Conservation of Natural Resources in California. 95 



THE CONVENTION OF GOVERNORS. 



The first conference of the Governors of the United States and Ter- 

 ritories was held at the White House, in Washington, D. C., during the 

 three days beginning May 13, 1908. 



The East Koom was prepared for the occasion, its severe simplicity 

 somewhat brightened by draperies of green velvet on the walls, about 

 the platform on which were seated the presiding officer, the speakers, 

 the Supreme Court, and the President's Cabinet. Two great maps, the 

 largest ever made by mechanical means, hung on the east wall. One 

 showed the timber resources of the United States, while the other 

 showed the mineral deposits. Between these maps was an arrangement 

 for illustrating the different phases of conservation by means of superb 

 transparencies. On the floor special chairs were arranged in semi-circles 

 for the Governors; while to the rear and at the sides were seats for 

 the Governors' advisers and the guests. 



Practically all the states and territories were represented; it was a 

 historic occasion ; nearly every speaker laid stress on the declaration 

 that the meeting was an epoch-making one, that from it would spring 

 an organization of the Governors that through its deliberations and the 

 weight of its opinions would exercise through the years to come a 

 tremendous influence over the destinies and the affairs of the nation. 



Some extracts from the most notable of the many addresses delivered 

 at this famous conference will be appropriate here as a fitting close to 

 our handbook on Conservation. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEETING. 



The savage knows and confesses his dependence upon the forces of 

 nature. His whole life is circumscribed by the resources of forest, 

 field, and stream. Indeed, he feels himself a part of nature, and 

 scarcely separates his fate from that of his surroundings. The game 

 of the prairie, the forest, and the river, the berries and herbs in their 

 season, and the living waters supply him with food and drink. With 

 the changing seasons he moves from place to place, pursuing plenty. 

 He winters in rude huts filled with smoke from fires .of fallen wood, 

 hardly less at the mercy of the cold than are the hibernating animals. 

 In the spring he wakes with nature, and his summers are prosperous 



