NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS 



577 



methods of individual and corporate 

 development, Mr. Roosevelt asserted 

 that 



"The method of reckless and uncontrolled 

 private use and waste has done for us all 

 the good it ever can, and it is time to put an 

 end to it before it does all the evil it easily 

 j^^y * * * Henceforth we must seek 

 national efficiency by a new and better way, 

 by the way of the orderly development and 

 use, coupled with the presers-ation, of our 

 natural resources, by making the most of 

 what we have for the benefit of all of us, 

 instead of leaving the sources of material 

 prosperity open to indiscriminate exploita- 

 tion." 



He then took up the subject of inland 

 waterways, which he described as one 

 of the greatest of our conservation 

 problems. He insisted that railways 

 must not control water routes and that 

 "adequate terminals properly controlled 

 and open through lines by rail and boat 

 are two absolutely essential conditions 

 in the usefulness of any inland water- 

 way development." 



Of the question of drainage of swamp 

 lands he said : 



"Where the states are unwilling or unable 

 to undertake it, the drainage of swamp and 

 overflow lands by the Federal Government 

 is a wise and necessary measure. Much of 

 it must be done by the nation in any case, 

 as an integral part of inland waterway devel- 

 opment. It affords a most promising field 

 for co-operation between the states and the 

 nation." 



He next referred to forest protect- 

 tion and forest extension, and in this 

 connection he said : "The fight to create 

 the Southern Appalachian and White 

 Mountain forests in the East is not yet 

 over. The bill has passed the House, 

 and will come before the Senate for a 

 vote next February. The people of the 

 United States, regardless of party or 

 section, should stand solidly behind it, 

 and see that their representatives do 

 likewise." 



He urged the need of forest protec- 

 tion as shown by the recent western 

 fires and noted the comprehensive char- 

 ter of the tasks of the Forest Service, 

 closing this section of his address with 

 the statement, "I think that hereafter 

 we may safely disregard any statements 

 that the National Forests are withdrawn 

 from settlement and use." 



The importance of a study of country 

 life with special reference to better liv- 

 ing on the farm and to better business 

 on the farm was strongly presented, 

 and Mr. Roosevelt in this conection 

 recommended the establishment of a 

 country life museum at Washington 

 similar to the admirable institution in 

 Buda-Pest, the capital of Hungary. He 

 also advocated the establishment of a 

 federal bureau of health and paid his 

 respects to Representative Tawney, of 

 Minnesota, for his work in cutting off 

 support from the conservation and coun- 

 try life commissions appointed during 

 Mr. Roosevelt's administration as pres- 



ident. 



He said that he signed the 



sundry civil bill containing the Tawney 

 amendment under protest, because it 

 was an unconstitutional invasion of the 

 executive power, and that if he were to 

 have remained president he would have 

 paid no attention to it whatever. 



The need of conservation of natural 

 resources among our neighbors on the 

 north and south, and the duty of this 

 country to give them every assistance 

 possible was alluded to, and Mr. Roose- 

 velt then took up the question of water 

 powers. Upon the question of state or 

 national control he said : 



'There is apparent to the judicial observer 

 a distinct tendency on the part of our op- 

 ponents to cloud the issue by raising the 

 question of state as against federal jurisdic- 

 tion. We are ready to meet that issue if it 

 is forced upon us. But there is no hope for 

 the plain people in such conflicts of juris- 

 diction. The essential question is not one 

 of hair-splitting legal technicalities. It is 

 simply this : Who can best regulate the 

 special interests for the public good? Most 

 of the predatory corporations are inter-state 

 or have inter-state affiliations. Therefore 

 they are largely out of reach of effective 

 state control, and fall of necessity within the 

 federal jurisdiction. 



"One of the prime objects of those among 

 them that are grasping and greedy is to 

 avoid any effective control either by state or 

 nation ; and they advocate at this time state 

 control simply because they believe it to be 

 the least effective. In the great fight of the 

 people to drive the special interests from 

 the domination of our government, the na- 

 tion is stronger and its jurisdiction is more 

 effective than that of any state. The most 

 effective weapon against these great corpor- 

 ations, most of whom are financed and 

 owned on the Atlantic coast, will be federal 



