i8 



CONSERVATION 



and hazardous materials and condi- 

 tions, and in the enforcement of these 

 regulations. The difference in the 

 ideas of thrift; in the view of responsi- 

 bility to neighbors ; in the perception 

 of the real meaning of fire loss or 

 waste, are the causes of the larger 

 numbers of fires per capita in the United 

 States, and, perhaps, of the larger loss 

 per capita. 



The organization of which Mr. 

 Damon is vice-president, he said, be- 

 lieves that the present staggering fire 

 waste in this country is a wholly un- 

 necessary National calamity and that 

 to reduce it, it is essential, first, that 

 the public be brought to understand 

 that property destroyed by fire is gone 

 forever and is not replaced by the dis- 

 tribution of insurance, which is merely 

 a tax collected for the purpose; sec- 

 ond, that the States severally adopt 

 and enforce a uniform building code 

 which shall require a high type of safe 

 construction, essentially following the 

 code of the National Board of Fire 

 Underwriters ; third, the adoption by 

 municipalities of rigid ordinances gov- 



erning the storage and handling of 

 explosives and inflammable materials ; 

 fourth, the establishment by the States 

 of the office of Fire Marshal, such Fire 

 Marshal to have the authority to exam- 

 ine under oath and to make arrests ; 

 fifth, that all cities maintain a paid, 

 well disciplined, adequately equipped 

 and non-political fire department ; and, 

 sixth, that in all cities an adequate wa- 

 ter system, with proper distribution 

 and pressure, be installed and main- 

 tained, larger cities to have separate 

 high-pressure systems. All these mat- 

 ters appear to be within the province 

 of State legislation, rather than Na- 

 tional ; but, said Mr. Damon, the adop- 

 tion by the States, and the subsequent 

 rigid enforcement, of uniform laws on 

 these subjects will go a great way to- 

 ward ending the Nation's horrifying 

 annual fire loss, which is a National 

 disgrace. 



Following the remarks of Mr. Da- 

 mon, Hon. Thomas F. Walsh, of Wash- 

 ington and Colorado, read an address 

 dealing with conditions affecting min- 

 ing and minerals. 



ADDRESS OF MR. THOMAS F, WALSH 



THE object which calls you together — the 

 conserving of our natural resources — is 

 a question which deeply affects our Na- 

 tion's future. It is the part of wisdom, for 

 nations as well as individuals, to pause and 

 look the field over — take stock, so to speak — 

 and try to see whither we are drifting. This 

 is not only wise as regards our natural 

 resources, but is equally so of all other chan- 

 nels through which wealth is created, and 

 even more so in the sphere of ethics. Thanks 

 to a beneficent Providence, no nation has 

 ever made more rapid progress in the crea- 

 tion of weajth, and what is of greater im- 

 portance, in the uplifting and bettering of 

 humanity, than the one to which we owe 

 loving allegiance. 



In developing and creating our great 

 wealth, it became necessary to call freely 

 upon our natural resources. Prodigal waste 

 went hand in hand with use until their 

 consumption and destruction — for it is a sad 

 fact that we destroy more than we use — 

 became great. Sounding the alarm and sub- 

 mitting the question, to an intelligent and 

 truly representative body like yours, of how 

 to stop waste and conserve these natural 

 resources, was one of the wisest of President 

 Roosevelt's many -wise acts. 



In reviewing the past we must not forget 

 that conditions have materially changed. 

 Much that we condemn to-day was regarded 

 as lawful and right — of sheer necessity — in 

 years past. As an illustration, take the con- 

 sumption of timber. The West never could 

 have been settled without railroads. When 

 these railroads were projected they were 

 looked upon as hazardous ventures, and 

 proved so for their promoters in many cases. 

 In the early days of railroad building, the 

 Government gave help in many ways, per- 

 mitting the use of timber and ties from the 

 forests in their construction. But the end 

 surely justified the means. 



The same wise course was followed by the 

 Government in the field of mining. I re- 

 member being in Leadville during the winter 

 of 1878-79. The rush to that great camp 

 had commenced. The population increased 

 almost over night from a few hundreds to 

 many thousands. The winter was unusually 

 severe, and as most of the population lived 

 in tents, the death rate from exposure and 

 pneumonia was something appalling. The 

 rush continued until the population increased 

 to 30,000. Shelter had to be provided for 

 this great army of human beings. The mag- 

 nificent forests that spread for miles in every 



