Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-08-31
ROOSEVELT. FOR
FEDERAL CONTROL
Believes Government Should GEN
er,lIy Be Leader in Con-
servation.
SAD EXPERIENCE in EAST
Addressing Public Meeting In Denver,
Ex-PresIdent Discusses Water Pow.
Or, Coal Lands, Ranges and Forests
Powerful Plea for Conservation.

Cheyenne this morning, and after a
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
I he delivered 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:
This country has shown definite signs
OF waking up to the absolute necessity of
handling its 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-
ten X he leaves his farm improved and not
impaired for his children, and a bad citi-
AGu IL iIc Shlub IIle lduQ III TI1 OWN beltbn
interest, so the Nation behaves we'll IL 1t
treats the natural resources as assets
whlchsh must turn over to the next gen.
GRAFTON Increased and not impaired in
value. land behaves badly IL 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-
Dervation 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-
servation idea. Conservation does not
mean depriving the men of today of their
natural rights in the natural resources Of
The land. All 1t means Is that we of this
generation shall 80 use our rights as not
to- deprive those who come after us OF
their natural rights in their turn.
In the third place. 40 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
Ties should have exceptional rewards up
70 point where the reward becomes dis
proportionate to the service, up to the
point where the abilitieg are used to the
detriment of the people as 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
70 to favor the actual settler-the man
who takes as much Of the public domain
a. he himself can cultivate, and there
makes a permanent home for his children.
who come after him; but we are against
the man. no matter what his ability, who
land. - 2l, "a : 49,
State. and Federal Control.
Now, to preserve the general welfare,
20 see to II 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
Z when It becomes inconsistent Herewith, II
I - necessary to invoke the aid of the
Il overnment. There are points in which
This governmental aid can best be rem
Tdered by the states. that Is, where the
8exercise OF states rights helps to secure
popular rights: and as to these believe
An states rights. But there are large
f classes of cases where only authority
Z OF the National government will secure
V 49, A6hAc Va hhC PGuptc. AIu WHGre IOlS ID
the case am convinced and a thor
ough-going believer in the rights Of the
National government Big business, for
instance. is no longer an affair Of any one
state; big business has become national
lied. and the only effective way of con-
trolling and directing 1t. and preventing
abuses In connection with 1t, is by having
the people nationalize this control in order
TO prevent their being exploited by the In
divfduals who have nationalized the bust
ness. All commerce on a scale sufficient
" large to warrant any control over 1t by
the government is nowadays Interstate or
foreign commerce. and until this fact lie
heartily acknowledged and acted upon by
both courts and legislative bodies Ma
Hsional and state alike. the interest Of the
apeople will suffer.
II In the matter OF conservation. / heart
lily approve Of state action where under
EPur form OF government the state. and the
state only. has the power to act. cor
Nb'ally join with those who desire to see
fthe state. within Its own sphere. take the
most advanced position in regard to the
whole matter of conservation. I have
taken exactly this attitude in my own
state of New York. Where the state alone
had power to act. have done all could
to get 1t to act in the most advanced
manner: and where the Nation could act,
have, done all / could 10 get National
action In the same direction. Unfortun-
ately, In the east we have in this matter
paid the penalty of not having our forest
land under National control; and the PEN
atty has been severe. Most Of the states
although they are old states-have not
protected their forests. each failing to
act by itself, because the action was real
ly the common concern of all; and where
action is the common concern of all, ex-
pertence has shown that 1t can only be
prcftably undertaken by the National
q government. IL
As q result of the impossibiIity OF get
ting such wise action by the several state
governments in the east, we are doing
our best to get National legislation under
which the National government at the
expense of millions of dollars, shall under
take to do as regards the AppaIschjans
and White Mountains of the east what 1t
10 now doing in the Rock Mountains here
4 out weS. 1t would be both a calamity
and an absurdity for the National govern.
ment now to do in the west the very
thing that at heavy pecuniary cost 1t is
trying to undo in the east. BY actual ex-
perience in the east we have found to
our cost that the Nation. and not the sew
eral states. can best guard the interests
Of the people in the matter of the forests