Semi-weekly herald., 1910-09-01
ROOSEVELT ON CONSERVATION,


Owing to the interest displayed all
over the country the speech of Theo-
dore Roosevelt delivered in Denver
yesterday on conservation will be
found OF interest by readers of both
the daily and weekly Herald as fol.
lows:
"The country has shown definite
signs OF waking up to the absolute
necessity of handling its natural re-
sources with foresight and common
sense. The conservation question
has three sides. In the first place
the needless waste of the natural re-
sources must be stopped. II is rapidly
becoming a well-settled policy of this
people that We OF this generation hold
the land in part for the next genera.
tion and not exclusively for our own
selfish enjoyment. Just as the farmer
is good citizen II he leaves his farm
improved and not impaired for his
children. and a bad citizen II he skins
the land In his own selfish interest,
so the nation behaves well If it treats
the natural resources as assets which
tion increased and not impaired in
value, and behaves badly II it leaves
the land poorer to those who come
after us.
TN the second place. the natural
resources must be developed, com.
pletely, and in orderly fashion. 1t is
not conservation to leave the natural
resources undeveloped. Development
is an indispensable part of the conser,
walton plan. The forests, the mines,
the water powers and the land itself,
must all be put to use. Those who as.
sert that conservation proposes to tie
them up, deprivlng this generation OF
their benefits in order to hand them
on untouched to the next, miss the
whole point of the conservation idea.
Conservation does not mean depriv-
ing 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 so use our rights as
not to deprive those who come after
us OF their natural rights in their
turn
In the third place. so far as pos
sible these resources must be kept for
the whole people and not handed over
for exploitation TO single individuals
We do not intend to discourage indi.
vidual enterprise by unwisely dimin-
ishing the reward for that enterprise
On the contrary, we believe that the
men OF exceptional abilities should
have exceptional rewards up to point
where the reward becomes dispropor.
tionate to the service, up to the point
where the abilities are used to the
detriment of the people as whole
We are for the liberty of the individu-
a, up to and not beyond the point
where 1t becomes Inconsistent with
the welfare OF the community. Thus
our consistent aim is to favor the
actual settler-the man who takes as
much of the public domain as he him
self can cultivate. and here makes q
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.
Now. to preserve the general vel
fare. to see to 1t that the rights of
the public are protected, and the lib
eIty OF the Individual secured and en-
couraged as long as consistent with
his welfare. and curbed when it be.
comes Inconsistent Herewith, 1t is
necessary to invoke the aid of the gov.
ernment. There are points in which
This governmental aid can best
be rendered by the states, that is,
where the exercise of states rights
helps to secure popular rights; and as
to these ! believe in states rights
But there are large classes of cases
where only the authority of the ma.
tional government will secure the
rights of the people; and where this
is the case / am convinced and
thorough-going believer In the rights
OF the national government. Big bust.
ness. for instance, is no longer an af-
fair OF any one state; big business has
become nationalized, and the only
effective way of controlling and di-
recting 1t, and preventing abuses in
connection with it, is by having the
people nationalize this control in or
der to prevent their being exploited
by the individuals who have national.
lied the business. All commerce on
scale sufficiently large to warrant
any control over 1t by the govern.
ment is nowadays interstate or for
eign commerce; and until this fact is
heartily acknowledged and acted upon
by both courts and legislative bodies,
national and state alike, the interest
of the people will suffer.
In the matter of conservation,
heartily approve of state action where
under our form of government the
state only, has the power to act.
cordially Join with those who desire
10 see the state, within its own
sphere, take the most advanced posi-.
tim in rapnrd IN tho uthala r,aftnr NJ