Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-19
fIENEY TELLS
HOW TO GAIN
CONSERVATION
POINTS TO REAL FACTORS IN
NATIONAL FUTURE
INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM AND
RECALL ARE lNDoRSED
Direct Primary Also Declared to Be
One of Best Methods to Keep
National Resources for
the Nation

"Do YOU want to know. the true way
to conserve the natural resources OK
this nation, to hand down to our
children and our children's children
that which is their as a birthright,
said Francis J. Heney in effect last
night, addressing a gathering OF the
members of the City club and their
friends at Simpson auditorium. 1t IS
not the puny laws you may ask 10
have passed; not the election here ana
there Of a peoples fepreSntatlEe u.;- !i;
trammeled by boss rule, but the mi
tiative, the referendum, the recall and
the direct primary
Mr.. Heney was greeted by a packed
house when he ascended the platform
at Simpson auditorium to deliver ms
talk on Conservation" The cele-
brated foe of graft was greeted with
cheers that resounded throughout the
large building from floor to rafters and
not until he had made eloquent signs
that he was about to start speaking
did the tumult subside. Even then his
first few words called forth another
outburst and it was with difficulty
that he stemmed the tide OF enthus-
iasm and proceeded with his subject.
Eloquent Tribute to Los Angeles
Throughout his discourse, Mr.. Heney
paid eloquent tribute to Los Angeles
and her government The recent elc-
tion was quoted as an example Of what
can be done, first in the state, and then
throughout the nation, eventually to
take the natural resources Of the coun-
try out of the hands of the few and
put them where they belong-in the
hands of the many.
zone hundred and thirty years ago.
said Mr.. Heney, "our forefathers were
called upon to fight for their liberty, to
stand by their right of no taxation
without representation But did they
all respond? l say no. Great Britain
sent only $4,000 soldiers over here to
subdue the colonies, and out of the
5000 900 persons inhabiting the Atlantic
coast, included in the thirteen colonies,
were at least 100000 men who could
have borne arms.
And why didn't enough patriots re-
spond to chase the British back to
their own land inside of six months ?
Why were Washington and his fighting
force condemned on many sides for
pressing the strife for liberty?
'Ill tell you why 1t was because il
hurt business to be at war. Because
the business men of those times were
too busy chasing the almighty dollar to
care for one cause or another. if it hurt
their business while it was being Won
Same Conditions Today
"And so it is today The resources
of the nation, which Immediately after
the Revolutionary War were thought to
be unlimited, and which were further
augmented by the Louisiana purchase,
the Gadsden purchase and the aCquisl-
tion of our entire western country, have
been taken from the people and given
to the few because the people are all
ways too busy doing something in the
present to bother about the future.
after the Revolution lands We're
cheap, and all that went with them was
held in light esteem. No limit was
placed on the possessions one man
could credit himself, just so he got
them. No check was placed on any
thing by the government, and coal
lands, timber forests and everything Of
value was gobbled up by the far-seeing
that builded a future for their sons and
grandsons and the generations to follow
these.
II want you to note the difference be-
tween natural and national resources
Natural resources include the greatest
Of all-manhood and WOmanhoOd. Well,
with the start of the monopoly of lands
and timber and national resources be-
gan the decay of the masses.
III Fortune Was Foretold
"Ill fares any land if the wealth is
accumulated in the hands OF the few
lot lIen lilt illdSStS Will uttdEs lJtlll'-
Webster said: Any country whose laws
will permit of its wealth being in the
hands of the few viii either find the
masses in bondage to the few or else
an uprising will occur
"Well the Socialists say that the up
rising is bound to come, but I differ
with the Socialists. Let us preserve to
the masses their rights. Let US prevent
the rich from grabbing everything. Let
us take away what they have unscru-
pulously secured and return it to its
rightful owners by passing laws which
will legaliZe this.
Revolution is not to be thought Of
What happened in the French uprising,
which was directed against the veal
thy? Nothing but a man on horseback,
and who knows but we too would have
Napoleon to make conditions even
worse? We should study conditions
and prevent revolution
"Our forefathers We're short-sightod.
After the Revolution they invited the
world to come and take what it wanted.
and the national lands We're rapidly
distributed. Soon laws We're passed
: giving TO all who asked 100 acres of
land, the only condition attached being
that they stick up little cabin and
perform a certain amount Of imprOV-
ing, together with a sleep of one night
in every six months or so on the prop
erty,
Chance Taken in Haste
"This gave the monopolists n chance
they were not slow i'm taking. The law
makers had not figured on this They
thought the country would be settled
up by small owners each content with
his 160 acres Of land, hut lot me cite an
instance of how il worked out since.
"Theodore Roosevelt when he was
president, appointed a commission to
Investigate affairs and this is what
they found NINETY-ETGHT PER
CENT Of the coal fields east Of the
Mississippi river are owned by ONE
CORPORATION. The iron deposits Of
Pennsylvania are controlled bv one
corporation. The forests Of California
and Oregon and WASHINGTON arc owned
by one or two big holders.
1.-THE once immense forests Of Min
nesota and Michigan and Wisconsin
are practically depleted. but did the
wealth accruing therefrom come into
the hands Of the people, Decidedly
not. 1t went to swell the Golfers OF
some opulent land grabbcr, who was
given a right under the law to set
all he could.
Blame Fairly Placed
"You and I didn't get our share OF
that because our ancestors failed to
provide for us. It is the same with
the coal lands, with the gold and the
copper, and the same with everything
else in our national stornhOusc We
must provide for our children, or they