The Green Forest tribune., 1909-01-29

Washington.-With the transmission of the report of the national conservation commission and accompanying papers, President Roosevelt. also sent a message 10 congress. The following is com prehensive synopsis of the doeument
 The president declares his entire con- currence with the statements and con- ciuslonS of the report and proceeds:
 It IS one of the most fundamentally Important documents ever laid before the American people, It contains the first in Ventofy of its natural resources eyer made by any nation. In condensed form 1t presents q statement of our available capital in material resources, which are the means of progress, and calls atten- ton to the essential conditions upon which the perpetuity, safety and welfare of this nation TOW rest and must always continue 10 rest
 ''The facts set forth in this report con stitute an imperative call to action. The situation they disclose demands that we, neglectins tor time, if need be, smaller and less vital questions, shall concentrate an effective part of our attention upon the great material foundations of na- uonal existence, progress and prosperity.
 ''The first of all considerations is the permanent welfare of our people; and true moral welfare, the highest form of WelIdIe, Cdn not permanently eXlSt save on firm and lasting foundation of mate- rial weil-beng. In this respect our situ- atlon is far from satisfactory. After every possible allowance has been made and when every hopeful indication has been given it's full weight the facts still give reason for grave concern. It would be unworthy of our history and our in telligence, and disastrous to our future. to shut our eyes to these facts or at tempt to laugh them out of court. The people should and will rightly demand that the great fundamental questions shall be given attention by their rep resentatives. I do not advise hasty or ill- considered action on disputed points, but l do urge, where the facts are known where the public interest is clear, that neither indifference and inertia, nor ad- verse private interests, shall be allowed to stand in the way of the public good.
 '"rhe great basic facts are already well known. We know that our population is now adding about one-fifth to it's numbers in ten years, and that by the middle of the present century perhaps 150, GOO GOO Americans, and by it's end very many millions more, must be fed and clothed from the products of our soil.
 I've know now that our rivers can and should be made to serve our people ef- 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 a 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 received. We know now that our for ests are fast disappearing, that less than one-fffth of them are being conserved and that no good purpose can be met by failing to provide the relatively small sums needed for the protection, use, and improvement of all forests still owned by the government, and to enact laws to check the wasteful destruction of the for ests in private hands.
 I've 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 $300. .000000 a year. Therefore, let us undertake without delay the in- vestigations necessary before people will be in position. through state action or otherwise, to put an end to this huge loss and waste, and conserve both our mineral resources and the lives of the men who take them from the earth. ! 'Hfhls administration has achieved some things; it has sought, but has not been able, to achieve. others; it has doubtless made mistakes; but all it has done or attempted has beer in the single. consistent effort to cure and enlarge the rights and oppor- tuntes of the men and women of the United States. We are trying to con serve what is good in our social sys- tenn and we are striving toward this end when we endeavor to do away with what is bad. Success may be made too hard for some if it is made too easy for others. The rewards of common industry and thrift may be too small If the rewards for others. and on the whole less valuable. qualities. are made too large. and especially if the rewards for qualities which are really, from the public standpoint, undesir able, are permitted to become too large Our aim is so far as possible to provide such conditions that there shall be equality of opportunity where there is equality of energy, fidelity and intelligence; when there is a reason able equality of opportunity the dis tribution of rewards will take care of itself.
 "The unchecked existence of monop- ioly is Incompatible with equality of opportunity The reason for the ex- ercise of government control over great monopolies is to equalize opportunity. We are fighting against privilege. It was made unlawful for corporations to contribute money for election ex- penses in order to abridge the power of special privilege at the polls Rail- road rate control is an attempt to SO cure an equality of opportunity for all men affected by rail transportation; and that means all of us. The great anthracite coal strike was settled. and the pressing danger of a coal famine averted, because we recognized that