Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-23
The Commissions Report.

mission which accompanied the mes
sage follows:
National Conservation Commission
Washington, Jan. II, 1909
Sir: Herewith have the honor to
place In your hands the report of the
National Conservation commission,
created by yon June s, 1908, to inquire
Into and advise you as to the condition
of our natural resources and to CO.
operate with other bodies created for
similar purposes by the states.
In this country, blessed with ma
tural resources In unsurpassed pro-
fusion, the sense of responsibility to
the future has been slow to awaken.
Beginning without appreciation of the
measure or the value of natural re-
sources other than land with water for
commercial uses, our forefathers push
ed into the wilderness and, through a
spirit Of enterprise which is the glory
of the nation, developed other great
resources. Forests were cleared away
as obstacles to the use of the land;
iron and coal were discovered and
developed, though for years their pres
ence added nothing to the. price of the
land; and through the use OF native
woods and metals and fuels, manu-
featuring grew beyond all precedent,
and the country became power
among the nations OF the world.
Gradually the timber growing on the
ground, and the iron and coal within
the ground, came to have market
value and were bought and sold as
sources of wealth. Meanwhile. vast
holdings of these resources were
acquired by those of greater foresight
than their neighbors before it was
generally realized that they possessed
value in themselves; and in this way
large interests, assuming monopolistic
proportions, grew up, with greater en-
richment to their holders than the
world had seen before, and with the
motive of Immediate profit, with no
concern for the future or thought Of
the permanent benefit of country and
people, wasteful and profigate use of
the resources began and has con-
tinued.
The waters, at first recognized only
as aids to commerce in supplying
transportation routes, were largely ne
elected In time this neglect began
to be noticed, and along with it the
destruction and approaching exhaus-
ton of the forests. This in turn, direct
ed attention TO the rapid depletion of
the coal and iron deposits and the
misuse of the land.
When the Public Awakened.
The public conscience became
a yol No Inc Inv
and noting the destructive consump-
ton and waste of the natural re-
sources, men began to realize that the
permanent welfare of the country as
well as the prosperity of their Off
spring were at stake.
The newly awakened sense of duty
found expression in a call by the
president upon the governors Of the
states to meet him in conference, and
In the declaration of this conference at
Its sessions in the White House in
May, 1908. The action of the confer
ence led to the appointment of the Ma
tional Conservation commission, with
authority to collect information and
cooperate with similar commissions
appointed by the states In the great
work of conserving the natural re-
sources of the country.
In the growth Of She country and
gradual development of the natural
resources there have been three note
worthy stages. The first stage was
that Of individual enterprises for per-
sonal and family benefit. 1t led to the
conquest of the. wilderness.
The next stage was that of collec-
tive enterprise, either for the benefit
of communities or for the profit of in
dividuals forming the communities 1t
led to the development Of cities and
states, and too often TO the growth of
great monopolies.
The third stage Is the one we are
now entering. Within 1t the enter
prise is collective and largely CO.
operative and should be directed
toward the larger benefit of conlmun-
tiles, states, and the people generally.
In the first stage the resources re-
ceived little thought. In the second
they were wastefully used In the
state which we are entering wise and
beneficial uses are essential, and the
checking of waste Is absolutely de-
manded.
Although the natural resources are
interrelated they are unlike, and each
class requires distinct treatment. The
land is a fixed quantity which can not
be materially increased, though It's
productivity and availability for the
uses of man may be greatly augment
ed; the forests are variable in guam
tity and may be destroyed by fire,
waste, and improvident use, or protect
ed and improved in such way as to
meet human necessities. Together the
lands and the forests are improbable
resources.
The minerals are limited in quantity
and cannot be increased or improved
by anything which man can do They
are dependable resources.
How Waste Occurs.
The fresh waters are limited in
quantity, though the supply is perma-
nent. They form naturally renew
able resource which man may do moth
ing to increase, but may do much in
the way of conservation and better
utilization.
The treatment applied to each
class should he adaDted tn its own