< .t her forms of government one or two great men may 



power to correct mistakes and to put in motion 



s that centuries do not unsettle. A part of 



tiu price of self-government is the acceptance of that 



hi^h office and imi>erati\ e duty as a whole by the people 



ves. They must know, they must weigh, they 



mu-i act Only as they form and give effect to wise 



-ions can the nation go forward. And we should 

 not be here to-day were it not that the principle of a 

 conservation of national resources as the foremost and 

 controlling policy of the United States henceforth is 

 coming to be seen by many, and must be heartily ac- 

 cepted by all, as the first condition, not only of con- 

 tinued material prosperity, but also of the perpetuation 

 of free institutions and a government by the people. The 

 work now lx?ing done by the Department of Agriculture 

 and the agricultural colleges of the various states fur 

 iii-hcs a broad and intelligent foundation upon which 

 to build up a new era of national progress and pros- 

 perity. It calls for a wise, generous and continuing 

 policy on the part of both federal and state govern- 

 ments. 



If this patriotic gospel is to make headway, it must 

 be by just such organized missionary work as is to-day 

 begun. It cannot go on and conquer if imposed from 

 without. It must come to represent the fixed idea of 

 tin people's mind, their determination and their hope. 

 It cannot be incorporated in our practical life by the 

 dictum of any individual or any officer of nation or 

 state in his official capacity. It needs the cooperation 



3 



