252 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



are not serious enough to make us ashamed of them; but, having re- 

 gard to our opportunities and responsibilities, as a free people and 

 as trustees for posterity, they are serious enough to make it incumbent 

 upon us to find out and apply the needed remedies. 



We need not ignore the lessons of other countries, but our first 

 duty is to acquire a thorough knowledge of our own conditions and to 

 formulate and strive for the attainment of our own ideals, in our 

 own way and with the realization of our power to shape our own 

 future. 



