Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-12-04
State Conference of Governors

WASHINGTON Nov. 23.-The much
talked of inventory of the Nations re-
sources is now practically completed.
To consider the material it has brought
together the National Conservation Com
mission has Just announced its first full
meeting for tuesday, December /. in
Washington. At that meeting the tir~t
steps will be taken toward putting INTO
tangible shape the results of the xix
months hard work on taking stock OF
the country's waters, forests, lands, and
| minerals.
One week later, after the Commission
has gone over the inventory, it will hold
Joint meeting in Washington with the
Governors of the States and Territories,
or their representatives.. AT this meet
ing the inventory will be further dis
cussed and the report which the Presi
dent has requested the Commission to
make to him by January |, will be form
ulated.
With less than six months in which to
make the Snventory, the four branches
into which the Commission is divided,
aided by the cooperation of the Govern
ment departments, have brought together
what is probably the most useful collec-
ton of facts about the material things on
which national industry and progress
at one time. Reports presenting these
facts and pointing out their significance
have been prepared. Those reports,
summarized and indexed, will be sub
mitted to the Commission at its coming
meeting.
All through the summer general inter
est in the work and object of the Con-
servation Commission has been growing.
The public is now well posted on a sub
iect of which only few specialists had
knowledge at the time of the Confer
ence of Governors and experts at the
White House in May.
The Governors carried the spirit of the
conference home with them to their own
people, and have kept things moving
ever since by appointing State Commits
sions to study local problems, by writing
and speaking upon the subject of conser-
walton, and by keeping in close and help
full touch with the National Commission.
They are ready to take part in the ap-
preaching joint meeting. The bare an
nouncement that it had been set for De-
cember resulted in Il number of accept
ances before the formal invitation of the
Commission had even got into the mails.
When the conservation movement was
started, specific information about the
actual state of our resources was partly
wanting, partly inaccessible. Certain
facts were broadly known. 1t was at
least UNREASONABLE that our resources
had been wastefully used, and that some
of them, notably the mines, were sure in
time to be completely exhausted, while
others, for example the forests, could
still be kept perpetually useful by right
management. The first work was to get
the facts, to show exactly what the sit
uation was and how it could be improved
by measures that would work. Without
an inventory of the resources which
should show the present condition of the
|. resources and the way to develop them
to the best advantage, conservation was
in danger of staying up in the air.
But the work is now practically done
The facts are there, in dollars and cents
tons of coal, board feet of timber, acre
feet and horsepower of water, acres OF
land. And the possible reform measures
have been weighed. The final report to
the President will be the necessary sup
plement to the addressed at the White
House Conference The note of these
addresses was note of warning. The
report is expected to show that the warn
ing must be needed if the exhaustion of
natural resources is not, one day, TO i'm
poverish the nation, and it will also I'M
uouOtedly bring out now the country {
resources can be developed so as to last
the longest possible time and serve the
greatest good of the people.
The new Syracuse Sulky Plow is the
latest thing out. IL has capacity and
fine turning qualities that are adapted to
all conditions of soil. 1t has light draft,
is easy to operate, has high wheels and
high lift, can pass over obstacles. and can
be backed up at the ends or in furrow
with ease. III Succaads "a here of hers fail