The National tribune., 1908-04-23
GOVERNORS In
CONFERENCE.
An Unusually Important Meeting to be
Held at The White House May 1914.

The most unique gathering that ever
assembled in Washington will be the
Conference of Governors, scheduled to
assemble in the East Room May 10
next 1t was called several months aso
at the suggestion of President Roose-
welt, but plans for the gathering have
been going forward all the time. and
are now nearing head. Probably 1t is
the first time that any assemblage of
that character was brought together in
the East Room. That fact has con-
tributed something to the sentimental
interest in the occasion.
The Inland Waterways Commission
has had two or three men busy arrang-
ing the details for the meeting, which
it is already assured will be largely at
tended by the Governors of the 46
States and by several of the Governors
of the Territories. Even Gov Frear, of
Hawaii. who was in Washington in the
late Autumn, is planning to travel
here all the way from Honolulu again
to be present because in those Mid
Pacific islands the conservation of nat
ural resources has become a very i'm
portant question. AS an example, with
in few months one of the big trans
continental railroads has closed con-
tract for big annual delivery of rail-
road ties from the forests of the Ha-
waiian Islands.
Conference I'm the East Room.
There is every prospect that the East
Room will be packed and jammed at
the two days sessions of the confer
ence. For besides the Governors there
will be present a considerable number
of Senators and Representatives. AS a
matter of fact nearly all of Congress
will be invited, and if all the Senators
and members should accept it would
approach joint session of Senate and
House in the East Room There will
also be few other persons among the
invited, including distinguished speak
ers who are qualified to discuss topics
in which the conference will be inter-
ested. One of them will be Andrew
Carnegie, who is expected to talk about
"Ores and Related Minerals" John
Mitchell, former President of the Mine
Workers Union, who is scheduled for
an address about the coal question from
the miners standpoint, and James j.
HILL President of the Great Northern
Railroad, who is announced to make an
address on the relations between trans
portation by rail and tr lnsportation by
water
The discussions will be along broad
lines affecting the rivers, forests, agri-
cultural lands and mines of the entire
country. Every facility will be offered
for getting the discussions before the
public. and the Washington correspond
ents are to have a generous allotment
of seats in the East Room for the pur.
pose of getting full and accurate re-
ports of what is said and done. Prob
ably the most important work the con-
ference can hope to do is to still further
til .E.Is
important question of conserving the
natural resources and also to pave the
way for better cooperation among the
people and the organizations that are
interested in that question. The Cover
nors and many other of the delegates
will be representatives of local organ
iZations that have been active along
some line or lines which come within
the scope of the general conference.
Most of the State Legislatures have al
ready enacted a body of laws affecting
the resources of their respective States.
To Influence the Legislatures
One advantage hoped for from the
conference is to exert an Influence upon
the State Legislatures to observe a more
uniform policy in their enactments af-
fecting natural resources, and also to
stimulate the Legislatures to enact more
thoro and more effective laws. The dis
cussions have been planned so as to
demonstrate the unity of interests thru
out the country and the interdepend-
'ence of the country's industries. There
viii be an effort to show that the sol
National organizations to be represent
ed at the conference each have quite as
much concern in the solution of the big
problem as the National Government
That has been ore of the reasons why
Congress has been so reluctant to ap-
propriate money for purchasing forest
reserves in the East and South and
about investigating the available supply
of coal, for example, because it has been
claimed that the States ought to do
much of the work for themselves, as II
was problem that belonged in large
part to the local and State Governments
The present capacity of the railroads
for handling traffic will be discussed to
demonstrate, in part at least, the i'm
portance of developing the waterways
The delegates will be asked to deliber-
ate over the utilization not only of nav
igable waters, but on the use of water
power and the use of water for irrga-
ton purposes. They will be told by
experts how the conservation of water
in the streams and rivers of the coun-
try will assist in conserving the supply
of coal and wood, how it will save iron
by lessening the demand for it in rail-
road transportation, and how the cheap
ening of transportation will bring about
economy in the production of crops.
Agricultural Problems.
Agricultural problems will be given a
lot of time at the conference. Soil ero-
sion, due to deforestation, is one of
them. 1t has been estimated that there
is half billion dollars worth of loss
to the country every year from that
cause. altho the figures may have been
exaggerated by the experts. who fear
that the United States some day may
become as impoverished by the strip
ping of the forests and the improper
cultivation of the soil as Palestine has
become. For Palestine was once well
wooded and well watered. Means of
preventing soil erosion will be discussed
Grazing, stock raising and numerous
Industries that have a bearing upon the
agricultural welfare of the country will
have an inning.
The chief Importance of the confer
ence will probably be in it's becoming
the forerunner of numerous other gath
eringS of like character. and i'll the
building up of an organized public SEN
timent which will give attention to the
subject of natural resources. rapidly
coming to figure as a dominant feature
in the politics of both the National
parties.
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