Omaha daily bee., 1908-05-14

come a necessary and prominent factor in
life Crops are cultivated animals are do
mesticated and metals are mastered.
Every step of the progress Of mankind
is marked by the discovery and use Of
natural resources previously unused. With
out such progressive knowledge and utili-
cation of natural resources population
could not grow, nor industries multiply,
nor the hidden wealth of the earth be de-
veloped for the benefit Of mankind.
From the first beginnings of civiliza-
ton, on the banks of the Nile and the
Euphrates, the Industrial progress of the
world has gone on slowly, with occasional
setbacks, but on the whole steadily
through tens of centuries to the present
day. But of late the rapidity Of the process
has increased at such rate that more
space has been actually covered during the
century and a quarter occupied by our ma
tional life than during the preceding 5000
years that take us back to the earliest
monuments of Egypt to the earliest cities
of the Babylonian plain.
Early Commercial Methods.
when the founders of this nation met
at Independence hall in Philadelphia the
conditions of commerce had not funda-
mentally changed from what they were
the lonely waters of the Mediterranean.
The differences were those of degree, not
Of kind, and they were not in all cases
even those of degree. Mining was carried
on fundamentally as It had been carried on
by the Pharaohs in the countries adjacent
to the Red sea.
''The wares of the merchants of Boston,
Of Charleston, like the wares of the mer-
chants OF Nineveh and Sidon, If they went
by water, were carried by boats propelled
by sails or oars; IL they went by land
were carried in wagons drawn by beasts
of draft or in packs on the backs Of beasts
of burden. The ships that crossed the high
seas were better than the ships that had
once crossed the Aegean, but they were of
the same type, after all-they were wooden
ships propelled by sails; and on land, the
roads were not as good as the roads of
the Roman empire. while the service of
the posts was probably inferior.
I'm Washington's time anthracite coal
was known only as a usful black stone;
and the great fields OF bituminous coal
were undiscovered. AS steam was un-
known, the use of coal for power produc-
ton was undreamed Of Water was prac-
tically the only source OF power save the
labor of men and animals; and this power
ion. But 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. and
what lumber was sawed was consumed
locally, while the forests We're regarded
chiefly as distractions to settlement and
cultivation.
Such was the degree of progress to
which civilized mankind had attained when
this nation began its career. 1t is almost
impossible for us in this day to realize
how little our revolutionary ancestors knew
of the great store of natural resources
whose discovery and use have been such
vital factors in the growth and greatness
of this nation, and how little they required
/ to take from this store in order to satisfy
| their needs.
Growth of the Nation.
"Slnce then our knowledge and use of the
resources OF the present territory of the
United States have increased a hundred
fold. Indeed, the growth Of this nation by
leaps and bounds makes one Of the most
striking and important chapters in the
history OF the world. It's growth has been
| due to the rapid development. and alas
that it should be said. to the rapid destruc-
ton Of our natural resources. Nature has
supplied to us In the United States, and
still supplies to us, more kinds of resources
in more lavish degree than has ever beer
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 it fur
nishes than at any previous time of histor!
since the days of primitive man.
yet our fathers, though they knew 81
little Of the resources OF the country, exer
cised wise forethougbt in references
thereto. Washington clearly saw that tn
perpetuity OF the states could only b,
| secured by union. and that the only feasibl,
basis of union was an economic one; II
other words. that it must be based on tn,
| development and use OF their natural re
sources. Accordingly he helped to out
line scheme OF commercial development
and by his influence an interstate water
ways commission was appointed by Vir
ginia and Maryland.
1T met near where we are now meeting