The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-14

be exhausted. The minerals do not
and cannot renew themselves. c>re-
fore in dealing with the coal, the oil.
the gas, the iron. the metals generally.
they are wisely used. The exhaustion
is certain TO come in time.
Soils, Forests, Waterways.
The second class of resources con-
sists of those which cannot only be
used in such manner az to leave them
und!mInished for our children. but can
actually be improved by wise use. The
soil. the forests, the waterways come
in this category. In dealing with min
eral resources, man is able to improve
on nature only by putting the re-
sources to beneficial use which In
the end exhausts them; but in dealing
with the soil and Its products man
can improve on nature by compelling
the resources to renew and even re-
construct themselves in such manner
as to serve Increasingly beneficial uses
while The living waters can be so
controlled as to multiply their bene-
fits.
Neither the primitive man nor the
pioneer was aware Of any duty to
posterity in dealing with the renew
settler felled the forests. he felt that
there was plenty of forest left for the
sons who came after him. When he
exhausted the soil of his farm he felt
up another. So 1t was with his I'M
mediate successors. When the soil
wash from the farmers fields chokel
OF using -he railway rather than boats
for moving his produce and supplies.
Now all this Is changed. On the aver
age the son Of the farmer of to-day
farm: There is no difficulty in doing
this II the father Will exercise wisdom.
No wise use of a farm exhausts its
fertility. SO with the forests. we are
In this country, and it is unpardon-
able for The nation or the States to
permit any further cutting of our TIM
Der save IN accordance with system
Grafton shall! see the timber increased
instead of diminished. Moreover, we
can add enormous tracts of the most
valuable possible agricultural land to
the national domain by irrigation in
the arid and semiarid regions and by
drainage of great tracts of swamp
land In the humid regions. We can
enormously increase our transportation
facilities by the equalization OF our
rivers so as to complete great sys-
tenn of waterways on the Pacific. At
lantic and Gulf coasts and in the Mis-
sissippi Valley. from the great plains
to the Alleghenies and from the north
ern lakes to the mouth Of the mighty
Father of Waters. But all these va
rlous uses of our natural resources are
SO closely connected that they should
as part of one coherent plan and not
In haphazard and piecemeal fashion.
Waterways Commission.
1t is largely because of this that
/ appointed the Waterways Conf
mission last year and that I have
sought to pelpetuate its work. l wish
to take this opportunity to express in
.heartiest washion my acknowledgment
to all the members of the commits.
sion. At great personal sacrifice OF
service to the public for which we cam
not be too grateful. Especial credit
devotion to duty and the far-sghted-
ness Of Clifford Pinchot, to whom we
owe SO much Of the progress we have
already made in handling this matter
of the coordination and conservation
of natural resources If it had not
been for him this convention neither
would nor could have been called.
We are coming to recognize as never
before the right, of the nation to guard
its own future In the essential matter
of natural resources, In the past we
have admitted the right Of the indi-
vidual to iniure the future of the re-
public for Ills own present profit. The