Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1910-09-08


communities In the Mississippi valley and
in the middle west have made marvellous
progress, yet even the best of them. like
communities of every other kind. are not
beyond Improvement, while much needs
to be done in some other sections to inn
prove country life. As yet we know COM
paratively little of the basic facts OF rural
civilization. The means for better farm
ing we have studied with care. but to bet
ter living on the farm and TO better busi-
ness 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 un-
dertake to get for themselves a better
knowledge along these lines. and then to
apply it. Sir Horace Plunkett. for many
years Wyoming cattleman. and now de-
voting himself in ireland to the country
life problem there, has suggested In his
recent book on the Country Life Prob
lem in America" the creation OF a Coun-
try Life institute center where the
work and knowledge OF the whole world
concerning country life may be brought
together for the use OF every nation. I
am strongly in sympathy with this idea,
and hope to see II carried out with the
cooperation and assistance of our own
people Last spring, while visiting the
capital of Hungary, Buda-Pesth, was
immensely impressed by the Museum Of
Country Life. containing an extraordinary
series Of studies In agriculture, in stock
raising. in forestry, in mining: the ex-
hibits were OF the utmost practical i'm
portance and were also intensely inter
esting and Instructive.
As a people we have not yet learned to
economic. One OF the virtues we Ameri-
cans most need is thrift. 1t Is a mere
truism to say that luxury and extrava-
ganco 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 loss
greater than is caused by both extrava-
gance and luxury put together. mean
the needless, useless. and excessive loss
to our people from premature death and
avoidable diseases. Wholly apart from
the grief, the suffering, and the wretched-
ness which they cause, the material loss
each year has been calculated at nearly
twice what II costs to run the Federal
government. In addition to the state and
city health officers and organizations,
there is urgently needed a Federal bu-
reau Of health, to act, SO far as the Ma
tional government properly may, to re-
lieve our people from this dreadful bur-
den.
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 advice of the governors the meeting
was followed by the appointment of a
National conservation commission. The
meeting OF the 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 II
with a practical program. But at the
moment when the commission was ready
to begin the campaign for putting It's pro-
gram into effect an amendment to the
Sundry civil service bill was introduced
by q congressman from Minnesota with
the purpose Of putting a stop 70 the wori;
so admirably begun. Congress passed the
amendment. It's object was to put an
end to the work of number Of commits
sions which had been appointed by the
president, and whose contribution to the
public welfare had been simply incalcu-
liable. Among these were the commission
for reorganizing the business methods Of
the government. the public lands COM
mission, the country life commission,
and the National conservation commits
sion itself. When signed the Sundry
civil service bill containing this amend
ment, transmitted with II as my last
official act a memorandum declaring that
the amendment was void. because II was
an unconstitutional interference with the
rights Of the executive. and that II were
to remain president I would pay to IL no
attention whatever
The National conservation commission
tkereupon became dorn,anr. "he suspen-
sion OF its work came at a most unfor-
tunatc time and there was serious dan
ger that the progress already made would
be lost A. this critical moment the Me-
tional conservation association was or
gained II took up the work which 9TH
erw.se would not have been done, end II
exercised a most usotul influence ~ pre-
venting hsr leg;3lstion. in securing the
Introduction Of better conservation meas
ures at the past session OF congress- and
in promoting the passage of wise laws. II
deserves the confidence and support al
every '>itizen Interested in the "'sa de-
velop;nent and preservation Of our nat
ural resources, and In preventing them
from psssing into I've hands of uncon-
t~olled mnnopolies. II Joins with tho Ma
tInnal conservation congress In holding
this meeting. I am here by the Joint IN
vitation of both.
Pan-American Construction.
When the government Of the United
States awoke TO the idea OF conservation
and saw that II was good. II lost no time
in communicating the advantages Of the
new roint Of view to its immediate neigh
bors among the nations. A North Ameri-
can conservation conference was held In
Washington, and the cooperation OF
Canada and Mexico in the great problem
OF developing the resources OF the conti-
nent for the benefit of its people was
asked and promised The nations upon
our northern and southern boundaries
wisely realized that their opportunity to
conserve the natural resources was better
than ours because with them destruction
and reconciliation had not gone so far
as they had with us. So II Is with the
REPUBLICS of Central and South America.
Obviously they are on the verge OF
period of great material progress. The
DEVELOPMENT Of their natural resources
their forests, their mines. their water,
and their soils-wili create enormous
wealth. II is to the mutual interest of
the United States and our sister Ameri-
can republics that this development
should be wisely done. Our manufactur-
ing Industries offer a market for more
and more OF their natural wealth and
raw material. while they will increasingly
desire to meet that demand in CONNER
cial exchange The more we buy from
them, the more we shall sell to them.
Their prosperity II inseparably involved
with our own. Thank heaven, we of this
continent are now beginning TO realize.
what In the end the whole world will
realize, that normally II is a good thing
for a nation to have its neighbor nations
prosper. We Of the United States are
genuinely and heartily pleased to see
growth and prosperity In Canada. in
Mexico. in South America
It il clear that unless the governments
Of our southern neighbors take steps in
the near future by wise legislation to con-
troll the development and use OF their
natural resources. they will probably fall
into the hands Of concessionaries and pro-
moters. with single purpose. without re-
gard to the permanent welfare of the
land In which they work. will be to make
the most possible money In the shortest
possible time. There will be shameful
waste, destructive loss. and short-sighted
disregard of the future, as we have learned
by bitter experience here at home.
Unless the governments Of all the
American republics. including our own,