Conservation and Homemakers* 



Signs which show that the women of Canada are awakening on this 



subject. 



Five years ago 'conservation' was 

 an unknown term in the sense in 

 which it is now applied. There were 

 no newspaper articles on it and no 

 addresses, except those of a few en- 

 thusiasts. Now it is scarcely pos- 

 sible to open a newspaper without 

 finding some reference to the sub- 

 ject. One of the most hopeful signs 

 is the way the women of Canada are 

 taking hold of it. Women's organi- 

 zations are among those which most 

 frequently ask for lectures under the 

 Canadian Forestry Association's lec- 

 ture plan. Authorities on the sub- 

 ject are constantly being called up- 

 on by the women to explain the re- 

 lation of conservation to the home. 



Mr. J. F. MacKay, general man- 

 ager of the Toronto Globe, and a 

 member of the Canadian Commis- 

 sion of Conservation, by request re- 

 cently spoke before the Toronto 

 Household Economic Association. 



Probably the most important 

 gathering of the century, said Mr. 

 MacKay, was the conference of gov- 

 ernors, judges and scientific men 

 which Theodore Roosevelt called to- 

 gether at Washington in May, 1908, 

 to form a National Commission on 

 Conservation. Sometime later the 

 Canadian government decided to 

 appoint a permanent commission, 

 and the first meeting was held at 

 Ottawa. January, 1910, the Commis- 

 sion being national, rather than poli- 

 tical, in its aims. 



The Commission is attempting con- 

 servation along seven lines, and lead- 

 ing experts in each branch are di- 

 recting the work. The question of 

 forestry, and the preservation of our 

 forests, had been most in the -public 

 eye, and whereas a few years ago 

 there was not one qualified forester 



in Canada, chairs of forestry were 

 now established at three universi- 

 ties. The evil results of bad lumber- 

 ing in the injuring and cutting down 

 of immature trees, the devastation 

 by fire of vast areas of forest, were 

 well known. Along with prevention 

 of these two evils should come pro- 

 per treatment of forestable land. 



He dealt also with the conserva- 

 tion of fisheries, mines, soils and the 

 public health, and concluded by 

 speaking of the value of our fresh 

 waters — not only for sustaining ani- 

 mal and vegetable life, but for pur- 

 poses of navigation and electric 

 power. The use of our waters as a 

 mean of disposing of sewage, he 

 characterized as a 'monumental mis- 

 use.' From our waters we could ob- 

 tain heat, light, and power. It had 

 been estimated that our Canadian 

 waters can give sixteen million horse- 

 power. Of this, only five hundred 

 and fourteen thousand was as yet de- 

 veloped. 



Mrs. Annie A. AA-'ilder, a Canadian 

 now resident in Washington, and 

 an enthusiastic supporter of conser- 

 vation, some time earlier was the 

 guest of the Winnipeg Women's 

 Canadian Club, and in the course of 

 her address showing how closely 

 related the home was to the preser- 

 vation of the forests said : 



'Forest preservation is a moral 

 question. The waste of our national 

 resources, whether in Canada or the 

 United States, is not only criminal 

 but immoral. I agree with Andrew 

 Carnegie when he says that the land 

 has been given us in trust; that we 

 have a duty to succeeding genera- 

 tions in preserving the land and all 

 its resources, and it is to this end 

 tliat I am an active conservationist.' 



IOC 



