354 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



ors in conference can only recommend ; 

 and for whatever recommendations 

 they may make, they are directly re- 

 sponsible to the voters in their respec- 

 tive states. 



The extraordinay harmony of the 

 Conference affords added ground for 

 profound satisfaction- That men com- 

 ing together from regions so remote 

 and representing interests so multi- 

 tudinous, diverse, and apparently con- 

 flicting should, for three days, have 

 compared views, and concluded with 

 practical unanimity of sentiment, not 

 only testifies to the substantial oneness 

 of the American people, but augurs 

 well for the future of the Republic. 

 The first Conference of Governors has 

 proved an overwhelming success. We 

 -may well wish it "many happy re- 

 turns." 



♦'i 



(^ 



Grants in Perpetuity 



Among the most notable utterances 

 made at the Governors' Conference is 

 the following by President Roosevelt: 



"My position has been simply that where 

 a privilege which may be of untold value in 

 the future to the private individuals granted 

 it is asked from the Federal Government, 

 that the Federal Government shall put on 

 the grant a condition that it shall not be a 

 grant in perpetuity. Make it long enough 

 so that the corporation shall have an ample 

 material reward. The corporation deserves 

 it. Give an ample reward to the captain of 

 industry, but not an indeterminate reward. 

 Put on a provision that will enable our 

 children at the end of a certain specified pe- 

 riod to saj^ what in their judgment should 

 be done with that great natural power which 

 is of use to the grantee only because the 

 people as a whole allow him to use it. It 

 is eminently right that he should be allowed 

 to make ample profit from his development 

 of it, but make him pay something for the 

 privilege, and make the grant for a fixed pe- 

 riod, so that when the conditions change, as 

 in all probability they will change, our chil- 

 dren — the Nation of the future — shall have 

 the right to determine the conditions upon 

 which that privilege shall then be enjoyed. 



"Where that policy can best be carried 

 out by the states, carry it out by the 

 states ; where it can best be carried out by 

 the Nation, carry it out by the Nation. My 

 concern is not with the academic side of 

 the question. My concern is in the employ- 

 ment either of the principle of states' rights 

 or the principle of National sovereignty, as 



will best conserve the needs of the people 

 as a whole.". 



What is meant is, in a word, where 

 an individual or corporation applies 

 to Government for a privilege, and this 

 be granted, let the grantee pay for it, 

 and let it be understood that his pri- 

 vilege will last but for a limited time. 



Should this proposal be made in the 

 hearing of a "traveller from Mars," 

 we should expect him to say, "Of 

 course; have government privileges in 

 your country ever been granted in 

 any other way?" 



To this inquiry we should be com- 

 pelled to reply that this is exactly the 

 way in which they have not, as a rule, 

 been granted. 



In these columns, not long since, 

 (page 182) appeared an editorial en- 

 titled "Some Vicious Bills." Here 

 was considered a series of bills before 

 the first session of the present Con- 

 gress, asking for grants of Govern- 

 ment privileges in perpetuity, and of- 

 fering only nominal compensation. 



When our public domain was frit- 

 tered away, and transferred in king- 

 doms and empires to railroads, was 

 the above mentioned principle ob- 

 served? What compensation did the 

 Nation receive? And when will the 

 grants terminate? 



Our fast disappearing mineral 

 wealth once belonged to the people; 

 now only the fag end of it is theirs. 

 The remainder has been transferred 

 from them to individuals and corpora- 

 tions. What have the people received 

 in return, and when will the grants 

 end? 



The principle enunciated by the 

 President applies with peculiar force 

 to natural resources ; and of these, he 

 was, of course, speaking. Natural re- 

 sources are but an aspect of the earth, 

 the basis of all organic life, human 

 and sub-human- The President's 

 statement suggests some interesting 

 inquiries : Who own the earth ? 

 Upon what is their title based? How 

 long will that title hold good? 



We have heard of the tramp who 

 was ordered off the duke's land, and 



