Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1910-09-08
AND WASTE
MUST BE ABOLISHED
Proper Development and Use of the
Nations Natural Resources Are Dis
cussed by Colonel Roosevelt in the
st. Paul Conservation Congress.

supply OF a thousand cities and towns.
about 800 irrigation projects. and more
than 300 power projects. not counting
the use of water for these and other pur-
poses by individual settlers.
Country Life institute.
The Investigations OF tho Country Life
Commission have led the farmers of this
country to realize that they have not been
getting their fair share Of progress and
all that II brings. Some OF our farming
communities In the Mississippi valley and
In tho 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 DO done I'm some other sections to I'm
prove country life. Az yet we know rom
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 IL
that the farmers themselves should un-
dertake to get for themselves a better
knowledge along these lines. and then to
apply II. SIR Horace Plunkett. for many
years q Wyoming cattleman. and now de-
voting himself In Ireland TO the country
life problem there. has suggested In his
recent book on tho Country Life Prob
iSil III tuc 'dl VI ~ 'ohh-
try Life institute as a center where the
work and knowledge OF tho whole world
concerning country life may be brought
together for the use OF every nation. /
am strongly In sympathy with this Idea.
and I hope to see II carried out with the
cooperation and assistance OF our own
people. Last spring. while visiting the
capital OF Hungary. Buda Pcsth, | was
Immensely impressed by the Mu"eum of
Country Life, containing an extraordinary
series of studies In agriculture, in stock
raising. In forestry. In mining the ex-
kiblts were OF the utmost practical Inn
poitance and were also Intensely Inter
esting and instructive.
As a people we have not yet learned to
economize. One OF the virtues we Amcri-
cans most need Is thrift. II II a mere
truism to say that luxury and eStrava-
ganco nre not good for a Nation. SO far
rs they AFFECT character, the loss they
cause may he beyond computation. But
in the material sense there Is a loss
greater than is caused by both extrava-
ganca and luxury put together. | mean
tho needless. useless, and excessive loss
to our people from premature death and
avoida bio 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 10 run the Federal
government. In addition to the state and
city health officers and organizations
there is urgently needed n Federal hu-
reau Of health. to act, 30 far as III" Ma
tioral government properly may. to re-
licve our people from this dreadful bur
den.
One OF the most important meetings In
our recent history was that OF the gov
ernois In the white house In MAY. 1905.
tc ppnpIJ.r ihn pnuueryaIipn uleatinp nv
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
az nothing else could have done, "hile
the work Of the commission gave the
movement defniteness and supplied II
with a practical program. But nj the
moment when the commission was ready
10 begin the campaign for putting Its pro-
gram into effect an amendment to the
Sundry civil service bill was introduced
by a congressman from Minnesota with
the purpose Of putting Il stop To the worh
so admirably begun. Congress passed the
amendment. It's object was to put an
end to tho work 81 n number II conmis-
sions. which had been appointed by the
president, and who's. contribution TO the
public welfare hnd been simply incal"u-
liable. Among ,hrsc were the commission
Tor reorganiZing tho business n.ihnds Gf
tho government. the public lands com
mission, the country life commission,
and the National conservation commits
sion itself. when 7 signed the Sundry
civil service bin containing this amend
ment. I transmitted with II as my last
official act n memorandum declaring that
the amendment was void. because Il was
an unconstitutional Interference with the
rights Of the executive, and that n I were
to remain president I would pay to II no
A ~