EDITORIAL 



The Second National Conservation Congress 



THE keynote of the Second National 

 Conservation Congress is the con- 

 structive appHcation of conservation 

 principles to concrete problems. The 

 White House Conference of May, 1908, 

 brought the issue before the coun- 

 try ; it showed the need of action, made 

 a direct appeal to patriotism, and ener- 

 gized the movement. The next landmark 

 was the inventory of natural resources 

 published in the report of the National 

 Conservation Commission. Though nec- 

 essarily incomplete, this was a fully ade- 

 quate presentation of the basic facts and 

 a succinct formulation of cardinal prin- 

 ciples. St. Paul marks the third stage 

 of the advance. The great interests con- 

 cerned with the problems of conserva- 

 tion will be represented there by men 

 who are leaders in the development of 

 natural resources. These men will at- 

 tack actual cases and advance definite 

 recommendations, in the light of their 

 business experience and trained ability. 

 From the program it is^ evident that 

 the several topics are to be handled from 

 the inside. Such men as A. L. Baker 

 and Wallace Simmons of St. Louis, and 

 T. L. Lewis, president of the United 

 Mine Workers of America, will deal 

 with the industrial aspects of conserva- 

 tion. Forestry will be represented by 

 Henry S. Graves, and water power by 

 Herbert Knox Smith. Judge Ben D. 

 Lindsey, of the Denver Juvenile Court, 

 will discuss the conservation of child 

 Hfe. Dr. Francis E. McVey, of the Uni- 

 versity of South Dakota, a noted au- 

 thority, will present a paper on forest 

 taxation, while the discussion of this 

 topic will be conducted by J. B. White, 

 of St. Louis, whose influence in the 



lumber world, and efifective work in in- 

 troducing conservative methods into 

 lumbering, are well recognized. 



A conepicuous place on the program 

 will be occupied by the topic of public 

 land legislation, with special reference 

 to the proper development of such ma- 

 jor resources as minerals and the public 

 range. Another important and practical 

 feature will be the reports of the con- 

 servation committees of the great busi- 

 ness organizations of the country which 

 have been devoting themselves to the 

 mastery of the problems encountered in 

 their respective fields of enterprise. It 

 is expected that these reports will con- 

 tribute much new information, many 

 workable suggestions, and not a few 

 positive results. 



Special interest centers, naturally, 

 about Mr. Pinchot's address on "The 

 Program of Conservation." Those who 

 talk at random against conservation have 

 been asserting that Mr. Pinchot has thus 

 far failed to lay down definite lines 

 along which the ideal of conservation 

 can actually be approached. We con- 

 sider this criticism altogether unfounded, 

 and believe that those who make it have 

 not taken the pains or felt a desire to 

 acquaint themselves with Mr. Pinchot's 

 brilliant achievements in constructive 

 conservation work. In this address, 

 however, Mr. Pinchot will accept the 

 challenge that has been offered, and will 

 attempt to present a very definite pro- 

 gram. This is an exceedingly difficult 

 task. It calls for a rare combination 

 of expert knowledge and constructive 

 statesmanship, a complete command of 

 the subject on both its theoretical and 

 its practical sides. There is no doubt, 

 in our judgment, that he will be entirely 

 equal to the emergency and will acquit 

 himself in a manner which will leave lit- 

 tle to be desired. 



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