New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-05-14

floods, the preservation OF the ha'ur rnsion OF
| aunnIv and the prevention OF the erosion -, =,
such lands and the consequent niilhs up ~. %
rivers ponds and lakes The forests ana va -
power of Maine constitute the larger par. "
ber wealth and form the basis of her industrial
life and the question submitted by the Ma,ar
San,te to the Supreme Court and the answer
| Of The supreme Court alike bear testimony 10
| the wisdom of the people OF Maine anu Ni,oIa
| define a policy of conservation OF hatuia I -,
| sources the adoption of which is OF Vitai I'M
| portance not merely to Maine but to the "hoio
country. :, .z.. r-,.er
nower as a heritage for the children and the
chiIdren's children of the men and women Oh
this generation; for any enactment eia torasts
vides for the wise utilization OF the Iorests,
whether in public or private ownership ana LOT
the conservation of the water resources Oh .iie
| country must necessarily be legislation that
| will promote both private and public welfare;
for flood prevention, water power deVeiopneht:
preservation of the soil and Improvement OF
| navigabe rivers are all promoted by such
| policy of forest conservation.
| The opinion of the Maine Supreme bench sets
| forth unequivocally the principle that the prop
erty rights OF the Individual are subordinate to
| the rights of the community, and especially tnal
the waste of wild timber land derived originally
| from the state involving as it would the i'm
| poverishnlent Of the state and Its people ana
| thereby defeating one great purpose OF govern
ment, may properly be prevented by state re-
| striCtiOns.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS SUBORDINATE
The court saws that there are two reasons
| why the right of the public to control and limit
| the use of private property is pecu1ariy ap-
| pllCaDle to property IN lanu. rHSl, ouCH pioP
| erty is not the result of productive labor but
is derived solely from the state itself, the orig
inal owner; second the amount OF land pelns
| incapable of increase, il the owners OF large
| tracts can waste them will without state
restrictions the state and it's people may be help
| lessy impoverished and one great purpose OF
| government defeated. We DO not tnlhk
the proposed legislation would operate to take
| private property within the inhibition of the
! Constitution. While it might restrict the owner
! of wild and uncultivated lands in his use 81
| them, might delay his taking some or the PROD
| ic-l,t Iala
! thereby might cause him some loss or pront, IL
would nevertheless leave him his lands. their
product and increase, untouched, and without
diminut1on of title, estate or duantS., ne
would still have large measure of control and
large opportunity to realize values de might
suffer delay, but not deprivation me
the legislative power and would not operate as
a taking of private property for which compeh- |
sation must be made"
The Court of Errors and Appeals OF New |
Jersey has adopted a similar view, which has |
recently been sustained by the Supreme Court |
of the United States, In delivering the opinion |
of the court on April g. 1908 Mr.. Justice Holmes !
said The state quasi-sovereign and rep !
resentatve of the interests OF the PUBLIC has |
standing in court to protect the atmosphere; the
water and the forests within its territory. ire
spective of the assent dissent OF the private |
owners of the land most Immediately concerned
1t appears to us that few public interests
are more obvious. indisputable and independent |
of particular theory than the interest of the
public of a state TO maintain the rivers that are
wholly within it substantially undlminlshed, eX-
cept by such drafts upon them as the guardian
Of the public welfare may permit for tire puf-
pose of turning them TO more perfect use.
This public interest is omnipresent Wherever
there is a state and grows more pressing as
population grows. We of opinion,
further that the constitutional power of the
state to insist that its natural advantages shall
remain unimpaired by its citizens is not de-
pendent upon any nice estimate of the extent
of present speculation as to future needs.
The legal conceptfon of the necessary likely to
be confined to somewhat rudimentary wants,
and there are benefits from great river that
might escape lawyers view But the state Is
.L,rt,it hot
analysis. Any analysis may be inadequate. It !
finds itself i'll possession Of what all admit 20
be great public good. and what it has 1t may
keep and give no one a reason for It's Will
These decisions reach the root of the idea OF |
conservation of our resources in the interests OF
people.
Finally, let US remember that the conserva-
ton of our natural resources, though the gravest
problem of to-day Is yet but part or another
and greater problem to which this nation is not
yet awake, but to which it will awake in time
and with which it must hereafter grapple If it
is live-the problem OF national efficiency, the
patriotic duty. of insurng the safety and con.
tnuance of the nation. When the people OF
the United States consciously undertake to raise
themselves as citizens, and the nation and the
states in their several spheres, to the highest
pitch of excellence in private, state and ma
tiona life, and do this because it is the first
Of all the duties of true patriotism. then and not
till then the future of this nation in quality and
in time will be assured
The Presidents speech ended the morning ses
sion. He and Vice-President Fairbanks shook
hands with each member of the assenblage. The !
Governors and delegates We're photographed with +
the President on the portico of the White House ,
The picture also shows William J. Bryan. An |
drew Carnegie J. j. Hill and John Mitchell
specially invited guests. The President met In |
the Blue Room his dinner guests of the night :
before, including the Governors and others. t
BUSINESS PROCEEDS RAPIDLY. t
In the afternoon the real work of the confer a
ence began. and the session. which opened at e
. 40 o'clock and lasted until sos o'clock, pro- o
ceeded at rate that broke all speed regulations.
1t developed first that the President finds it i'm
possible to devote his entire time to the meet n
ings. He will, he did to- day, call each SEES c
sion to order and then designate a Governor to
preside. This honor fell to-day on Governor p
Noel of Mississippi, with the intimation from Il
the President that tomorrow he would call on n
Governor Johnson of Minnesota After this an L
the President suddenly called L
Mr.. Bryan to interrupt the programme and in {
cidentally the prepared speech of Andrew Car
negie and address the meeting Mr. Bryan Il
the enthusiasm his aroused
by lifting his hands and then indicated desire n
10 speak Friday. b
MR. CARNEGIE ON COAL AND IRON Il
It was in the utterances of Mr. Car
negie and those who followed him that =
The gravity of the problems to be con-
;idered was indicated. Two hundred years OF !,
,oaI supply and half that of iron was the pre-
fiction of the ironmaster These facts he i'm =,
pressed with detail. but good naturally limited "
hat he would he disputed "by my friend J. ]. 81
I'LL" There were ways by which both the coal a
md iron supply might be conserved according &C
o MI Carnegie-by economies in mining and in 1t
and tha mt nf wat tran