INTRODUCTORY. 3 



products, these had to go to waste, since only the 

 best portions could bear the cost of transportation 

 to distant centres of consumption. 



The amount of waste in materials, natural re- 

 sources, and in energy, which this uneven settle- 

 ment and development of the country has produced, 

 has been enormous in all directions, and more espe- 

 cially in fields and forests. The desire for a tangi- 

 ble share in the wealth that can be derived by the 

 exploitation of these resources, the greed of the 

 individual, together with the unfavorable distribu- 

 tion of population, have led to their careless and 

 wasteful use. 



From the standpoint of the individual, that use 

 of his opportunities which gives him greatest satis- 

 faction in the present appears justifiable ; while 

 society may incidentally benefit from his efforts in 

 producing and distributing wealth, the individual, 

 as a rule, cares little about that result of his activ- 

 ity, nor does he care if the results of his endeavors 

 are the opposite from beneficial to society, unless 

 society itself step in and protect its interests. 



From the fact that within any aggregation of 

 people inimical interests arise, that the interests 

 of one set of individuals may clash with those 

 of another set, or that the welfare of the whole 

 may be jeopardized by the unrestricted exercise 

 of the rights of the few, the necessity for the 

 Hmitation of the rights of the members arises, 

 which, as far as the exercise of property rights 



