The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-07-25

RESOURCES
GOVERNMENT EXPERTS BEGIN
WORK UPON INVENTORY
FOR PRESIDENT.
,r+ Will Be Made to Chief Execu-
.;vs January by the National Con-
,.rvation Commission, for Which
nat, Are Being Gathered-Much Ma
teriaI Is Already at Hand.

Washington, ooiJ w. A WI n
the first inventory of the natural
,,rcps of the United States has be-
,u,r Under the direction of the ma
final conservation commission it will
10 carried on vigorously throughout
tho summer. This is necessary in or
dor to enable the commission to make
.bo report which President Roosevelt
has requested of it for January 1 next.
meeting of the chiefs of bureaus
Of the executive department has been
hold and the heads of the various di-
visions concerned with the country's
ratural 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 con-
saryation commission was named by
the president, active work is going on
in every bureau of the government
for the commissions report.
Much Material at Hand.
A great amount of this material is
already available in the government
departments; other important parts of
it. however, will be collected through
special channels. Among these will
be the state conservation commissions,
which the governors are appointing,
and some Of the great national organ
izati0ns which were represented at the
White House conference and which
have entered with spirit into the gen.
eral 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
commission, 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 holds it's
first meeting Tuesday, December 1, in
Washington, may at once take up the
study of the facts which the summers
work has brought together.
One week later the commission will
hold joint meeting in Washington
with the governors of the states, or
their representatives, with view of
securing further and closer co-Opera-
ton with the various state commits
sions.
The commission has devised new
and interesting method by which to
collect this material. A schedule OF
Inquiries embracing the whole subject
of observation-disclosures, forests, lands
and minerals been arranged and
sent to each bureau chief with a re-
quest 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
immediate 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
Inc enthusiastic cooperation shown by
Inc bureau chiefs and emphasizing his
belief in the great Importance of the
work the national conservation COM
mission has in hand
Work for Big Bureaus.
Among the government bureaus
winch will furnish large part OF the
important information the commission
IS seeking are the bureau of corpora
uohS Of the department of commerce
ana labor, under Commissioner Her
Oert Knox Smith; the bureau of the
census, under Director North; the for
est service, under the direct supervis-
ION OF the chairman of the commission
@nd OVerton w. Price, secretary OF the
forest section of the commission; the
reclamation service, under Director
newell; the geological survey, under
director Smith; the corps Of engineers
VI the army, under it's new chief, Gen
e'al William L. Marshall, and almost
every bureau under the department OF
agriculture,
cooperation among all the agencies
~" engaged in this inventory taking
- d conspicuous feature Taking the
members of the national commission
onu the several memberships OF the
s'ate commissions together, the num-
ner OF persons engaged and interested
IL lne work is very large.
Will Avoid Duplication.
one OF the most important require
auents is, therefore, to make sure that
I wv step of the work is known to All
no are sharing in it, 50 that there
uas be the utmost amount of coop
aauon and Concentration. no misdi-
e.eo energy and no duplication. Ac-
t.uingly, bulletins of progress and In
~ lnidtlon are issued to the officers OF
Sio commissions, the state commits