Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-05-13


man, there comes steadily increasing
growth Of the amount demanded by
this average man from the actual re-
sources of the country. Yet, rather
curiously. at the same time the aver.
age man is apt to lose his realization
LOT this dependence upon nature.
Time Has Wrought Many Changes.
"Since the days when the Consti.
tuition was adopted, steam and elec-
tricity have revolutionized the indus.
trial world Nowhere has the revolu.
)tion been SO great as in our own
country. The discovery and utilization
of mineral fuels and alloys have giy-
en- us the lead over all other nations
in the production of steel. The dis.
covery and utilization of coal and iron
have given us our railways, and have
led to such industrial development as
has never before been seen. The vast
wealth of lumber in our forests, the
ricnes of our soils, and mines, the
discovery Of gold and mineral oils,
combined with the efficiency of Our
transportation, have made the condi.
tions of our life unparalleled in com.
fort and convenience.
THE steadily increasing drain on
these natural resources has promot-
ed to an extraordinary degree the
compleXity of our industrial and so.
cial life. Moreover, this unexampled
development has had determining
effect upon the character and opin-
ions Of our people. The demand for
efficiency in the great task has given
us vigor, effectiveness, decision, and
power, and capacity for achieve
ment which in its own lines has never
yet been matched. So great and 50
rapid has been our material growth
THAT there has, been a tendency to Lag
behind in spiritual and moral growth;
but that is not the subject upon which
l speak to you today.
This nation began with the belief
that its landed possessions were illim.
liable 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 irriga.
ton and drainage. We began with an
unapproached heritage of forests;
more than half of the timber Is gone.
We began with coal fields more ex-
tensive than those of any other nation
and with iron ores regarded as mex
haustible, and many experts now de-
clare that the end of both iron and
coal Is in Sight
Exhausting country's Resources.
The mere increase in our con
sumption Of coal during 1907 over
1906 exceeded the total consumption
in 1876, the Centennial year. The
Ienormous stores OF mineral oil and
|gas are largely gone. Our natural
waterways are not gone, but they
have been so injured by neglect. and
by the division of responsibility and
utter lack of system in dealing with
them, that there is less navigation on
them now than there was fifty years
ago. Finally, we began with soils Of
unexampled fertility and we have Sc
Impoverished them by injudicious use
land by failing to check erosion that
their crop producing power Is dimin
ishing instead Of increasing. In a
word, we have thoughtlessly, and te
a large degree unnecessarily, dimin
|ished the resources upon which moi
only our prosperity but the prosperity
lof our children must always depend
i "We have become great because Of
n the lavish use Of our resources and
1--we have just reason to be proud Of
four growth. But the time has come
to inquire seriously what will happen
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
Irivers, denuding the fields, and OBJ
structing navigation. These questions
do not relate only to the next century
Ior to the next generation. It is time
, for us now as a nation to exercise
, the same reasonable foresight in deal
ing with our great natural resource!
that would be shown by any pruden
, Imam in conserving and widely usint
! the property of well-being for himsel
land his children.
II Neither the primitive man nor th,
!, Ipioneer was aware of any duty to pos
|terity In dealing with the renewable
resources. When the American set
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