1908 



THE G< >VERN< KS' CONFERENCE 



347 



over tin- control <>t" waterw: :iys and re- 

 sources to the National Government. 

 President Roosevelt came into the 

 discussion with a forcible statement 

 along the lines brought out in the re- 

 marks of the different governors. Il- 

 lustrating the stand taken by the Fed- 

 eral Government, the President said: 



".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. 

 the Federal Government shall put on the 

 grant a condition that it shall not be a grant 

 in perpetuity. (Applause.) Make it long 

 enough 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. (Applause.) Put 

 in a provision that will enable our chil- 

 dren at the end of a certain specified period, 

 to say what, in their judgment, should be 

 done with any 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 

 period, so that when the conditions change, 

 as in all probability they will change, our 

 children the Nation of the future shall 

 have the right to determine the conditions 

 upon which that privilege shall then be en- 

 joyed. (Applause). 



"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 Na- 

 tion, carry it out by the Nation. My con- 

 cern is not with the academic side of the 

 question. My concern is in the employ- 

 ment either of the state rights or the prin- 

 ciple of National sovereignty, as it will he-t 

 conserve tin needs of the people as a 

 whole. (Applause and cheers.) 



Hon. A. E. Mead, Governor of 

 Washington, followed the President, 

 and brought up a subject that had not 

 before been mentioned the conserva- 

 tion of the resources upon which a 

 very important northwestern industry 

 depends, the fisheries industry. He 

 said that the salmon industry of the 

 northwest is of tremendous importai 

 to the people of that part of the 

 I "nited States, and he spokr 

 the enactment of law- that would pro- 

 tect that industry, both for the sake 

 of the State of Washington and the 

 territory of Alaska. 



I li MI. \ . I- rank I la >i 



Indiana, fi .ilowed \\iii in- 



terrogation-. -a\ing thai the) w< 

 submitted as an ap;>< 

 lion along certain line- of \a- 



tion. 1 le wanted to kno\\- if the pi 

 gram of conservation meant '.he im- 

 position of limitations upon produc- 

 tion of coal, lumber, etc.. and a-1. 

 if this is tin would it not mean 



putting limitation-, upon the indu.-trial 

 life lit the Nation, lie expr hi- 



full sympathy with tin- pn of 



the Conference, and stated that hi- 

 remarks were made solely for the pur- 

 posc of gaining information, and not 

 in a spirit of opposition or criticism. 



Hon. Augustus E. Will-on. Gov- 

 ernor of Kentucky, presented some 

 facts in regard to the utilization of 

 natural resources in his State. Refer- 

 ring to Mr. Mitchell's statement in re- 

 gard to the loss of life attendant upon 

 coal mining operations, he > a id that 

 one of the big coal companies of Ken- 

 tucky has produced in the last ten 

 years 1,100,000 tons of coal with the 

 loss of only one life. This coal com- 

 pany, he said, owns or control- gr< 

 areas of land, and on its ] a nd the com- 

 pany, unaided, has planted i .000.000 

 black walnut trees and a <|uarter of a 

 million other trei 



He spoke of Kentucky's interest in 

 the improvement of the count; 

 waterways and said that no other 

 State in the I ni<Mi realized more ful- 

 ly the import:. nee of a rational and 

 practical de\ ( 1 . .pment of a system 

 inland water transportation. 



I Ion. Kward W. I loch. ' 

 Kansas, expressed the it/ -f the 



Sunflower Si in the problem 

 conserving and extending the na'i >n*S 

 inland waterway-. lie -aid that he 

 had been deeply imp' with the 



mutuality of int. \hi.-h had de- 



veloped in the t/o'ifercn dif- 



ornia." he said, "cann< -\ -a\ to Florida 

 or to ( do, 'we have n> of 



thee'. and Maine cannot sav to TeXi 

 'we have ' '' an- 



mutual in interest, and thi- G nfcr- 

 ence has ted our l"ni"U a- noth- 



ing ha- d Mle 1 



