! [Applause.] ...

176. Declaration of the Conference of Governors 1 During the three days of the Conference of Governors numerous The com

mittee on papers and discussions on the subject of conservation were offered.

resolutions On the last day of the conference, the committee on resolutions submits a

declaration. submitted a declaration which was unanimously adopted by the members of the Conference as embodying their conclusions on the question of conservation. This declaration was as follows:

We, the Governors of the States and Territories of the United Our prosStates, in conference assembled, do hereby declare the conviction

perity de

pendent that the great prosperity of our country rests upon the abundant upon

natural resources of the land chosen by our forefathers for their homes and

wealth. where they laid the foundation of this great nation.

We look upon these resources as a heritage to be made use of in Resources establishing and promoting the comfort, prosperity, and happiness must not be

wasted of the American people, but not to be wasted, deteriorated, or needlessly destroyed.

We agree that our country's future is involved in this; that the great natural resources supply the material basis on which our civilization must continue to depend, and on which the perpetuity of the nation itself rests.

1 From the Conference of Governors in the White House, Washington, D. C., May 13-15, 1908. Proceedings. Washington, 1909; pp. 192–194.

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These resources threatened with exhaustion.

Necessity of coöperation.

We agree, in the light of facts brought to our knowledge, and from information received from sources which we can not doubt, that this material basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even as each succeeding generation from the birth of the nation has performed its part in promoting the progress and development of the Republic, so do we in this generation recognize it as a high duty to perform our part; and this duty in large degree lies in the adoption of measures for the conservation of the natural wealth of the country. [Applause.]

We declare our firm conviction that this conservation of our natural resources is a subject of transcendent importance, which should engage unremittingly the attention of the nation, the states, and the people in earnest coöperation. These natural resources include the land on which we live and which yields our food; the living waters which fertilize the soil, supply power, and form great avenues of commerce; the forests which yield the materials for our homes, prevent erosion of the soil, and conserve the navigation and other uses of our streams; and the minerals which form the basis of our industrial life, and supply us with heat, light, and power.

We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soilwash shall cease; that there should be reclamation of arid and semiarid regions by means of irrigation, and of swamp and overflowed regions by means of drainage; that the waters should be so conserved and used as to promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power in the interests of the people; that the forests which regulate our rivers, support our industries, and promote the fertility and productiveness of the soil should be preserved and perpetuated; that the minerals found so abundantly beneath the surface should be so used as to prolong their utility; that the beauty, healthfulness, and habitability of our country should be preserved and increased; that the sources of national wealth exist for the benefit of the people, and that monopoly thereof should not be tolerated. [Applause.]

We commend the wise forethought of the President in sounding the note of warning as to the waste and exhaustion of the natural resources of the country, and signify our high appreciation of his action in calling this conference to consider the same and to seek

Measures recommended.

The President commended.

remedies therefor through coöperation of the nation and the states. [Applause.] We agree that this coöperation should find expression in suitable The call

for coöperaaction by the Congress within the limit of and coextensive with the

tion. national jurisdiction of the subject, and, complementary thereto, by the legislatures of the several states within the limits of and coextensive with their jurisdiction.

We declare the conviction that in the use of the natural resources our independent states are interdependent and bound together by ties of mutual benefits, responsibilities and duties. [Applause.]

Let us conserve the foundations of our prosperity. [Great Applause.]...

177. A National Conservation Association formed 1

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The Conference of Governors recognized that effective direction Need of a of the conservation movement would necessitate a national organiza- coördinating

agency in tion to coördinate the numerous forces involved in the movement. conservation The outcome of this feeling was the appointment of a National leads to the

formation Conservation Commission, which prepared the first inventory of of the

National our natural resources which was ever made. This commission was

Conservation short-lived, but the need for some coördinating organization was Association. increasingly great. To meet this need a group of public-spirited citizens in 1909 organized the National Conservation Association, the nature and aims of which are explained in the following selection: The National Conservation Association is fighting for the prompt What the

Association and orderly development of our natural resources, for the welfare

is fighting of ourselves and our children, and for the rights of the plain people. for. The Association is bound neither by political considerations nor official connections. It is free to speak the whole truth.

That conservation means the use of our natural resources for the benefit of us all and not merely for the profit of a few is already household knowledge. The task which the National Conservation Association has set itself is to get this principle put into practical effect.

The headquarters of the Association are in Washington. Central

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