240 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



losses caused by overcrowding in cities on the one hand and by isola- 

 tion and poverty in rural districts on the other hand. But enough is 

 known to make it clear to every student of social conditions that a large 

 share of the responsibility for the deplorable and unnecessary loss of 

 life and physical deterioration on this continent rests with the various 

 governing authorities, who have the powers to regulate land devel- 

 opment, and that there are conditions in the rural districts as injurious 

 to health and morals as in the crowded city slums. 



At present there is a 'confusion of tongues' as to the desirability, 

 or otherwise, of money and human energy being spent on works that 

 are not absolutely essential to the prosecution of the war. The weight 

 of evidence seems to be in favour of everything being suspended 

 which can be put off without injury to our social and economic life. 

 As conservation of health lies at the root of our social life, and as it is 

 one of the most essential needs as a means of prosecuting the war 

 itself, as well as to make up for the wastage of war and to utilize our 

 natural resources, public health expenditures should be the last to be 

 curtailed. Moreover, whatever public works may be delayed, there 

 should be no delay in thinking out and formulating a policy for future 

 action, having regard to past failures and to the lessons taught by the 

 war. 



The importance of carrying out a more aggressive and scientific 

 educational policy in Canada is generally recognized. All that need 

 be repeated here, by way of emphasis to what has already been said 

 on the subject, is that the soundest of policies in regard to education 

 will fail in attaining satisfactory results unless it is pursued simultan- 

 eously with improved government organization of land development. 



Apart from the question of general education there is need for 

 improvement in the training of those engaged in municipal and sanitary 

 engineering, land surveying, and assessment valuation, in order to 

 qualify a larger body of professional men to specialize in the work of 

 planning and developing land, controlling public health and assessing 

 property values. The organization of municipal and sanitary engin- 

 eers for purposes of specialized professional training and for the ad- 

 vancement of their particular branch of engineering is needed. In 

 regard to surveyors, few bodies are more highly educated in the 

 practical work of their profession than the land surveyors of Canada ; 

 but their course of education should be widened in scope and in- 

 clude principles of valuation and planning of land. Government pro- 

 tection has helped to narrow the scope of the profession, but could 

 •equally be used to widen its sphere of usefulness. 



