Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul Part 36

PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF CONSERVATION

A. B. FARQUHAR

_Executive Committeeman National Conservation Congress_

In the forum of argument the Cause of Conservation, as a general principle and in every detailed application, has already won. When taken on its own merits, hardly a voice is now raised in opposition. Yet it has still its enemies, none the less pertinacious or dangerous that their antagonism is based not on public but on private interest--enemies who are carrying on a bitter contest by indirect methods, and clouding the issue by starting side questions. We have all heard of the medical pract.i.tioner who covered his general ignorance of pathology by the device of inducing fits, which were his specialty. So, when anybody finds the Conservation policy an obstacle to his pecuniary interest, it is an easy expedient to cover his inability to overthrow or confute that policy on point of principle by a display of his skill in exposing real or fancied weaknesses on irrelevant points.

Instances of this effort to secure an advantage by an adroit befogging of the question will occur to everyone who has followed the discussion of our subject. Some of these have been so often exposed that it would be only wearisome to allude again to them, were it not for the importance of being on guard at all times on all points against the crafty contrivings of the enemy.

Let us first consider the confusion of Conservation with hostility to corporations; of encouragement to enterprise, with license to destruction of natural resources. It is true that we have heard and read some vigorous protests recently against grants of timber and water-rights to certain business corporations, whose profits would be sharply curtailed by preventing or limiting their free use of the country's forest and river wealth. Perhaps those protests were stronger because a combination was to profit by the grants than they would have been had the beneficiaries been dissociated individuals; what is certain is that they were decidedly stronger because of a belief that the concessions were to be granted without exacting for them their full money value. Yet, even allowing that objections founded on the principles of Conservation may have been mixed in this case with objections on other grounds, it is contrary to common-sense to apply to the former the invalidity or the validity that may be discovered in the latter. Arguments for Conservation are no more or less sound because aggregations of capital in large industrial undertakings are dangerous or useful to the public. As Conservationists, we are not concerned either to palliate the frequent dangers or to depreciate the frequent valuable services to the public from such aggregations. But we are concerned to see that the National resources are not squandered for private gain, if our best efforts can prevent it.

Another example of a confusion of the question, or raising a false question, is when a saving of natural resources is identified with locking them up; as though energy conserved were to be understood as energy neutralized. Quite the contrary: Conservation means so treating our resources as to get the most we can from them. In the case of our forest wealth, as of any other in which there is growth and decay, a judicious degree of consumption of the product is a necessity. After the period of most rapid development has been succeeded by a slower rate of increase, approaching that when losses by accident and by interior degeneration are barely made up by the growing season, there is obviously a gain in removing the tree and leaving its place to be filled by something that will continue to grow. In a properly conserved forest no tree is left standing until attacked by decay, but each is cut when its value is greatest, so that the best management is recognized not so much by the largest amount of standing timber as by the largest yearly gross increase in growth of timber. It is somewhat similar with water-power. "The mill never grind with water that is past," so the power has to be used when it is within our grasp, or be lost.

Conservation of water-power is maintenance of the amount of such power that so appears, and disappears. It is for use; Conservation for disuse, in this case, becomes an absurdity. Even as to mineral resources, which cannot be replaced when once withdrawn, Conservation calls only for economical use, not for neglect or insufficient use. The argument is that we have quite as good a right to the enjoyment of the gifts of Nature as our successors have, but not a right so much better than theirs as to render a wanton waste of our patrimony justifiable, or even pardonable.

In connection with this same identification of forest Conservation with neglect of the forests, we should consider the hasty tendency shown in some quarters to regard the terrible forest fires of the last few weeks as proof that we are safer without a woodland than with it, and that therefore our policy is at fault. But our policy is care, and not neglect. We would avoid such calamities by preventing them. The recent fires appear to have been due very largely to carelessness, from meal-preparation or from smoking in presence of dry combustible material; and in some instances to actual incendiarism, which was, where it occurred, a crime no less serious than wilful murder. These forests might have been safeguarded by an expenditure of one-tenth the loss by fire, and at no danger to life. Fires from locomotive sparks--a far too frequent nuisance--should no longer be cla.s.sed with unavoidable accidents; for the ma.s.ses of dried gra.s.ses, etc., that make the sparks dangerous could and should be removed from the track vicinity; or the locomotives provided with efficient spark-arresters, or oil used instead of coal. From strictly non-preventable accidents such as lightning, general conflagrations must be exceedingly rare; and thus the cure for the entire evil is within the reach of capable caretakers. Where an efficient forest guard is provided, as experience in European countries and some American States has demonstrated, these disastrous visitations are no longer dreaded. To look on a universal removal of our Nation's tree-wealth as the only remedy, is like the old proposition to drive rats from the granary by burning the barn.

One more ill.u.s.tration will be enough. It is a great advantage to any cause when the opposing advocate can be found in error on any point, no matter how trivial or how far aloof from the essential issue; for then the convenient presumption of "false in one thing, false in all," can be raised, and the weakness of the said cause most effectively disguised.

This expedient is at least as good as the famous rule in pleading: "When you have no case, then abuse the plaintiff's attorney." It is readily possible, I dare say, to show that some of our Conservationist champions may have in a few cases underestimated the life yet remaining to our National resources. Estimate in these matters is necessarily uncertain, few or none of the elements of the calculation being well ascertained.

This is particularly true of our mineral supply. The time when our coal, for example, may be expected to become practically exhausted cannot be set within a hundred years, for we cannot gauge the stock in veins out of sight, nor foresee the rate at which the use of coal will be accelerated. But it would seem sufficient to know that, at the present rate of extraction (the amount mined in 1906, as the figures show, excelled all previous records, and yet the increase in 1907 over 1906 was more than the total annual supply 10 years earlier), no finite quant.i.ty could indefinitely survive; hence more attention must be paid to avoiding the present lavish waste in mining, as well as applying water-power and wind-power wherever adapted to do the work now done by burning coal. These economies should be introduced now from choice, not left till the disappearance of our fuel-supply drives us to them by force. It is a wretched business to allow our boast that "The country's coal supply is good for many hundreds of years yet" to uphold us in the reckless waste we now make of it.

But I attempted to cover the whole field of Conservation in an address at our first Congress, and will not repeat but, in conclusion, will touch upon that form of Conservation which all will concede to be of supreme importance--the Conservation of the most precious a.s.set of the State: its men, women, and children. If the life and health of citizens is sacrificed, by vicious measures or by simple neglect, no saving of any other of our possessions will at all avail us. The importance of efforts, on a National scale, for the maintenance of public health has been proved by ample experience, and we should see to the continuance, and especially to the proper organization, of such efforts. An important step in that direction is the proposed formation of a Department of Health under the Federal Government, as contemplated in the bill so ably championed by Senator Owen at the last session of Congress. Our race is a prey to epidemics which extend far beyond State boundaries, arising from causes that often require long-continued and expensive investigations for their determination and their counteraction; and it is obvious that any effectual work against them must be under charge of the General Government. The clear and cogent reasons for this view have again and again been given by sanitary experts, and it is needless to repeat them. The matter is of sufficient importance to call for action from our Congress, and a resolution favoring a Department of Health, at the National Capital ought surely to meet with no opposition. I would propose the following resolutions:

_Resolved_, That this Congress declares its hearty approval of the opinion made public last week by our honored Chief Executive, President Taft, that his party and his Administration are pledged "to make better provisions for securing the health of the Nation. The most tangible and useful form that this can take would be the establishment of a National Bureau of Health, to include all the health agencies of the Government now distributed in different departments."

_Resolved_, That we accept, in principle, the "Health Department" bill of Senator Owen now pending, and strongly recommend that that measure, suitably amended where necessary, be enacted into law.

_Resolved_, That our Secretary be directed to communicate a resolution advocating a Department of Health to the members of the National Senate and House of Representatives, and that our own membership be urged to use all their individual influence to aid the pa.s.sage of the measure hereby recommended.

REPORT FROM ARKANSAS

SID B. REDDING

_Secretary Arkansas Conservation Commission_

Progress has been made in the Conservation movement in Arkansas through the recent organization of the Arkansas Conservation Commission. Up to this time we have had no legislation along Conservation lines, and our Conservation Commission is one whose members serve without compensation.

The Commission was appointed by our present Governor, and its officers are George W. Donaghey, _Chairman_, and Sid B. Redding, _Secretary_. The Commission has effected a permanent organization, and its membership includes some of the leading business and professional men of our State.

The Arkansas Legislature will convene in January, 1911, and at that time Governor Donaghey will perhaps recommend legislation covering a fixed Conservation policy for our State.

REPORT FROM COLORADO

FRANK C. GOUDY

_President Colorado Conservation Commission_

The Colorado Conservation Commission is composed of thirty-six members appointed by the Governor of the State February 17, 1909, with Mr Frank C. Goudy designated as Chairman. The Commission met on call to organize March 11, 1909, at which time Mr Goudy, the Chairman, was elected President of the Commission for the ensuing year, and the following subjects were fixed upon as embracing the general scope of Conservation in Colorado, viz: Lands, Waters, Minerals, Forestry, and Natural History. Standing Committees were appointed and put in charge of these five divisions of labor.

The organization is composed of men holding all shades of opinion concerning Conservation. Some think the Federal Government should turn over to the State all the public domain within its borders, together with its natural resources of every kind; that the State should own and control the public land and all it contains. Others hold that these transfers from the Federal Government to the State should be made, but that they should be subject to conditions to be named in the grant, providing adequate protection against monopoly and other objectionable control. Still others believe there should be cooperation with the General Government, at least until such laws are enacted as will a.s.sist in the work of Conservation and until the State is better prepared, financially, to meet the expense necessarily attending such a work.

There are many others who believe in the continued Federal control of the public domain and its resources.

Including the first meeting, five sessions have been held, each occupying two days. In connection with the several sessions already held, considerable labor has been performed. Many papers have been read, numerous addresses have been delivered, and the Standing Committees have made sundry carefully prepared reports. Of the papers read, more than half have been given by persons not members of the Commission, not for lack of readiness on the part of our own people, but to divide this feature of the work with the public at large. It has never been difficult to secure speakers either inside or outside of the Commission.

The Commission itself is composed of a body of more than ordinary intelligence. The Annual Meeting was marked with a banquet to emphasize the pa.s.sing of the year. The last meeting, April 18-19, 1910, was devoted entirely to the subject of the water-power resources of the State. Numerous letters from men prominent at Washington were received and read, and five papers were given by persons interested in the subject. All phases of the question were presented, and the most mature thought of the present time was elicited.

One of the duties of the Secretary of the Commission is to take notice of any unlawful waste or destruction of natural resources and report the same to the proper authorities. This work has been sufficiently pursued to disclose a field calling for special attention--one that calls for legislative recognition, authority, and a.s.sistance.

It may be of interest to the Congress to know something of the resolutions that have been adopted by this Commission. A brief abstract of the elements of a few will suffice to show how the body stands on the subject of Conservation.

1--A hearty endors.e.m.e.nt of the general policy of the Government in control and conservation of the resources of the Nation.

2--Hearty cooperation between the State and Nation in Conservation.

3--That all plans of Conservation should safeguard against monopoly.

4--That in disposing of water-power sites, all franchises should be limited to a reasonable period to prevent monopoly and regulate charges.

5--That in taxing forested lands, no account should be taken of the timber until it is cut and sold.

6--That all afforested lands over one acre and not over ten acres on a tract of 160 acres should be exempt from taxation for a period of ten years.

7--That the State, by proper laws and reasonable appropriations, should cooperate with the General Government in the protection of the forests within the State from fire and lawless depredations of every kind.

Among other things, a committee has been appointed to prepare and submit to the next meeting a brief and clear statement, for general circulation, as to what Conservation is and what it is not; what it stands for, and what it seeks to do. The purpose is to clear away the haze of misunderstanding and misapprehension in the public mind concerning it.

The Commission is about to publish a full report of its proceedings, covering the five sessions already held.

In closing this statement, it may not be out of place to say that nature has been lavish of resources in our State--they are many and abundant, but in a certain measure undeveloped, and, so far, we have had no leisure to take up matters not directly and specifically local to Colorado, except in cases where they are necessarily general.

REPORT FROM FLORIDA

CROMWELL GIBBONS

_Florida Conservation Commission_

The spirit of Conservation prevaileth everywhere in these modern times, and for the reason that during the past several years vicious attacks have been made upon the National resources throughout the length and breadth of our land, and to such a marvelous extent that our whole people have awakened to the fact that something must be done and at once if we wish to preserve our general resources sufficiently to care for those we expect to come after us, and who are dependent on our country for an honest and successful living. We have been greedy and selfish in the past, and now is the time for us to curb this vicious appet.i.te and think of those who are to come hereafter. Modern times have come to stay, but the spirit of Conservation will grow until we have accomplished the grand results of providing proper protection to our forests, mineral wealth, lands, water-power and waterways, and last but not the least our various climates that G.o.d Almighty has given us to conserve the health of our people.

Much is said as to the methods to be adopted and what necessary legislation should take place to obtain actual results of Conservation.

The idea of giving absolute control over the forests, the inland waterways, and the public lands confined within the States to the National Government is repugnant to me and I believe to all of the people of my State. It has too much the tinge of centralization of power in the Federal Government, and we have had enough of this already. The notion that giving the States power and control is in favor of the special interests is ridiculous when we look back and know what has already been done by the Federal Government giving away some of its most valuable resources to the trust-monopoly corporations of the country, and we view in comparison what the States have done where they have controlled many of these resources. I have but to call your attention to what we are doing in Florida and have done the past several years in the way of Conservation. We realized some years ago that our public lands were fast being absorbed by the railways operating in our State, and that the time would soon be at hand when our people would be unable to secure homesteads, and immigration to our great State would be unable to place that energy with the soil of our State and bring about the development of resources we were ent.i.tled to through the natural course of developments. We had within our borders a vast empire of land, over 4,000,000 acres of fertile land known as the Everglades, all of which was looked upon by the land grabbers as not worth 15 cents an acre; but greatly to his credit, to Governor Napoleon B. Broward, now our nominee for United States Senator, is due the reclamation of this property and a saving to the State of lands now valued at over $35,000,000. Against great political odds and vigorous contests, the policies of Governor Broward were endorsed; and after much litigation through the State and Federal courts we have been able to conserve this vast area of land by drainage under State supervision and at the expense of the State. The policy was greatly doubted, but it has proven a grand success in that the State, securing t.i.tle to these lands, successfully sold half of the same at a price sufficient to build the necessary dredges and pay for the work of the draining of the entire tract of property by carrying the surplus waters from Lake Okeechobee through the trunk ca.n.a.ls to the waters of the Gulf and to Atlantic Ocean. The work that is now going on has accomplished over 100 miles of main ca.n.a.ls with locks to preserve sufficient water for the purpose of irrigation in dry spells. When the work is completed, which will be inside of three years, the State will have provided over 275 miles of ca.n.a.ls with the lateral ca.n.a.ls approaching the properties of the various owners, all of which will not only result in giving the necessary drainage and irrigation but will also furnish water transportation to the Gulf and to the inland water route from Key West to Jacksonville (a distance of about 500 miles), as well as deep-sea connections at the various ports along this route. By this State Conservation we are giving to the people one of the richest bodies of fertile lands in the United States, a territory greater than the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, every inch of which will grow either sugar-cane or truck of all kinds through winter and summer. These lands will produce at least three crops a year, and to the industrious citizen who desires to live in a country that will give renewed youth and a climate unexcelled and a living independent of the world. I know of none that can be found better located to give the results than this vast empire known as the Everglades, so promptly conserved by our State Government and our people.

We are also interested in another line of Conservation, and that is the preservation of our pine forests and the prohibiting of the destruction of our sapling trees which have been attacked by those who are greedy for wealth and have no regard for the future. Much will be accomplished in this direction, as our people are absolutely opposed to the complete destruction of the forests, as it will provide no future for our timber markets; and destruction of our pine forests would undoubtedly affect our climate, which by all means should be conserved as well as the timber for the building of our homes of the future.

It may be as well for me to call your special attention to the fact that, in addition to this great work of Conservation I have related in reference to the saving of public land and our efforts in the direction of saving the forests, our State has for several years aided in a public way in the building of the great inland waterway along the Atlantic coast within the State of Florida. These ca.n.a.ls have been made during the past 15 years, until now we have a thorough water route from Saint John's River southward connecting streams and inlets until there has been dug over 300 miles of ca.n.a.l, giving this great waterway and enabling the people along the eastern coast sections a cheap means of transportation to the railway center of the State at Jacksonville.

I think that we have done our part toward Conservation, and all under the jurisdiction and authority of our State. There has been no effort at graft, but all have worked in harmony in the interests of the public welfare, thus demonstrating (so far as Florida is concerned) that she is able to control her own affairs; and all she asks of the National Government is its aid and a.s.sistance.

REPORT FROM IDAHO