The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-03-03

the electric light made from water power;
his breakfast is cooked on an electric stove
heated by the power of the streams: his
morning newspaper Is printed on a press
moved by electricity from the streeme;
he goes to his office in a trolley cal
moved by electricity from the same
source. The desk upon which he writes
his letters. the merchandise which he
sells. the crops which he raises. will have
been brought to him or will be taken to
market from him in a freight car moved
by electricity. His wife will run her
sewing machine or her churn and factories
will turn their shafts and wheels by the
same power. In every activity Of his life
that man and his family and his neigh
bors will nave to pay toll to those who
have been able to m~onopolize the great
motive power Of electricity made from
water power. If that monopoly is allowed
to become established. Never before in the
history of this or any other free country
has there existed the possibility OF such
intimate daily contact between a monopoly
and the life of the average citizen.
1t has not yet occurred to our people
that this great power should be con-
served for the use of the public. We
have regarded 1t as q thing to be given
away to any man who would talk 1t. We
have carried Owe our point OF view, de-
rived from the early conditions, when 1t
was a godsend to have a man come into
the country to develop power, and we
were willing to give him anything to IN
duce him to come. We have carried over
that point Of view into a time the dread
Of a monopoly OF this kind ought to be
in the mind Of h average man every
where. That Is an instance OF a resource
neglected from the nO{nf nf viov nf tho
public.
But this is a time to consider not one
sourc but all resources together. Al
ready here and there small associations Of
citizens have become possessed of certain
facts. and have begun to work at GER
tain sides Of what is fundamentally one
great problem. We ave a drainage ASSOC
citation. whose object is to make habitable
millions upon millions of acres now lying
waste in swamps all over the country. but
capable OF supporting millions of people in
comfort. We have forestry associations,
waterway associations. irrigation associa-
lions. associations OF many kinds touch
ing this problem OF conservation at differ
ent points, each e~ndeavoring to benefit the
common veal along its own line, but each
interested only In its own particular piece
of the work n that it is at
lacking he outside, not the heart, Of the
problem.
Now a greater work appears. Since this
problem Of the conservation Of natural
resources Is a single question. each OF
these various bodies hat have been work
ing at different phases Of it must come
together on q common platform. BY the
Joining of these units we shall have a
mass OF intelligent, interested. public
spirited citizens anxious to adopt q new
point Of view about this country OF ours.
THAT ia tho rsVv ne The -h4lA ~oo<tnr-
a new point Of view about our country.
We have been so busy getting rich. de-
veloptng, and growing, so proud Of our
growth. that we have let things go on
until some intolerable abuse has COM
PEELED immediate action to cut it off. It
Is time that we put an end to this kind
OF opportunism, of mere drifting. We must
take the point of view taken by the aver
age prudent business man, or man In any
walk Of life who has property and is in
terested in it. What the average man
does in his own affairs is to foresee trou-
bic and avoid 1t II he can. What this
nation of ours is doing in this funda-
mental matter of natural IL to
run right up against the trouble and make
that trouble inevitable before taking any
step to head it off. But it should not take
long to reach the stage where we shall
deliberately plan to avoid the difficulties
which can be foreseeu. II we san bring
together all who have already begun to
concern themselves with n or another
aspect Of the conservation problem.
Critical Points.
This nation has, on the continent of
North America. three and a half million
miles. What shall we dc with 1t?
How can We make ourselves and our chill
dren happiest. most vigorous and efficient,
n our civilization the highest and most
influential, as we use that splendid heri-
tage? Shall not the nation undertake to
answer that question in the spirit Of Wis
dom, prudence and foresight? There ID
reason to think we are on the verge of
doing his very thing. We are on the
verge Of saying to ourselves, let us do
the best we can with our natural re-
sources; let US find out what we have,
and how they can best be used, how they
can best be conserved. Above all, let us
w clearly in mind the great and funda-
mental fact hat this nation will not end in
the year 1880. or 100 years after that, or 500
years after that; that we are just begin
ming a national history the end Of which
we cannot see, since we are still young. In
truth, we are at a critical point in that
history. As President Roosevelt has said,
we are at the turning Of the ways. We
may pass on along the line we have been
following, exhaust our natural resources
continue to let the future take care OF
itself; or we may do the simple. obvious
common-sense thing in the interest Of the
nation. Just as each Of US does in his OWE
personal affairs.