The Washington herald., 1908-04-12
MAN AS CHIEF RESOURC CE,"
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WILL DISCUSS THIS
TOPIC AT GATHERING MAY 49,

conhagratiens. but every farge one Is
surrounded by almost incredible horrors.
IN December, AZ Aonongah. ". Va. oe-
CURED the largest in the history OF the
world. with the single exception Of that
at the C0urriere mine In France. when
$50 men lost their lives. The number Of
victims IN the Monongah horror was in
excess OF 300 not miner IN the Dit es-
Gaping. During that same grewsofna
month 80 men we're killed in the Dart
mine in Pennsylvania 81 IN the Naomi
mine, in the same State, and 81 at Yo-
lande, Ala. On March % Of the present
year 70 men were killed by two explosions
IN No. ] mine Of the Union Pacific at
Hanna, Wyo.
Scientific geologists practical mine
men say that with saiTi and care and
humanitarian forethought such catas-
trophies can be largely avoided, but
greed on the part Of the mine owners
brings the mourning weeds to the widows
OF the miners. One humane owner. striV-
ing 10 protect his men through the In
slailatlon OF expensive modern safety de-
vices. finds that the grasplng owner OF an
adjacent mine is getting his product out
at cheaper rate and Is underselling him.
To avoid financial disaster he falls hack
to the cheaper and more dangerous
methods Of his rival, and the death roll
fattens accordingly.
The destruction Of THIS resoUrce-man-
IS increasing rapidly in the coal mines
the deaths of 1906 being 2061. against
1850 in 1907. a blood red gain Of geo. with
the percentage standing at 3.39 for every
thousand men employed. II the European
vauie OF $4,000 a life II accepted as a
fair one the cash value OF the lives taken
last year by the steam roads, the con-
fiagrations Of buildings, and the local
mines, was $ls5. 600.
Vast Problems 10 Be Solved.
From the restricted vision OF "on-the-
spot" one is prone TO view the coming
conference calmly and to minimize It's
importance, but scientists say that II is
even more important than the conven-
ton which produced the chart by which
the nation has steered its safe course for
a century and quarter-the Constitu-
ton.
It has been pointed out that the asset
or resource TO be first considered is the
soil Each year IL is retrOgrading 10
such an extent that the farm Yields OF
the acres Of the Old World vastly exceed
those Of this country. and nearly 9,00O
square miles Of wheat land have gone out
OF existence in one year because the
farmers found that the cereal was being
harvested at loss On some formerly
good farms the acre production Of wheat
IN 1896 was as low as six bushels.
Soil waste and unmanageable waters
travel hand in hand as two elements OF q
coming national poverty. the soil retro
grading not alone because its richest in
gradients are taken out by eFops ard. not
put back, but through water washes. The
streams. because the watersheds and
river slopes have bern stripped OF re-
straining trees. rush 70 the seas. carry
ing on their bottoms IN bulk and in their
waters IN suspense not less than two bill
lion tons OF richest farm lands each wear.
that stupendOus loss being the heaviest
impost the farmers are annually called
70 bear. Dr. " J McGee. Of the Inland
Waterways Commission, places the value
of that wasted soil at 81 a ton. and as
conditions are becoming more and more
menacing every year. the ownership OF a :
Mississippi Valley farm win ere many
years become a burden rather than a
blessing. Few people can appreciate a
loss OF two billion tons. The total ton
mage OF all railroads and river and lake
transportation lines Is but 3 trife moro
than half as much. The rich soil swirling
TO the seas would make q pile two miles
square and 2i00 feet high; OF, spread 20
the depth Of quarter inch as a fertilizng
surface, it would enrich an area Of 6sa01a
square miles.
Knowing these things as he does. Il Is
well within the province Of the President
10 ask that the brightest men Of the land
hasten 10 devise plans 70 save these rich
Federal assets. Il has been pointed out
that every governor win be present at the
congress, and that former President Cleve-
land VII open the discussion on one OF
the themes with an elaborate address.
William Jennings Bryan VIII also SPEAK,
as will Andrew Carnegie. James J. Hill,
John Mitchell. Alexander Graham Bell,
Prof. Isaac White. Of West Virginia:
Judge George Gray, Of Delaware: Clifford
Pinehot, DR.. W J MCGEE. and many
others.
They will make It plain to the world
that conservation" does not mean
cessation Of progress; that it does not
contemplate the checking Of industry or
the limiting Of the quantity any industry
or any individual may use. but rather the
guarding Of life, soil, water, minerals,
and forests. TO the end that all may de-
rive the greatest benefits, and that those
who are 70 come IN the now unborn ages
may not draw as a heritage a barren.
stricken land