The San Francisco call., 1908-07-27
LIST RESOURCES OF
NATURE IN COUNTRY
Government Bureaus Assist Ma
tiOnal Conservation Commits
sion in New Work


WASHINGTON, July &c. - Actual
work on the first inventory of the
natural resources of the United States
has begun. Under the direction of the
national conservation commission it
will be carried on vigorously through
out the summer. This is necessary in
order TO enable the commission to
make the report which President
Roosevelt has requested of it for jan
uary !. 1909.
A meeting of the chiefs of bureaus
of the executive department has been
held, and the heads Of the various di-
visions concerned with the country s
natural resources have offered their
hearty cooperation in the great task
which the commission has undertaken.
So now, within only few days over
month from the date the national
conservation commission was named by
the president, active work is going on
in every bureau of the government
which can furnish material available
for the commissions report.
MUCH MATERIAL AVAILABLE
a great amount of this material is
already available in the government de-
partments; other important parts of it.
however, will be collected through spe-
cial channels. Among these will be the
state conservation commissions, which
the governors are appointing, and some
of the great national organizations
which were represented at the White
House conference, and which have en-
tered with spirit into the general
conservation movement. In other
words. the machinery for making the
first inventory ever attempted of the
resources of the nation has been set in
motion and is running smoothly.
Clifford Pinchot, chairman of the COM
mission, has changed his plans and
will shortly return to Washington to
continue personal supervision of the
work. BY early fall the commission
expects to have in hand sufficient ma
terial to begin the study Of the stock
of the country's resources, and by
the middle of October it hopes to
have the great part of this material
in hand. This will be necessary in
order that the full commission, which
will hold its first meeting Tuesday.
December 1, in Washington, may at
once take up the study of the facts
which the summers work has brought
together.
TO MEET STATE OFFICIALS
One week later the commission will
hold a joint meeting in Washington
with the governors of the states, or
their representatives, with view of
securing further and closer co-opera-
tion with the various state commits
sions.
The commission has devised a new
and interesting method by which to
collect this material A schedule of
Inquiries, embracing the whole sub
ject of conservation-wate forests,
lands and minerals-llas been arranged
s~f
request for suggestions and criticisms.
This has resulted in obtaining the ex-
pert advice of the men at the head of
the different bureaus who will have i'm
mediate charge of the collection of the
material. President Roosevelt, who is
keeping in very close touch with the
commission. has approved this method
and has written to each chief of bureau
a letter commencing the enthusiastic
cooperation shown by the bureau
chiefs and emphasizing his belief IN
the great Importance of the work the
national conservation commission has
in hand.
BUREAUS TO COOPERATE
Among the government bureaus
which will furnish a large part of the
important information the commission
is seeking are the bureau of corpora
tions of the department OF commerce
and labor, under Commissioner Herbert
Knox Smith; the bureau of census. un-
der Director North; the forest service,
under the direct supervision Of the
chairman of the commission, and Over
ton w. Price, secretary of the forest
section of the commission; the reclama-
tion service, under Director Newell:
the geological survey, under Director
Smith; the corps of engineers of the
army, under its new chief, General WILL
liam L. Marshall, AMI almost every bu-
reau under the department of agricu1-
ture.
BULLETINS OF PROGRESS
Cooperation among all the agencies
now engaged in this inventory taking
is a. conspicuous feature. Taking the
membership of the national commission
and the several memberships of the
state commissions together the num-
Der of persons engaged and interested
in the work is very large. One of the
most important requirements is, there
fore, to make sure that every step OF
the work is known to all who are
sharing in it. SO that there may be the
concentration, no misdireeted energy
letins of progress and information are
issued to the officers of the commits
sions, the state commissions and others.
and voluminous correspondence is
kept up. In this way the work, COM
plex and scattered as it is. is effective
ly centralized and simpiifed
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