New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-12-13
COMMON SENSE AND THRIFT.

There has never IN all our history been more
encoura ging spectacle, far as the material
welfa re Of the nation is concerned, than that
which is to-day presented by the various gather
ings and movements for the conservation Of our
natural resources and the fuller utilization OF
our natural facilities for commerce and industry
It is of course high time for such action to be
taken The reckless profiigacy and wasteful-
ness Of this nation in the last two or three gen
erations have probably never been surpassed. If
even eouaIled, in all the annals Of human folly.
Some Of the damage which has been done is ir~
reparable and must be bequeathed as a legacy
Of misfortune and deprivation 10 posterity. To
wha tever extent it IS possible to check and even
to repair the damage, and happily such extent Is
still considerable every motive OF thrift and Of
duty Of prudence and of justice, -impels the na-
ton 10 prompt and energetic action.
The ultimate exhaustion Of coal, iron, copper
and all other mines, oil and gas wells and SINH
lsr resources is inevitable. The reflection that
this is so, however. should dictate the most eco
nomical methods in utilizing all those resources
which are Incapable of perennial renewal. It is
notorious that in the coal, oil and gas industries
there has been enormous waste Some Of 1t has
been and is unavoidable. Much of it might be
and should be prevented, and would have been
prevented except for the shortsighted and selfish
policy which reckoned it cheaper to be wasteful
50 as plentiful supplies were dNdlIable ludu
TO be thrifty and saving with an eye to the fut-
ure There has been too great an inclination
practically TO say. after US the deluge'-to use
and 10 waste with lavish hand, leaving the prob
lens Of irreparable depletion and exhaustion to
the unfortunate future.
There are other equally important resources,
however, which under proper mana cement will
be perpetual, and which even the fullest use will
not exhaust, though reckless misuse of them
would destroy them as surely as those first
named. These are the elementary resources of
field. forest and stream-the soil the trees and
the supply Of water for drinking. for power and
for navigation. 1t is an interesting circumstance
that all three are inseparably united, the con-
servation Of all three depending primarily upon
the preservation and cultivation Of one. The
equable flow Of our rivers, SO essential for navi-
CATION and so valuable and Of such increasing
value for power as the supplies of coal oil and
gas diminish. depends absolutely upon the pres
erTatton Of the forests as natural storage reser-
voirs- Upon the same conditions depends the
protection Of vast areas Of fertile soil from be-
coming sandy and arid deserts.
The meetings Of the Rivers and Harbors Con
gress, the Conservation Commission and similar
organizations are therefore most encouraging
They indicate awakening Of the national
mind to the urgency of prompt and radical re-
form in our methods of dea ling with natural re
sources if we are TO avoid mourning. perhaps for
ourselves and certainly for not remote posterity
the irretrievable ruin which has overtaken other
lands Especially urgent is the need Of preserv-
ing our Eastern mountain forests in New Eng
/ land and throughout the Appalachian system
For while forests on the plains may be replanted
II is humanity and physically impossible to re-
place forests which have once been strippef
from mountain sides For with the disappear
ance Of the trees the soI IS swept awav and
nothing remains but steep wastes Of naked rock
the parents Of alternate drouth and food And
since the streams which proceed from these
mountains are the most valuable of oil, It is no
exaggeration TO say that the most urgent and
the most important work Of conservation of re-
sources now before this nation Is the preserva-
ton and cultivation of what remains of the for
est areas Of The White and Appalachia noun
fains