The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-09-01
ROOSEVELT FOR
FEDERAL CONTROL
Believes Government Should Gen.
orally Be Leader in Con-
servatioa.
SAD EXPERIENCE III EAST

Addressing Public Meeting in Denver,
Ex-Presisent Discusses Water Pow
err, Coal Lands, Ranges and Forests
Powerful Plea for Conservation.
Denver, Colo, Aug. 29.-COlonel
Roosevelt arrived in Denver from
Cheyenne this morning, and after q
parade in which representatives of the
state and city, the Live Stock asso-
citation and the Spanish War Veterans
took part, was the guest of the Den
yer Press club at cowboy luncheon
at Overland park. In the afternoon
he delivered a public address at the
Auditorium and later spoke to the
Spanish War Veterans, and then he
was the guest of honor at round
up dinner at Eljebel Temple.
Talks on Conservation.
Mr.. Roosevelt's main address was
on conservation, and was as follows:
j. This country has shown definite Signs
of waking up to the absolute necessity of
handling it's natural resources with fore
sight and common sense. The conserva-
ton question has three sides. In the first
place, the needless waste of the natural
resources must be stopped. 1t is rapidly
becoming well-settled policy Of this peo-
pie that we of this generation hold the
land in part for the next generation, and
not exclusively for our own selfish enjoy
ment Just as the farmer is a good citi-
zen if he leaves his farm improved and not
impaired for his children, and a bad citi-
zen if he skins the land in his own selfish
interest, so the Nation behaves well If 1t
treats the natural resources as assets
which it must turn over to the next gen.
grafton increased and not impaired in
value, and behaves badly if it leaves the
land poorer to those who come after us.
In the second place. the natural re-
!, sources must be developed promptly,
completely, and in orderly fashion. 1t is
, not conservation to leave the natural re-
| sources undeveloped. Development is an
! Indispensable part of the conservation
. plan. The forests, the mines, the water
powers, and the land itself, must all be
) put to use. Those who assert that con-
Servation proposes to tie them up, depriv-
Ing this generation of their benefits in
order to hand them on untouched to the
. next, miss the. whole point of the con-
, BervatioE idea. Conservation does not
, mean depriving the men of today of their
natural rights in the natural resources Of
, the land. All it means is that we Of this
generation shall so use our rights as not
10 deprive those who come after us of
their natural rights in their turn.
In the third place, so far as possible
these resources must be kept for the
whole people and not handed over for
, exploitation to single. individuals. We do
not intend to discourage individual enter
, prise by unwisely diminishing the reward
, tor that enterprise. On the contrary, we
/ believe that the men of exceptional abili-
ties should have exceptional rewards up
70 point where the reward becomes dis
proportionate to the service, up to the
, point where the abilities are used to the
, detriment Of the people as a whole. We
are for the liberty of the Individual up to
,, and not beyond the point where it be-
, comes inconsistent with the welfare of
, the community. Thus our consistent aim
| Is to favor the actual settler-the man
, who takes much of the public domain
I as he himself can cultivate. and there
makes permanent home for his children
, who come after him. but we are against
! the man. no matter what his ability, who
tries to monopolize large masses of public
land.
State and Federal Control.
, Now to preserve the general welfare.
to see to it that the rights of the public
are protected, and the liberty of the indi-
vidual secured and encouraged as long as
: consistent with this welfare, and curbed
9 when it becomes inconsistent Herewith it
r government. There are points in which
+. this governmental aid can best be rem
= dered by the states. that is. where the
I exercise of states rights helps to secure
= popular rights: and rs to these I believe
] In states rights. But there are large
3 classes Of cases where only authority
: of the National government will secure
r the rights of the people: and where this is
the case I am a convinced and thor
r ough-going believer in the rights of the
= National government. Big business. for
= Instance. is no longer an affair of any one
Y state: big business has become national
= lied. and the only effective way of con-
: trolling and directing it, and preventing
4 abuses in connection with it, is by having
] the people nationalize this control in order
n to prevent their being exploited by the In
dividuals who have nationalized the bust
y ness. All commerce on scale sufficient
8 1y large to warrant any control over 1t by
n the government is nowadays Interstate Of
u foreign commerce, and until this fact Is
: heartily acknowledged and acted upon by
= both courts and legislative bodies, Ma
4 tional and state alike. the interest of tn,
: people will suffer.
= In the matter of conservation, I heart
: fly approve of state action where under
= our form of government the state, and tn,
n state only, has the power to act. I cor
daily join with those who desire to SCI
i the state, within it's own sphere, take thu
8 most advanced position in regard to thu
e whole matter of conservation. / hav
j taken exactly this attitude in my owl
). state of New York. Where the state alon
n had power to act, I have done all coul'
d to get it to act in the most advance,
= manner; and where the Nation could act
r I have done all I could to get Nationa
# action in the same direction. Unfortun
: ately, in the east we have in this matte
). paid the penalty Of not having our flores
q land under National control; and the pen
Il atty has been severe. Most of the state
4 although they are old states-have no
8 protected their forests, each falling t
q act by itself, because the action was real
y ly the common concern of all; and whe-
l. action is the common concern of all, eX
n perience has shown that it can only b
d prof1tably undertaken by the Nationa
q government.
I, AS a result of the impossibility of get
a ting such wise action by the several stat
governments in the east, we are dom
our best to get National legislation unde
which the National government, at tn
expense of millions of dollars, shall under
take to do as regards the Appalachian
and White Mountains of the east what