CONSERVATION OF WORLD RESOURCES 



221 



Such are but a few of the benefits 

 which would accrue to the United 

 States from a mastery of the lessons 

 which the whole earth has to teach iu 

 the use of natural resources and the 

 protection of life. And we should not 

 be the sole gainers. We should be in 

 a position to offer many useful sugges- 

 tions and to furnish certain clear warn- 

 ings from our own experience. More- 

 over, owing to the great extent .and va- 

 ried character of our resources the con- 

 sumers of the whole world are interest- 

 ed in our commercial development, 

 which is limited by the use that is made 

 of our raw materials and our sources of 

 power, while, conversely, our purchas- 

 ing power in foreign markets will rise 

 and fall with the national prosperity. 



These and similar considerations ap- 

 ply also as between any one of the for- 

 eign nations and the rest. No single 

 nation can afford to remain in igno- 

 rance of the experience of the others 

 in the production of wealth from the 

 riches of the land, and none, even if 

 bent solely upon its own advantage, can 

 reasonably or safely withhold from the 

 rest the useful knowledge that it has. 



There is every reason, therefore, why 

 the combined wisdom of the nations in 

 the economics of resources should be 

 brought together, at The Hague, 

 funded, formulated, and distributed for 

 the good of all. The resulting recom- 

 mendations may well lead to vast econo- 

 mies and perhaps even vaster develop- 

 ments in the future use of world re- 

 sources. The treasures of the earth are 

 a common store whose needless deple- 

 tion works injury to all, and w r hose full- 

 est use must augment the power and 

 efficiency of the whole race. 



3. Econom\ of Effort and Outlay. 



In so large a field as the conservation 

 of natural resources there is great risk 

 of duplication of work. This risk could 

 be removed by the action of The Hague 

 Conference, to whose attention would 

 be brought both the results already se- 

 cured and the work under way in the 

 several countries. 



4. Localisation of Study. 



It is more than probable that certain 

 classes of conservation problems can be 

 studied best in one or two countries, 

 even when their solution affects many 

 or all countries. A better localization of 

 study, which is closely allied to the pre- 

 vention or duplication of effort, might 

 well be a subject of discussion. In 

 connection with subjects 3 and 4 there 

 is indicated the possibility of coopera- 

 tive agreements for the investigation, 

 for common benefit, of problems in 

 which several nations are equally in- 

 terested. 



5. Compilation and Publication of 



Results. 



The results of investigations would 

 be valuable in proportion as they would 

 be accessible and uniformly expressed. 

 One of the greatest services which The 

 Hague Conference could perform 

 would be to provide for a more satisfac- 

 tory compilation and comparison of re- 

 sults and for their publication in easily 

 available form, preferably in one lan- 

 guageFrench, for example, which is 

 so admirably adapted for scientific ex- 

 position and is read by investigators in 

 all countries. 



6. A Permanent International Bureau. 

 All of the subjects above discussed, 



except the first and second, point to the 

 need of a permanent international con- 

 servation bureau, without which it 

 seems doubtful whether the legitimate 

 objects of the conference could be fully 

 secured. The International Bureau of 

 Forest Experiment Stations is an ex- 

 ample of such a bureau. This bureau 

 has more than justified its existence, 

 yet the problems with which it deals 

 are far more closely related and more 

 limited in scope than those embraced in 

 the entire field of conservation. The 

 considerations which led to its forma- 

 tion should weigh yet more decidedly 

 in favor ~of a similar bureau charged 

 with the collection and distribution of 

 material dealing with the extent, condi- 

 tion, and use of the natural resources 

 of the earth as a whole. 



