Valdez daily prospector., 1912-02-29

to glOat over his handiWOrk of empty houses, deserted villages, dying towns, arrested develoD- ment, bankrupt pioneers, and the blasted hopes of sturdy, sclf-rc- liant American citizens, it is a striking comment on the law abiding character of our people that he came back at all.
 It is time to ask ourselves the question:: Has the policy pur- sued by the government of the United States in the development of our western territory been a mistake? 1, for one, emphatical- ly deny that it has. Within two generations a vast wilderness has been subdued and populated by the freest and most intelligent people on the face of. the earth, among whom the things that ntake life worth living are more widely distributed than. among any other of the sons of men. There may hav" been some incidental rrr"rs. but ill the main the policy has been sound. statcsmanlikr, and honest. BrSidrs these errors Inc creation of vast forest re- s"rvrS was such an act of mnnu- mental folly that they pale into insi"nilicanrc by comparison.
 We have in Ihis world examples of people who carry into practice i the theories of Inc Inciriuairr c"nSrrvationist.
 1 In equatorial Africa live one hundred and sixty million grad uair Ethiopian conSrrvaIiOn iOniStS |. Their resources arc inc same as when imperial Carthage was ground loIlusl under the iron heel "f the Roman republic. Their re- sources are as unimpairrd as when Caesar rode at the head of his cOnqurring lcGiOnS. They haven't SrhnnIhousr. church, or a printing press. Their noun iainS have not been drnudrd by pulp plants. Their trees have not been ruthlrssly slaughtered to be manufactured into baby grand pianos. A lomtOm made of the skin of monkey stretched over the ribs of a drfunri giraffe fur nlshrS all inc music necessary tO s"oihr Inc savage breast. The h"a-rnnsIriclurS still chase the habnnnS through the bushes that il" smoke nf smrllrrS has not been allowed to kill.
 ThrS" people live in one grand forest reserve. the guardians of which are not a horde of lax-rat - ing fnr"Sl rangers, but induSlri- otIS dcnlZrnS of Ihr jungle, WhC ar" srlr-r"liani io pick up every m"rning a club and kill d snake for breakfast.
 Their contributions lo ciyiliZ- alrnn and progress have hrrn tmn>r twin blessings, slavery and raTnabalism.
 But they are conserving their resources. Each and every on, "f these SrnrEambian gentlemen Is entitled to receive from Gif- lords correspondence school tho degree of "DnctOr of Conserva tiinn."
 As lovers of ari travel half wa, around the world iO look al q beautiful painting or statue, il seems as though Mr. Pinchot should hic himself lo Africa ant gaze upon that scene of commun- ism, cannibalism and cOnscrya- ton for the remainder of his days.
 We as practical men know tha, the mere possession of undevcl- oped resources does not make { nation rsch or it's people prosper. ous, that only those nations Una, use the resources placed within their reach by bcnefccnt Provi- drnc" progress and contribute it 1 tn" wcil-bcing of humanity.
 This luck-up, tic-up, botllr-ur communicate policy has gone rar .cnOugh.
 This nation has been made great and prosperous by the in- Itiativc and enterprise of the in- dividual.
 The tremendous risk lu health limb, life, and capital incidental to the development of q country like Alaska made it inc least promising Held for communicate experiments.
 We are all Americans; all one