Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1910-09-08
TEDDY ROOSEVELT MAKES
INTERESTING SPEECH AT
CONSERVATION CONGRESS

J ing and greedy is to avoid any eff
fective control either by state of by
!. nation; and they advocate at this
; time state control simply because
they believe it to be the least eff
fective. In the great fight of the
people to drive the special interests
from the dominion of our govern
ment, the nation is stronger and its
jurisdiction is more effective than
that of any state. The most effect
i've weapon against these great cor
porations, most of which are fl
nanced and owned on thu Atlantic
coast, will be the federal laws and
the federal executive. That is why
strongly oppose the demand to
turn these matters over to the
states. 1t is fundamentally a de-
mand against the interests of the
plain people, of the people of small
means, against the interests of our
children and our children's children
and it is primarily in the interest
of the great corporations which de-
sire to escape all government con-
troll.
Zone of the difficulties in putting
into practice the conservation idea
is that the field to which it applies
is constantly growing in the public
m hoc eIi rhf oh
to bring before 10O,0O0,0 900 people
a great conception like that of con-
servation, and convince them that
it is right. This much we have ac-
complished. But there remains
much to be cleared up, and many
misunderstanding to be removed.
These Misunderstanding are due In
part at least to direct misrepresent-
alton by the men to whose interest
it is that conservation should not
prosper. For example, we find it
constantly said by men who should
know better, that temporary with
drawals, such as the withdrawal of
coal lands, will permanently check
development. Yet the fact is that
these Withdrawals have no purpose
except to prevent the coal lands
from passing into private ownership
!, until congress can pass laws to open
them to development under condi-
lions just alike to the public and
to the men who will do the develop
ing. If there is delay, the respon-
sibility for it rests, not on the men
who made the Withdrawals to pro-
tect the public interest, but on those
who prevent congress from passing
wise legislation, and so putting an
end to the need for Withdrawals.
Abuses committed in the name
of just cause are familiar to us
all. Many unwise things are done
and many unwise measures are ad-
vocated in the name of conserva-
: ton. either through ignorance, or
by those whose interest lies not in
promoting the movement, but in
retarding it. For example, to stop
water power development by need
less refusal to issue permits for
; water power or private irrigation
; works on the public lands inevita-
bly, leads many men, friendly to con-
servation and believers in it's general
principles, to assume that its prac-
tical application is necessarily
check upon progress. Nothing
could be more mistaken. The idea,
widely circulated of late, that con-
servation means locking up the
natural resources for the exclusive
use of later generations, is wholly
mistaken Our purpose is to make
full use of these resources, but to
, consider our sons and daughters as
| well as ourselves; just as farmer
uses his farm in ways to preserve
, its future usefulness. Conservation
) is the road to national efficiency, and
it stands for ample and wise de-
yelopment.
But in spite of these difficulties.
: NEST Of which are doubtless newt
: able in ANY movement of this kind,
l conservation has made marvellous
: progress. | have been astounded
! and delighted on my return from
} abroad at the progress made while
: was away. We have a right to
S congratulate ourselves. on this mar
r velous progress; but there is no rea-
son for believing that the fight is
: won. In the beginning the special
5 interests, who are our chief oppon-
e ents in the conservation fight, paid
S little heed to the movement, because
D they neither understood it, nor saw
, that II it won they must lose. But
: with the progress of conservation
in the nipdc of an, norrla tbo e,,kt