The Yale expositor., 1910-09-09
THEODORE ROOSEVELT ON
OUR NATIONAL EFFICIENCY
In Address Before the Conservation Congress
at ST. Paul He Says New Methods of De-
veloping and Using Natural Resources
of Country Are Needed.

communities of every other kind. are not
beyond Improvement, while much needs
10 be done in some other sections to Inn
prove country life. AS yet we know com
paratively little of the basic facts of rural
civilization. The means for better farm
Ing we have studied with care, but 10 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 Is
that the farmers themselves should un-
dertake to get for themselves better
knowledge along these lines, and then to
apply II. Sir Horace Plunkett, for many
years a Wyoming cattleman. and now de-
voting himself In Ireland 10 the country
life problem there. has suggested In his
recent book on the Country Life Prob
lem in America" the creation of a Coun-
try Life institute as a center where the
work and knowledge of the whole world
concerning country life may be brought
together for the use of every nation.
am strongly in sympathy with this Idea.
and l hope 20 see II carried out with the
cooperation and assistance Of our own
people. Last spring, while visiting the
capital of Hungary. Buda-Pesth. l was
immensely impressed by the Museum OF
Country Life. containing an extraordinary
series OF studies in agriculture, In stock
raising. I'm forestry. in mining; the eN-
portance and were olso intensely inter
csting and instructive.
AS a people we have not yet learned TO
economize One Of the virtues Ameri-
cans most need Is thrift 1t is a mere
truism TO say that luxury ard extrava-
Rancc are not good for a Nation. So far
as they affect character the loss they
cause may be beyond computation. But
I'm tic material sense there Is loss
greater than IS caused by both eXtrava-
gance and luxury put together. I mean
the needless. useless, and excessive loss
10 our people from premature death and
aVoidablc diseases. Wholly apart from
the grief. the suffering. and the wTetched-
ness which they cause. the material loss
each year has been calculated at nearly
twice what IL costs 20 run the Federal
government. In addition to the state and
city health officers and ORGANIZATIONS.
there is urgently needed a Federal bu-
reau Of health, TO act, so far as the Ma
tloral government properly NAV, to re-
lieve our people from this dreadful bur
den.
National Conservation Commission.
One OF tho most important meetings in
our recent history was that OF the gov
crnors in the white house in Nav. 1908,
10 consider the conservation question. BY
the advice uf the governors the meeting
was followed by the appointment of
meeting OF the governors directed the
attention of the country 10 conservation
as NOTHING else could have done, while
the work Of the commission gave the
movement definiteness and supplied II
with n practical program. But at the
moment when the commission was ready
TO begin the campaign for putting its pro-
gram into effect an amendment 10 the
Sundry civil service bill was introduced
by congressman from Minnesota with
the purpose of putting Il stop 10 the work
so admirably begun. Congress rassed the
amendment. It's object was 10 put an
end 20 the work of a number If commits
sions which had been appointed Ivy the
president. and vhOsA contribution 10 the
public welfare hnd been simply incalcu-
liable. Among thssc We're the commission
for reurganizing the business methods 81
the government the public lands COM
mission. the country life commission.
and the National conservation commits
sion itself when I signed the Sundry
civil service hill containing this amend
ment / transmitted with II my last
official act a memorandum declaring that
the amendment was void. because II was
an unconstitutional interference with the
rights of the executive. and that II were
to remain president would pay to 1t no
attention whatever.
The National conservation commission
tEereuDOn became dorm an. ''he suspen-
sicr1- az its work came at most unf6r-
tunatc time. and there was serious dam
ger that the progress already made would
be lost. * this critical moment 'lic NJ
tional conservation association was or
ganiZed Ii took UP .he work which 9th
erwsse would not have been done. cnd IL
exercised most usSsIl influence " pre-
venting lad legislation, In secuifcZ the
inlroGuciion Of better conservation meas
ures at 'he past session OF CONGRESS-. ard
in promoting the passage of wise laws II
dascvves tho confidence and sur port of
every citizen Interested in the ~'s1 de-
velop.1ent and preservation of our nat
ural resources. and In preventing them
from rassing into tha hands of uncon-
t~ollcd monopolies. II Joins with ,hc Ma
tirhal conservation congress ir holding
this meeting I am here by tho Joint In
vitation OF both.
Pan-Ameriean Construction.
when the government Of the United
States awoke TO the idea OF conservation
and saw that II was good. II lost no time
in communicating the advantages OF the
new point Of view to its immediate neigh
bors among the nations. A North Ameri-
can conservation conference was held in
Washington. and the cooperation OF
| Canada and Mexico In the great problem
of developing the resources OF the conti-
non. for the benefit OF Its people was
| asked and promised. The nations upon
our orthern and southern boundaries
wisely realized that their opportunity TO
| conserve the natural resources was better
| than ours because with them destruction
and moncpclzation had not gone so far
as they had with us. So u Is with the
| republics of Central and South America.
| Obviously they are the verge OF n
reriod OF great material progress. The
| development CT their natural resources
/ their forests their mines. their water.
and their soils-wil create enormous
wealth. IL is to the mutual interest OF
| the United States and our sister Ameri-
can republics that this development
should be wisely done. Our manufactur-
ing industries offer a market for more
and more OF their natural wealth and
raw material. while they will increasingly
desire to NEE. that demand I'm CONNER
cial exchange. The more we buy from
them. the more we shall sell 20 them
Their prosperity is inseparahly involved
with our own. Thank heaven. we OF this
continent are now beginning 10 realize.
what In the end the whole world will
realize. that normally Il Is n good thing
for nation TO have its reighbor nations
! prosper. We OF the United States are
genuinely and heartily pleased 20 sec
Il