Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-23
PRESIDENT OUT
WITH MESSAGE
ON RESOURCES
Continued from Page H.

lean people. 1t contains the first inven-
tory of its natural resources ever made
by any nation. In condensed form It
presents a statements of our avail
able capital in material resources,
which are the means of progress, and
calls attention to the essential condi-
tions, shall concentrate an effective
safety and welfare of this nation now
rest and must always continue to rest
It deserves, and should have, the wild,
est possible distribution among the
people.
The facts set forth In this report
constitute an imperative call to ac-
ton. The situation they disclose de-
mands that we, neglecting for time,
II need be, smaller and less vital ques-
tions, shall concentrate an effective
part Of our attention upon the great
material foundations of national exis.
tence, progress and prosperity.
Fundamental Question Of Today.
This first inventory of natural re-.
sources prepared by the National Con-
servation Commission is undoubtedly
but the beginning of series which
will be indispensable for dealing in
telligently with what we have. 1t sup
plies as close an approximation to the
sctual facts as was possible to pre-
pare with the knowledge and time
available. The progress of our knowl'
edge of this country will continually
lead to more accurate information and
better use of the source of national
strength. But we can not defer action
until complete accuracy in the estf.
mates can be reached, because before
that time many of our resources Will
be practically gone. 1t is not neces.
sary that this inventory should be ex-
act in every minute detail. 1t is es-
sential that it should correctly des'
cribe the general situation; and that
the present inventory does. AS it
stands it is an irrefutable proof thai
the conservation of our resources is
the fundamental question before this
nation, and that our first and greatest
task is to set our house in order and
begin to live within our means.
We Have Parents Responsibility.
The great basic facts are already
well known. We know that our pop
ulation is now adding about one-afth
to its numbers in ten years, and that
by the middle of the present century
perhaps one hundred and fifty million
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 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
comfort and convenience
1t Is high time to realize that our re-
sponsibility to the coming millions is
like that of parents to their children,
and that in wasting our resources we
are wronging our descendants.
What Should be Done Now?
We know now that our rivers can
and should be made to serve our peo-
pie effectively in transportation, but
that the vast expenditures for our
waterways have not resulted in main
tanning, much less in promoting, In:
land navigation. Therefore, let us take
immediate steps to ascertain the rea-
sons and to prepare and adopt
comprehensive plan for inland-water
way navigation that will result In civ
ing the people the benefits for which
they have paid, but which they have
not yet received. We know that our
forests are fast disappearing, that less
than qSe-fifth Of them are being con-
served, and that no good purpose can
be met by failing to provide the rela-
lively small sums needed for the pro
lection, use and improvement of all
forests still owned by the government,
and to enact laws to check the waste
full destruction Of the forests in pri-
vate hands. There are differences of
opinion as to many public questions;
but the American people stand nearly
as a unit for waterways development
and our forest protection.
We know now that our mineral re-
sources once exhausted are gone for
ever, and that the needless waste Of
them costs us hundreds of human
lives and nearly s3OO,ooO,000 year.
Therefore, let us undertake without
delay the investigation necessary be.
fore our people will be in position,
through state action or otherwise, to
put an end to this huge loss and
waste, and conserve both our ,minera;
resources and the lives of the men
who take them from the earth.
Conservation uestion Comes First.
l desire to make grateful &C.
acknowledgement to the men, both in |
and out of the government service,
who have prepared the first inventory
OF our natural resources. They have
made 1t possible for this nation 10
take great step forward. Their work
is helping us to see that the greatest
questions before us are not partisan
questions, but questions upon which
men of all parties and all shades of
opinion may be united for the com
mon good. Among such questions. on
the material side, the conservation OF
natural resources stands first. It is
the bottom round of the ladder on our
upward progress toward a condition
In which the nation as whole. and
It's citizens as individuals, will set
efficiency and the public
welfare before personal profit
The policy of conservation is per. !
maps the most typical example of the
policies which this govern
ment has made peculiarly it's own dur
Ing the opening years of the present
century. The function Of our govern. |
ment is to insure to all its citizens. |
now and hereafter, their rights to life,