Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul Part 49

_No. 2--Coal and fuel-oil resources_

_a_--Extent of existing supplies, considered in connection with consumption

_b_--Extent of waste in production

_c_--Economic consumption, giving consideration to practical use of by-products

_No. 3--Iron and steel resources_

_a_--Supplies of raw material, considered in connection with consumption

_b_--Waste in production

_c_--Best methods of protecting finished products from destructive influences

The Committee will continue on the lines of investigation as shown, and holds itself in readiness to cooperate with the National Conservation Commission and its kindred and subsidiary organizations, as well as other National societies, for the furtherance of the great principles of Conservation of the Nation's resources.

The Committee:

A. S. BALDWIN, Chief Engineer Illinois Central R. R. Co. (_Chairman_) MOSES BURPEE, Chief Engineer Bangor and Aroostook Railroad W. A. BOSTWICK, Metallurgical Engineer Carnegie Steel Company E. F. BUSTEED, General Superintendent Canadian Pacific Railway E. B. CUSHING, Southern Pacific Company E. O. FAULKNER, Manager Tie and Timber Department, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe System W. F. H. FINKE, Tie and Timber Agent Southern Railway J. W. KENDRICK, Vice-President Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe System A. L. KUEHN, General Superintendent American Creosoting Company G. A. MOUNTAIN, Chief Engineer Canadian Railway Commission WM. MCNAB, Princ.i.p.al a.s.st. Engineer Grand Trunk Railway C. L. RANSOM, Resident Engineer Chicago and Northwestern Railway

[Signed] A. S. BALDWIN _Chairman_

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN RAILWAY MASTER MECHANICS' a.s.sOCIATION

In behalf of the American Railway Master Mechanics' a.s.sociation I wish to thank the officers of the National Conservation Congress for the courtesy shown our a.s.sociation by inviting our President, Mr C. E.

Fuller, to attend this Congress. Mr Fuller was unable to be present, and it was therefore my good fortune, as First Vice-President, to take his place.

As you no doubt are aware, the membership of the A. R. M. M. a.s.so. is composed of the heads of the mechanical departments of practically every railroad in the United States and a large number from Canada, and all of us are heartily in sympathy with the Conservation movement that has had such wonderful growth during the five years it has been before the public. The enormous amount of lumber, coal, etc., that is used by the railways makes it imperative for them to use it as economically as possible, and great efforts are being made, by education, to use a pound or a ton of coal so that the greatest efficiency may be obtained therefrom. During the calendar year ending December 30, 1909, the company I am connected with used 4,193,617 tons of coal in its locomotives and power plants; we have a large force of instructors, including master mechanics, road foremen of engines, and traveling firemen who are continually riding the engines and giving the enginemen the benefit of their experience in the proper method of handling the locomotive so that steam will not be wasted, and that only the proper amount of coal will be shovelled into the firebox to produce the desired results. The use of feed-water heaters, superheaters, and compound locomotives has been hastened by the desire to get as much use out of the heat in the coal as possible; the feed-water heater and superheater promising the best field for economy in locomotive practice. The lignite fields of Wyoming are being opened by using this kind of coal in locomotives that have been specially designed to burn it. Heretofore it was necessary to haul coal from southern Iowa to Wyoming, a distance of about 800 miles, which was a very wasteful operation; a good deal of this will be dispensed with by using lignite coal in the territory near which it is mined. So that a comparatively poor grade of coal can be made better, a washery, with a capacity of about 1800 tons per day has been erected and put in operation, which washes out a large percentage of the slate and other impurities in the coal; this means that a ton of washed coal has a greater heat value than the same amount of unwashed coal would have.

The question of conserving the life of the ties used has had due consideration, and a treating plant has been in use for nearly six years which is expected to increase, by treatment, the life of ties about 40 percent, besides enabling us to use an inferior kind of timber as ties, that before was considered impractical; the importance of thus prolonging the life of ties will be appreciated when I say that for the calendar year ending December 30, 1909, we used 2,996,957 ties. Other wood was used in the same period as follows: piles, 83,201; posts, 382,556; lumber, 56,172,000 board feet. It therefore makes it very necessary on account of the constantly increasing price of lumber to reduce the amount used and wasted. The use of concrete has enabled us to make things of that material, which a few years ago would have seemed impossible; floors in roundhouses and shops, which rapidly deteriorate (when made of wood), on account of moisture, are now made of concrete, which stands up admirably in that service.

We are enormous consumers of oil, and the same care is exercised in its use as with coal and lumber--in fact, under present conditions, it is absolutely necessary that the greatest economy be inst.i.tuted in the use of all kinds of material as a matter of self-preservation.

During the time I have spent at your meetings, it has been quite a revelation to notice the intense interest that has been manifested by everybody on the subject of Conservation; and as the representative of the American Railway Master Mechanics' a.s.sociation I wish to a.s.sure you of our heartiest cooperation in the work. Again I thank you for the opportunity of being present.

[Signed] H. T. BENTLEY _First Vice-President_

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN SCENIC AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY

The suggestions of the Committee of this Society appointed to cooperate with the National Conservation a.s.sociation must naturally be determined by the objects for which the Society exists. It is the aim of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to protect the interesting features of the natural landscape, to save from obliteration all historic places and objects, to erect suitable historical memorials where they are needed, to promote the beautification of cities and villages, and otherwise to develop in the people a regard for the beautiful in nature and for the historic in human inst.i.tutions, cultivating this general field by means of free lectures, literature, prize compet.i.tions, correspondence, and other educational means as well as by using influence to have places and scenery preserved as parks and reservations. The interest of this Society, therefore, lies not so much in the fields of economic production as in the less definite regions of historic appreciation and artistic sensitiveness to surroundings. The report of its Committee on Conservation will naturally not deal with the direct economic questions with which most other cooperating societies and organizations would naturally be concerned.

The Committee desires first to express its appreciation of the work of the National Conservation a.s.sociation and to pledge itself to cooperate with that a.s.sociation in the furthering of its work. The Committee holds itself in readiness to cooperate in the enterprises originating from the National Conservation Congress and the National Conservation a.s.sociation so far as they are within the proper province of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. The Committee feels that the establishing of the National Conservation Commission, and its successor, the National Conservation a.s.sociation, marks a distinct advance in utilizing for the good of all the people the resources which really belong to all the people, and which should be used for their welfare, rather than exploited for the interest and gain of a few persons or wasted and despoiled by the thoughtlessness of the people themselves.

The Committee holds that all natural resources should be protected and utilized in a scientific and unselfish way, and that the heritage of the earth should be pa.s.sed over to our descendants with the least possible loss consistent with wise use in the present generation. Its special interest in the question, however, lies in the belief that all this effort should harmonize with the preservation of the beauty of the natural landscape and with the Conservation of all places and scenes of historic interest.

It is too little appreciated that every natural object makes a two-fold appeal to the human mind: its appeal in the terms of its physical or material uses, and its appeal to our sense of beauty and of personal satisfaction. As the people progresses in civilization, the public mind becomes constantly more sensitive to the conditions in which we live, and the appeal to the spiritual satisfaction of life constantly becomes stronger. It is, therefore, of the very first importance that whatever is done by the National Conservation a.s.sociation shall be executed in the feeling that not only shall the physical needs of life be met, but that the earth will constantly be made a more satisfactory place in which to live, and that the lessons of history must exercise an increasing influence.

It is important that we not only save our forests in order that they may yield timber and conserve our water supplies, but also that they may adorn and dominate the landscape and contribute to the meaning of scenery. It is important that our coal supplies be not only conserved for their use in manufacture and the arts, but also that smoke does not vitiate the atmosphere and render it unhealthful, and discolor the objects in the landscape. It is of the greatest importance that water supplies be conserved by storage reservoirs and other means, but this Conservation should be accomplished in such a way as not to menace health or offend the eye or destroy the beauty of contiguous landscape; the impounding of waters without regard to preserving natural water-falls, streams, and other scenery, is a mark of a commercial and selfish age, and is a procedure that cannot be tolerated in a highly developed society. It is important that regulations be enacted regarding the operation of steam roads through wooded districts not only that the timber may be saved, but also that the natural beauty of the landscape may be protected from fire and other forms of destruction. The fertility of the soil must be saved not only that products may be raised with which to feed and clothe the people, but also that the beauty of thrifty and productive farms may be saved to the landscape. The property-right in natural scenery is an a.s.set to the people, and the best Conservation of natural resources is impossible until this fact is recognized.

On this point we call attention to the following paragraph in the report of the Commission on Country Life: "In estimating our natural resources, we must not forget the value of scenery. This is a distinct a.s.set, and it will be more recognized as time goes on. It will be impossible to develop a satisfactory country life without conserving all the beauty of landscape and developing the people to the point of appreciating it. In parts of the East a regular system of parking the open country of the entire State is already begun, constructing the roads, preserving the natural features, and developing the latent beauty in such a way that the whole country becomes part of one continuing landscape treatment.

This in no way interferes with the agricultural utilization of the land, but rather increases it. The scenery is, in fact, capitalized, so that it adds to the property values and contributes to local patriotism and to the thrift of the commonwealth."

It is especially important, in the opinion of this Committee, that the National Conservation Congress and the National Conservation a.s.sociation lend their influence to the establishment of reserves in all parts of the country for the preservation of natural features of great scenic interest, for the protection of birds, animals, and native plants, and also for the Conservation of the lessons of history. The Committee earnestly requests that in the program of the activities of the National a.s.sociation these questions may be given their due consideration.

_What the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society has Accomplished_

Having now stated its general position and its outlook on the subject of the Conservation of our natural resources, the Committee cites, by way of ill.u.s.tration, a few of the things that the Society has accomplished.

The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society is the medium through which Honorable Wm. Pryor Letchworth, of Portage, gave to the State of New York a superb tract of 1000 acres of land embracing the famous Portage Gorge of Genesee River, including the three picturesque Portage Falls. This property, which cost the owner about half a million dollars, will pa.s.s into the official custody of the Society, as Trustees for the State of New York, on Mr Letchworth's decease. Letchworth Park, as it has been named by the Legislature, possesses not only remarkable scenic beauty, but also high scientific and educational value. The geological strata here exposed have given the name to that extensive formation of rocks known as the Portage Group, and the vegetal and bird life of this reservation is remarkably varied and of the greatest interest to students of natural history.

The Society also secured the purchase by the State of New York, and is official custodian of, the famous Watkins Glen at the head of Seneca Lake. This property embraces about 105 acres of land, and includes rock exposures that have received the attention of the United States Geological Survey and prominent geologists for many years. It presents one of the most remarkable examples of stream erosion in the eastern States.

Through the intercession of the Society, the State of New York has purchased and committed to the care of the Society 35 acres of land on the promontory of Stony Point on the Hudson River. Here, in addition to an interesting exposure of primitive rocks and varied flora, are the historical a.s.sociations of General Anthony Wayne's exploit during the Revolutionary War, which evoked the admiration of the leading military men of America and Europe. In like manner the State has purchased and committed to the Society's care a small reservation on Oneida Lake embracing the remains of Fort Brewerton.

Ten years ago, Governor Roosevelt requested the Society to represent the State of New York in concerted measures with the State of New Jersey for the Conservation of the Palisades of the Hudson. As the result of this initiative, the State of New York appropriated about $450,000, the State of New Jersey about $50,000, and the Honorary President of this Society, Mr J. P. Morgan, gave $125,000, and today the picturesque cliffs on the western side of the lower Hudson for a distance of thirteen miles have been rescued from defacement and are in the care of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. As a sequence to this work, and a result of the general sentiment developed in favor of scenic and historic preservation, Mrs Edward Harriman recently gave to the State of New York 10,000 acres of land on the western side of the Hudson for a State Park, and she, together with Mr Morgan, Mr John D. Rockefeller, Mrs Sage, and others, have supplemented the gift with over $2,500,000 of money.

Ten years ago, the Society secured legislation by means of which a reservation of 35 acres at the head of Lake George was made by the State, for the purpose of preserving scenery and the ground made historic by events in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars.

The long and difficult campaign for the preservation of Niagara Falls, in which the Society had an honorable part, is familiar to all, and need not be repeated here.

Many other instances could be cited in different parts of the country, some connected directly with the Society's work, and all the result of the general sentiment which has been developed during the past 25 years in favor of conserving natural scenery and creating urban and extra-urban parks for the benefit of mankind. Not the least important of these in their bearing on conditions of life are the city parks. In New York City, for example, the Washington Headquarters Park and Joseph Rodman Drake Park were created at the direct instance of the Society; and the famous Central Park, in the creation of which our late President Andrew H. Green, as Controller of the Park, was an important factor, has been protected against invasion by race tracks and many other artificial encroachments by the vigilance of the Society. Among the gifts of city parks by private individuals stimulated by the sentiment created by the Society's work may be cited a series of parks embracing about 500 acres and costing with their improvements a quarter of a million dollars or more presented in 1907 to the city of Utica by Mr Thomas R. Proctor, a Trustee of the Society. In 1909, another member of the Society, Mr Henry H. Loomis, gave to the city of Geneva (New York) about 26 acres of woodland for a city park. In Jamestown (New York) a park system has been developed largely under the influence of a Trustee of this Society. In Colorado Springs, within two years, there have been two remarkable expressions of this general sentiment which has now become so general that no one Society can claim direct connection with its results. We refer to the series of completed parks, boulevards, and paths, embracing over 1500 acres of superb scenery, given to that city by General W. J.

Palmer; and the gift of the famous Garden of the G.o.ds to the same city by the heirs of the late Charles W. Perkins, of Iowa. These two gifts have placed Colorado Springs in possession of what is probably the most remarkable series of city parks of the kind in the United States. The sentiment created by this Society has also expressed itself in the beautifying of many cities by the improvement of open s.p.a.ces, public greens, and church yards, and by the erection of monuments and drinking fountains.

Of State parks as distinguished from city parks, those which have received the most attention from this Society, outside of the five reservations under its immediate control and the Palisades Interstate Park, have been the State Park at Niagara Falls and the Adirondack State Park. The State Reservation at Niagara Falls, comprising 112 acres of land and 300 acres of land under water, and including the American Fall and half of the Canadian Fall, was created in 1885; and it was partly on account of the lessons taught by that reservation that the President of the Niagara Commission, the late Honorable Andrew H. Green, ten years later founded the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. In the long campaign for the protection of Niagara Falls from the inordinate diversion of their waters and the disfigurement of their environment the Society has taken a leading part. The Adirondack Park now comprises over 1,500,000 acres. Here, also, it has been necessary to maintain a constant campaign to protect the forests from destruction by fire, artificial flooding, and the illicit removal of timber.

In the far Southwest the efforts of the Society have been directed chiefly to the extension of the Grand Canyon preserve, and the protection of the Hetchhetchy valley--a part of Yosemite National Park--from what we believe to be an unnecessary project for flooding a part of the National Park for the purpose of supplying water to San Francisco.

In conclusion, we may say of the movement at large for the preservation of remarkable works of nature for the instruction and enjoyment of the people, that it is older than the organized movement for the Conservation of the material resources of the country; and if it cannot be said that one is the outgrowth of the other, it is true that both are necessarily closely inter-related and that each should proceed with full regard for the other's welfare.

The Conservation Committee:

L. H. BAILEY (_Chairman_), Ithaca CHARLES M. DOW, Jamestown HENRY E. GREGORY, New York City EDWARD HAGAMAN HALL, L.H.D., New York City SAMUEL V. HOFFMAN, New York City THOMAS P. KINSFORD, Oswego GEO. FREDERICK KUNZ, PH.D., SC.D., New York City WILLIAM P. LETCHWORTH, LL.D., Portage THOMAS R. PROCTOR, Utica COLONEL HENRY W. SACKETT, New York City CHARLES DELAMATER VAIL, L.H.D., Hobart College, Geneva

[Signed] L. H. BAILEY, _Chairman_

REPORT OF THE a.s.sOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ADIRONDACKS

The a.s.sociation for the Protection of the Adirondacks, with headquarters in New York City, was formed ten years ago before the word "Conservation" as now used had acquired its present meaning. In the light of the present use of that word the object of this a.s.sociation might properly be expressed in the t.i.tle "a.s.sociation for the Conservation of the Natural Resources of the Adirondacks."

"The Adirondacks," in a general way, is the term used to describe a region of about 12,500 square miles in northern New York, lying between Lake Champlain on the east, Lake Ontario on the west, Saint Lawrence river on the north, and the Mohawk on the south. In the heart of this region the State has, by statute, delimited an area of about 3,300,000 acres, or 5,156 square miles, under the t.i.tle of the "Adirondack Park."

Within this more restricted area lie the princ.i.p.al mountains and the princ.i.p.al forests of the State. The State owns about one-half of the area of Adirondack Park, and its policy is progressively to acquire the remainder.

The work of the a.s.sociation for the Protection of the Adirondacks for the past decade has been directed toward the preservation of the natural conditions and the material resources of Adirondack Park for the benefit of all the people of the State. During this period, what is now known as the movement for the Conservation of natural resources has developed, although "Conservation" in fact, if not under that name, was well begun in New York State a quarter-century ago when, in 1885, the Legislature established the Forest Preserve.

In the State of New York, the natural resources, as that term is commonly understood, to the conserving of which public attention is now chiefly directed, are the forests and the waters. While the forests lie chiefly in the Adirondacks, the streams and water-power sites lie chiefly outside of Adirondack Park; but in the protection of the Adirondacks is involved the water question as well as the forest question, for three reasons: _First_, because many streams take their rise in the Adirondacks; _second_, because of the intimate relation between the forest covering of water-sheds and stream-flow; and _third_, because there are a few possible reservoir sites situated on State lands in Adirondack Park which are coveted ardently by private interests strongly represented in the State Legislature.