81 



Tlic iiiUo now pcnuits use of sites which :i dccado ;i^o woiihl liiivi- 1 ii 



iiiiU'cossiblo backwoods rotroats. Oiir i(h'al is a chain of stale jiarks. de 

 I)ictiiig tho groat natural beauty and idiysical features of tlie state, con- 

 nected by a state parkway. A trip over tliis road wonhl sliow virgin tiads 

 of tindiei-. broad open prairies, tlie Oliio v.-iHey. Ihc iiiai,'nilicen( beech woods 

 of S(.utliern Indiana, tlie lakes of tlie norlli and the ixre.-it niininir and 

 • luari-ying districts — a jialU-ry wiierein .are displayeil ihe nalur.al resoni'ces 

 .■ind beauties of Hoosiordoni. 



Tlie Division of Lands and W.iters is ch;ir,i,'ed witli iii\ est iiral ion of cases 

 of stream pollution. Our i-;ipid indtislrja! ileveli;pnienl has.ureally increased 

 the pollution by industi'ial waste, until Ihe situ.ition has become acute in 

 many localities. The (|uestion is entirely economic and re(|uires earnest co- 

 operation between public, stale and conwuercial interests. A campai.iiu of 

 iclentk'ss prosecution caiuiot succeed. It is the polic.\- nf the department 

 to .seek out cases of pollution an<l wcu-k with the offender to remedy tlie sit- 

 uation. Of course where reciprocity is lackins;. the offender is prosecuted. 

 Tlie whole problem is very complex and recpiires the combined work of 

 biolo.i;ists, chemists, and euiiineers. The I»ei)artment of ('(tnservation is 

 Ihe lojjical clearing house for pollution matters, for developing co-operation 

 among industries concerned, so the findings of the scientists may be made 

 available. Much waste material ma.v be reclaimed in profitable by- 

 l>r()ducts: in s(mie cases the dis])osal means increased cost in production of 

 the ori.ginal article, in any case the value of any waste product is its 

 commercial value, when ])roperly recovered, jilns the amount of loss it 

 occasions when unrecovered. 



An almost ruitouched field is the re,gulation of the removal of sand, 

 gravel, coal and marl from lake and stream beds. The drainage situation in 

 the north must have exhaustive study. 



The Division is an infant wnth enormous possibilities for growth. The 

 duties bestowed upon it by the conservation law^ are numerous and far 

 reaching. Our ideal is the establishment of a system of state parks — 

 "public estates", where money spent in development will be profitably in- 

 vested but where the chief retiu-n is in pleasure, happiness, and vitality, the 

 value of which it is impo.ssible to estimate: streams, which are clean and 

 wholesome and aliound in fish f(»r the angler, furnish beauty to the tourist 

 and healthful water to the cities: streams and lakes whicli have not given 

 up their beauty and utility needlessly to th(> dredge: in liricf tlie control of 

 the lands and Wiiters of the s.tate to tlie end that they may serve their most 

 desiralile, useful and economical puip<ise witli the greatest possible profit 

 and pleasure to Iloosiers. 



DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME. 



(JkOKOK N. M.\NiNFKL1). 



History and observation comiiel us to believe that conservation is more 

 profes.sed tlian practiced: that much th.-it assumes the name ami jtasses as 



