Evening star., 1937-11-02
|CKES STRESSES
USE OF RESOURCES
Cabinet M ber Attacks
Pinchot, Foe of Presidents
Conservation Plan.

The proper development Of our
form of government carries with 1t
the obligation to use natures gifts
prudently so all Of the people may
benefit, Secretary of Interior Ickes
said last night in radio discussion
Of means of conserving natural re-
sources.
Secretary Ickes spoke in the Ma
tional Radio Forum, sponsored by
The Star and delivered over hook
up of the National Broadcasting Co.
A considerable portion of the talk
was devoted to an attack on Clifford
Pinchot. former Governor of Penn
sylvania. who has opposed President
Roosevelt's plan to abolish the De-
partment of the Interior, substitut-
ing therefor Federal Department of
Conservation.
Proposal Not Startling.
Discussing this proposal, Secretary
1ckes said:
May I conclude by saying that
ther. Is nothing startling in the Presi-
dents proposal for a United States
Department of Conservation, in
which there might be concentrated
existing Federal activities for the
prudent use and preservation of our
natural resources.
Some "a States already have con-
servation departments of commits
sions, and their business of govern
ment apparently goes on TRANQUILITY
and efficiently. Once the feud of
over quarter of a century ago,
which is kept alike by such men as
Pinchot, is rightly recognized for the
false obstacle that it is to good gov
ernment and sound sense in handling
our remaining natural assets, the
way will be clearer for beneficial leg
islation.
"Then the horizon of a decent and
comfortable existence in America will
be extended by thousands of years.
And man, who has already conquered
nature, will have conquered himself" {"
Text of Ickes' Address.
The text of Secretary Ickes' address
follows:
TO conquer nature man broke
down the gates of the Garden of
Eden and came forth to meet the
challenge of an unordered world"
These are the words of a former
Secretary of the Interior, the late
Franklin K. Lane.
Ruthlessly man has continued on
his way through the ages. In the
struggle for self-preservation and for
economic security he has conquered
the world beasts and the physical
phenomena of the earth, utilizing its
fora and fauna for food and cloth
ing and shelter and delving under
its crust for minerals to provide
warmth and materials and power for
his machines. As man became bolder
and more experienced he enlarged
his ability to exploit and by travel
and exploration discovered ever new
fields for his enterprise until the
time came when he had conquered
everything but himself
1t was not long after the settle
ment of America before our ancestors
bSsdll W ldNdEC lOiSSbo dllu idIlu
and streams with no thought of the
future. In fact. the principle of con-
serving natural resources was un-
known among these early newcomers,
because there was no occasion for
its exercise. The new Colonies and
subsequently the Federal Government
could offer seemingly inexhaustible
quantities of land amply supplied with
water, minerals, forests and wild life,
which were the basis of the pioneer
economy. Further exploitation of our
natural resources threatens our pres
ent national economy and casts a
heavy cloud upon the future of our
country.
When are we going to constitute
an agency of government which is
willing and able to undertake the
task of checking the prodigal waste