Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-11-19
INVENTORY TAKEN
Accounting Of Nations Resources by
Conservation Commission
Complete.
VALUABLE FACTS GATHERED
Conference to Be Held at the White
House Dec. 8 at Which Reports
Will Be Made.

Washington, Nov. 19.-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, Dec. l, in
Washington. At that meeting the first
steps will be taken toward putting into
tangible shape the results of the six
months hard work on taking stock of
the country's waters, forests, lands,
and minerals.
One week later, after the commits
sion has gone over the inventory, it
will hold a joint meeting in Washing
ton with the governors of the states
and territories, or their representa-
|tives At this meeting the inventory
will be further discussed and the re-
port which the president has request
ed the commission to make to him by
Jan. 1, will be formulated.
Gather Many Facts.
With less than six months in which
to make the inventory. the four branch
es into which the commission Is divid-
led, aided by the cooperation of the
government departments, have brought
together what is probably the most
useful collection of facts about the
material things on which national in
dustry and progress are based that has
ever been assembled at one time. Re
ports presenting these facts and point
| ing out their significance have been
prepared. These reports, summarized
and indexed. will be submitted to the
commission at its coming meeting.
All through the summer general in
terest in the work and object of the
conservation commission has been
growing The public is now we'll post
ed on subject of which only a few
specialists had knowledge at the time
| of the conference of governors and ex.
lperts at the White house in May.
Governors Aided Much.
The governors carried the spirit OF
the conference home with them tC
their own people, and have kept things
moving ever since by appointing state
commissions to study local problems
lject of conservation, and by keeping
in close and helpful touch with the
national commission They are read!
to take part in the approaching joint
injecting. The bare announcement thai
ii has been set for Dec. resulted il
| hnr of hpfnrn h.
formal invitation of the commission
had even got into the mails.
When the conservation movement
was started, specific information abou
the actual state of our resources wa:
lpartly wanting, partly inaccessible
certain facts were broadly known. 1
Twas at least unquestionable that on
resources had been wastefully used
land that some of them, notably tn,
mines, were sure in time to be com
lpletely exhausted, while others, for eX
ample, the forests, could still be KEEP
lperpetually useful by right manage
ment. The first work was to get tn
facts, to show exactly what the situa
ton was and how it could be improve,
by measures that would work. With
Iout an inventory of the resource
which should show the present cond
Ition of the resources and the way t.
develop them to the best advantage
conservation was in danger of stayin
up in the air.
Il Work Nearly Done.
But the work is now practically
done. The facts are there, in dollar