Evening star., 1934-08-20
BY PAUL. JARRETT KELLY.
John Ruskin once wrote this:

John Ruskin once wrote this:
God has lent us the earth for our
life. 1t is a great entail. 1t belongs
as much to those who are to come
after US as to us. and we have no
right, by anything we do or neglect,
| to involve them in any unnecessary
penalties, or to deprive them. OF the
benefit which was in our power to
beQueath."
What have we done about it? Have
we kept the faith?
Looking backward from this vantage
point of 1854 over the past three
decades Of national progress. there Is
major evidence to a verdict of well
done"
1t began perhaps with the national
realization during the era of the 30s
that the interest of the whole was
paramount to the interest of the in
oividual
It began with the realization that
! only through proper, controlled de-
velopment of our national resources
might come a sustained continuance
and progress Of national prosperity, OF
national social. civic, industrial life.
Conservation Begun.
Previous to that time we hadn't
thought much of our resources. They
were here. They seemingly were in
exhauStible We thought only in
terms of quick, immediate manufac-
ture of those products in forms from
which we could obtain quick. imme-
diate sale There was no thought OF
conservation: 1t wasn't considered
necessary
But in the 3Os we began to realize,
for the first time perhaps, that
many of those resources OF ours were
limited: we realized that we had been
wasteful and extravagant in our
stewardship: we realized that 1t Is
twice as easy to destroy as to build.
Perhaps none so fully realized 1t as
the leaders among our private-and
vet. because of their millions OF stock
holders. publicly-owned utilities.
Upon them had depended our cleo
trical progress since the days OF pio-
neering. Upon them was to depend
the achievements of today. as upon
them will depend the similar progress
OF tomorrow.
For while there has been some
governmental development in this in
dustry either Federal. State or mu-
nicipal, it has been small in COM
parison to the vast activity manifested
by our business men in generation
commercial development. history tells
us always has been served best by
commercially minded organizations.
Our present great system of national
electrical highways is an example. 1t
was conceived by engineers whose
experimental work was accomplished
| in laboratories financed by private
! capital: it was developed by privately
owned corporation whose activities
are similar in some respects to the
operations of our telephone and tele-
graph networks.
Regulations EaSed.
And, co-ordinating the resources
productive output. of both privately
and governmentally owned or oper-
ated power plants. 1t has been sue
| ceSsful to a remarkable degree. SO
lIluSIl 81 bAldN many ia lAAN 6ONSAAA-
mental and especially State, regula-
tions and restrictions which at one
| time so hampered and harassed SINH
lar developments have been lifted.
Government supervision, Of course
continues and is made necessary by
the vast ramiflcations of the industry
But it is a more paternal supervision
1 than that of olden days: its purpose
mainly is that of conciliation. for in
any organization composed of a null
titude of smaller elements there is
bound to be friction at one time or
another. The active participation Of
! Government in business. a principle
towards which we at one time seemed
be headed. however. now has given
way to a far more salutatory arrange
ment an amicable cooperation in
which both Government and business
play their respective. predeStined parts
that the public in general might
benefit.
But to 60 back: When we looked
things over and totaled up in those
days of 1924, we were appalled, at our
accounting. Our forests were denuded: !:
our coal lands vanishing. our oil
fields drying up. And. worse. we We're