Gilpin observer., 1910-09-08
THEODORE ROOSEVELT ON
OUR NATIONAL EFFICIENCY
In Address Before the Conservation Congress
at St. Paul He Says New Methods of De-
veloping and Using Natural Resources
of Country Are Needed.


beyond improvement. while much needs
to be done in some other sections to i'm
prove country life. As yet we know COM
paratively little of tho basic facts of rural
civilization. The means for better farm
ing we have studied with care. but to bot
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 II
that the farmers themselves should un-
dertake to get for themselves . better
knowledge along these lines. and then to
apply II. Sir Horace Plunkett. for many
years a 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 Coun-
try Life institute as q center where the
concerning country life may be brought
together for the use of every nation. I
am strongly in sympathy with this idea,
and hope to SEQ II carried out with tho
cooperation and assistance Of our own
people. Last spring. while visiting tho
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 olso intensely inter
esting and Instructive.
As people we have not yet learned to
economize. One of the virtues we Amerf-
cans most need 10 thrift. II is a nero
truism to say that luxury and extrava-
Ranco are not good for = Nation. So far
Ns they AFFECT character, tho loss they
cause may be beyond computation. But
in the material sense there 10 loss
greater than is caused by both extrava-
Fanca and luxury put together. I 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 wretehed-
ness which they cause. the material 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 oficers and ORGANIZATIONS.
there Is urgently needed Federal bu-
reau Of health. to act. so far as the Ma
floral 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 that Of the gov
ernors in the white house in NAV. 1893.
TO consider the conservation question. BY
the advice VI the governors the meeting
was followed by the appointment of
National conservation commission. The
meeting Of the governors directed the
attention of the country to conservation
nothing else could have done. while
the work Of the commission rave the
movement dehniteness and supplied II
with . practical program. But At the
moment when the commission was ready
TO begin the campaign for putting Its pro-
gram into effect an amendment to the
Sundry civil service bill was introduced
bv 4 CONGRESSMAN from Minnesota with
the purpose of putting a stop 70 the work
so admirably begun. Congress PASSED the
- a.
end to the work Of a number II commits
r'ons which had been appointed hy the
pree,dent. and whose contribution 10 tNe
public welfsre hed bsen simply inca1cu-
liable. Among these were the commission
for reorganizing the business methods cf
tn. government, the public lsnds com-
mission. the country lfe commission.
and the National conservation commits
sion itself When 7 SIGNED the Sundry
civil service bill containing this amend
ment. I transmitted with N my last
oficial act a memorandum declaring that
the amendment was void. because n was
an unconstitutional Interference with the
rights of the executive, and that II were
to remain president I would pay to II no
attention whatever
The National conservation commission
thercupon became dorm ru-. -he su.nen-
zion Of It's work came at = most unfor-
tunate time. and ther- was se-'ous DAN
ger that the progress. ALREADY mede would
be lost. ~ this cr,',-sl moment 'hc Nr-
tiorrl conservation ,6ssociat'on Was or-
gan,zed II took up N. work which 9th
erw.s~ would not have been dove. rnd II
exercised most usS.ii influence rre-
ven.iry hsr Legislation. In securing the
ini PRODUCTION Of bett.r conservation mems
urcs At the pest session of congrcsr ard
In promoting the massage of wise laws. II
dssc-ves the CONFIDENCE and surport of
evcry .,itizen Interested IN the ~,-, de-
az orA ~
uraI resources. and in preventing them
iron, IpssinR into 49, hands ot uncor-
t-oiIcd monopolie.. II to'r. with II" Ma
ti"y,sI conservation cour-es. tr holding
this meeting. 7 am here by the Joint in
vitation OF both.
Pan.Amerlean Construction.
when ~. gov~--rnn. ~ tho United
statcs awoite TO tho idea Of conservation
and saw that Il was good. II lost no time
In communicating the advantages OF the
new point of view 10 It's immediate neigh
bors among the nations. A North Ameri-
csn conservation conference was held in
Washington. and the corporation OF
Caradn nnd Mexico in the great problem
OF developing the resources of the cont'-
asked md promised The nations uron
our orthern and southern boundaries
wisely realized that their opportur'tv to
conserve the natural resources was be"ar
thnn ours. herause with tNem destruction
and moncro,ization had not gone 50 fnr
as thev had with us. So II Il with the
r~publics of Central and South America.
Obviously they are on the verge OF n
period of great material progress. The
development OF their natural re.ource--
their forests. their mines their water.
and their soils-will create enormous
wealth. II Il 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 10 meet that demand in CONNER
cial exchange. The more we buy from
them the more we shall sell to them.
Their prosperity IL inseparabIy 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 IL a good thing
for N nation IN haye ifs pAlUhhor tSo~.