The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-23
RESOURCES MUST
 BE CONSERVED Roosevelt Sends Special MGs-
 sage to Congress S'9NAL WASTE IS GREAT 
President Recommends Decisive Steps to Be Taken to Prevent Waste In Lands, Forests, Minerals and
 Transportation Resources.

Washington, January 22-The Presidents message on the conservation of natural resources was read before both houses of Congress today. The reading of the docu- ment came at the close of the pro- ceedings in each body. and there was but a small attendance of senators and representatives.
 The Presidents message is in part as follows:
 To the Senate and House of Representa- tives:
 transmit herewith report of the Ma tional Conservation commission, together with the accompanying papers, This re- port, which is the outgrowth of the con- ference of governors last May was unan- imously approved by the recent joint con- ference held in this city between the Ma tional Conservation commission and gov ernors of states, state conservation com missions and conservation committees of great organizations of citizens. It is therefore in peculiar sense representa- tive of the whole nation and all it's parts
 Wlll lne SIdleuleHlS duQ COnCluSlOnS or this report heartily concur, and I com mend it to the thoughtful consideration both of the Congress and of our people generally It is one of the most funda- mentally important documents ever laid before the American people. It contains the first inventory of It's natural resources ever made by any nation. In condensed form it presents a statement of our avail able capital in material resources, which are the means of progress. and calls at tention to the essential conditions upon which the perpetuity, safety and welfare of this nation now rest and must always continue to rest. It deserves, and should have, the widest possible distribution among the people.
 |, The facts set forth in this report con stitute an imperative call to action. The situstion they disclose demands that we, neglecting for a time, if need be, smaller and less vital questions, shall concentrate | an effective part of our attention upon the great material foundations of national ex- istence, progress and prosperity
 National Strength.
 This first inventory of natural resources
 
 commission is undoubtedly but the be- ginning of a series which will be indispen- sable for dealing intelligently with what We have. It supplies as close an ap- proximation to the actual facts as it was possible to prepare with the knowledge and time available. The progress of our knowledge of this country will continually lead to more accurate information and better use of the sources of national strength But we cannot defer action un- til complete accuracy in the estimates can be reached, because before that time many of our resources will be practically gone. It Is not necessary that this inven- tory should be exact in every minute de- tail. It is essential that it should cor rectly describe the general situation; and that the present inventory does As 1t stands it is an irrefutable proof that the conservation of our resources is the fun damental question before this nation, and that our first and greatest task is to set our house in order and begin to live with in our means
 The first of all considerations is the per manent welfare of our people; and true moral welfare the highest form of well fare, cannot permanently exist save on a firm and lasting foundation of material well-being. In this respect our situation is far from satisfactory. After every possible allowance has been made, and when every hopeful indication has been given its full weight, the facts still give reason for grave concern. It would be unworthy of our history and our intelli- gence, and disastrous to our future, to shut our eyes to these facts or attempt to laugh them out of court. The people should and will rightly demand that the great fundamental questions shall be given attention by their representatives. do not advise nasty or ill-considered action on disputed points, but I do urge, where the facts are known, where the public interest is clear, that neither indif- ference and inertia, nor adverse private interests, shall be all>wed to stand in the way of the public good
 The great basic facts are already well known. We know that our population is TOW adding about one-fifth to it's numbers in ten years, and that by the middle of the present century perhaps 50O00, 900 Americans, and by its end very many millions more, must be fed and clothed from the products of our soil. With the steady growth in population and the still more rapid increase in consumption our people will hereafter make greater and not less demands per capita upon all the natural resources for their livelihood comfort and convenience. It is high time to realize that our responsibility to the coming millions is like that of parents to their children, and that in wasting our resources we are wronging des- cendantS.
 Water Transportation.
 We know now that our rivers can and should be made to serve our people eff fectively in transportation, but that the vast expenditures for our waterways have not resulted in maintaining, much less in promoting, inland navigation. Therefore, let us take immediate steps to ascertain the reasons and to prepare and adopt comprehensive plan for inland-waterway navigation that will result in giving the people the benefits for which they have paid but which they have not yet re- ceived. We know now that our forests are fast disappearing, that less than one fifth of them are being conserved, and that no good purpose can be met by fail- ing to provide the relatively small sums needed for the protection. use, and inn provement of all forests still owned by the government, and to enact laws to check the wasteful destruction of the forests in private hands. There are differences of opinion as to many public questions: but the American people stand nearly as a unit for waterway development and for forest protection.
 We know now that our mineral re-
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