Omaha daily bee., 1910-09-07


be done in some other sections to improve
country life. AS yet we know compare
lively little Of the basic facts of rural
civilization. The means for better farming
we have studied with care, but to better
living on the farm and to better business
on the farm the farmers themselves have
given scant attention. One of the most
urgent needs of our civilization is that
the farmers themselves should undertake
to get for themselves a better knowl
edge along these lines and then to apply
IT, Sir Horace Plunkett, for many years
a Wyoming cattleman, and now devoting
himself in Ireland to the country life
problem there, has suggested in his recent
book on the County Life Problem in
America" the creation of country life
institute as a center where the work and
knowledge Of the whole world concerning
country life, may be brought together for
the use OF every nation. 1 am strongly In
sympathy with this idea, and l hope to
see 1t carried out with the cooperation
and assistance of our own people Last
spring, while visiting the capital Of Hun
gary, Budapesth, l was immensely i'm
pressed by the museum of country life
containing an extraordinary series of
studies in agriculture, in stock raising, in
forestry, in mining; the exhibits were OF
the utmost practical Importance and were
also intensely interesting and instructive
l greatly wish we had such museum in
Washington and some of your farmer con-
gressmen ought to get a full and detailed
report of the Budapesth museum to be
printed for distribution In a public docu-
ment.
Human Efficiency.
'As a people we have not yet learned
to economize. One Of the virtues we
Americans most need Is thrift 1t is
mere truism to say that luxury and ex-
travagance are not good for nation
So far as they affect character. the loss
they cause may be beyond computation.
But in the material sense there is a loss
greater than is caused by both ex-
travagance and luxury put together l
mean the needless. useless, and excess
sive loss to our people from premature
death and avoldable disease. Wholly apart
from the grief, the suffering. and the
wretchedness which they cause, the ma
terial loss each year has been calculated
at nearly twice what It costs to run the
federal government. In addition to the
state and city health officers and organiza-
lions, there is urgently needed federal
! bureau of health, to act, so Ear as the ma
tional government properly may, to relieve
our people
National Conservation Commission.
"One of the most important meetings in
our recent history was that OF the gov
| ernors in the White House, in May, 1908,
to consider the conservation question. BY
the advise OF the governors the meeting
was followed by the appointment Of a ma
tional conservation commission. The meet
ing of governors directed the attention of
the country to conservation as nothing else
could have done, while the work of the
commission gave the movement definiteness
and supplied 1t with a practical program.
But at the moment when the commission
was ready to begin the campaign for put
ting it's program into effect an amendment
to the sundry civil service bill was intro
duced by a congressman from Minnesota
with the purpose Of putting a stop to the
work so admirably begun. Congress passed
the amendment Its object was to put an
end to the work of a number OF COM
missions which had been appointed by the
president, and whose contribution to the
public welfare had been simply incalcuable
Among these were the commission for re-
organizing the business methods Of the gov
ernment the public lands commission, the
conservation commission itself. When l
signed the sundry civil service bill. con-
taing this amendment, transmitted with
1t as my last official act a memorandum
declaring that the amendment was void,
because it an unconstitutional inter
ference with the rights OF the executive,
and that II l were 70 remain president
would pay to 1t no attention whatever.
The National Conservation commission
| thereupon became dormant The suspen-
| sion OF its work came at a most unfor-
tunate time, and there was serious danger
. that the progress already made would be
lost At this critical moment the National
Conservation association was organized
! 1t took up the work which otherwise would
not have been done, and II exercised a most
useful influence in preventing bad Iegisla-
ton, I'm securing the Introduction Of better
conservation measures at the last session
OF congress, and in promoting the Passage
of wise laws. 1t deserves the confidence
and support of every citizen interested IN
the wise development and preservation OF
our national resources and in preventinr
them from passing into the hands OF un
controlled monopoles. 1t Joins with tn,
National Conservation congress in holding
this meeting. l am here by the joint invi
tation of both
PRn-Ameriean Conservation.
When the government OF the United
States awoke TO the idea Of the conseI va
ton and saw that It was good, II lost M
time in communicating the ADVANTAGES Of
the new point Of view TO it's lmmediat,
neighbors among the nations North
American Conservation congress was hell
in Washington, and the cooperation o
Canada and Mexico in the great problem
of developing the resources OF the continen
for the benefit of its people was asked ant
promised The nations upon our northern
! and southern boundaries wisely realize,
that their opportunity to conserve the nat
ural resources was better than ours. be
cause with them destruction and monop
olEation had not gone so far as they ha,
with us So II is with the republics o
Central and South America Obviousl
} they are on the verge Of a period OF grea
) material progress. The development o
J their natural resources-their forests. thei
! mines, their water aud their soiIs-wi
! create enormous wealth, IL is to the NUT
ual interest OF the United states ard GU
: sister American republics that this devel
3 opment should be wisely done Our manu-
featuring industries offer market 70
D more and more OF their natural wealth an