The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-08-29

Denver. Colo, Aug. 29.-Theodore
Roosevelt delivered the following
speech in thisycity today: ."
This country has shown definite
signs OF waking up TO the absolute
necessity OF handling It's 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. 1t Ia rap.
Idly becoming well-settled policy
of this people that we OF this gon-
eration hold the land In part for the
next generation. and not exclusively
for our own selfish enjoyment Just
as the farmer is.a good citizen if 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 a~Eets which II must
turn over to the next generation In
creased and not impaired In value,
and behaves badly If IL leaves the
land poorer to those who come after
u5.
I'm the second place. the natural
resources must be developed prompt
ly. completely. and in orderly fash
lon II Is not conservation TO leave
the natural resources undoveloped.
Development Is an Indispensable part
of the conservation plan. The for
ests, the mines, the water powers
and the land Itself, must all be put
to use Those who assert that con-
seYauon proposes to tic them up,
deprlvlnG this generation of their
benefits in order 10 hand them on un-
touched 10 the next miss the whole
point of the conservation idea Con-
SeTvaion does not mean dcprlvlnS
the men of today of their natural
rights In the natural resources of the
land. All II means is that we OF this
generation shall so use our rights as
rot to deprive those who come after
us OF their natural rights In their
turn.
Individual Exploitation.
'Tn the third place, so far as pos
siblc these resources must be kept
for the whole people and not handed
over for exploitation to single indi
yiduals We do not intend to dis
courage individual enterprise by un-
wisely diminishing the reward for
that enterprise On the contrary, We
believe that the men OF exceptional
abilities should have exceptional re-
wards up TO point where the reward
becomes disproportionate to the ser
vice, UP TO the point whore the abil-
tiles are used to the detriment of the
people as q whole. We arc for tho
liberty OF the individual up to and
nots beyond tho point where II be-
comes inconsistent with the welfare
OF the community. Thus our con.
sistent aim la 10 favor the actual set
tler-the man who takes as much of
the public domain as he himself can
cultivate. and there makes
permanent homo for his children who
come after him: but we are against
the man. no matter what his ability,
who tries of monOpolize large masses
OF public land.
State and Federal Control
Now, 10 preserve the general wei
fare. TO see to IL that the rights of
the public shall be protected, and the
liberty of the individual secured and
encouraged as long as consistent with
his welfare, and curbed when 1t 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
Of
ment will secure the rights of the
people. and. whore 1t Is tho case,
am a convinced and thorough-going
believer in the rights OF the national
government. Big business. for In
stance, Is no longer an affair of any
one state: big business has become
nationalized and the only effective
way of controlling and directing it.
and preventing abuses in connection
with It, is by having the people ma
tionalize this control In order TO pre-
vent their being exploited by the In
dividualS who have notionalized the
business. All commerce on a scale
sufficiently large to warrant any con-
troll over II by the governmen Is now
adays interstate or foreign commerce.
and until this fact Is heartily acknowl-
edged and acted upon by both courts
and legislatures, national and state
alike. the interest OF the people will
suffer
In the mattor Of conservation,
heartily approve of state action
where, under our form OF government,
the state only has power to act I
cordially join with those who desire to
see the state. within It's own sphere.
take the most advanced position In
regard to the whole matter OF con-
servation. l 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 10 act In the most advanced
and where the nation could
act, | have done all | could to get ma
tional action in the same direction
in the east. we have in
this matter paid the penalty of not
having our forest land under national
control, and the penalty has been Sc
we're. Most of the states-although
they are old states-have not protect
ed their forests, each falling to act
by itself. because the action was
really the common concern of all and
where action is the common concern
of all. experience has shown that 1t
can only be pro1tably undertaken by
the national government,
"As a result OF the impossibility OF
such wise action by the sew
eral state governments in the east.
we are doing our best to get national
legislation under which the national
at the expense Of mil
lions of dollars. shall undertake 10 do