550 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIII. No. 1381 



it seems certain that the Toronto meeting will 

 be very successful in every way. 



Burton E. Livingston^ 

 Permanent Secretary 



THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON 

 NATURAL RESOURCES 



BEING THE UNION OF THE COMMITTEES AP- 

 POINTED BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCI- 

 ENCES, THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 

 AND THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



The following is the present membership of 

 the Committee: 



Eepresenting the National Academy op Sciences 

 John C. Merriam, president, the Carnegie Insti- 

 tution of Washington 

 John M. Clarke, director, New Tork State Mu- 

 seum 

 J. McKeen Cattell, Editor of Science 

 Representing the National Eeseaech Council 

 John C. Merriam 

 John M. Clarke 

 J. MeKeen Cattell 

 Vernon Kellogg, secretary. National Research 



Council 

 C. E. MeClung, director, Zoological Laboratory, 

 University of Pennsylvania 

 Eepresenting the American Association eor the 

 Advancement op Science 

 John C. Merriam 

 Henry S. Graves, former chief, U. S. Forest 



Service 

 Isaiah Bowman, director, American Geographical 



Society 

 Barrington Moore, president, American Eco- 

 logical Society 

 V. E. Shelford, professor of zoology, University 



of Illinois 

 Chairman, John C. Merriam 

 Vice-chairman, John M. Clarke 

 Secretary, Albert L. Barrows, National Re- 

 search Council, 1701 Massachusetts Avenue, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



Assistant Secretary, Willaxd G. Van Name, 

 American Museum of Natural History, New York, 

 N. Y. 



Program 

 The purpose in organizing this Executive 

 Committee is to promote, by scientific efEort 

 and through education, the most reasonable 



use of our natural resources for the economic, 

 industrial and social development of the 

 country. 



The American people have been richly en- 

 dowed with natural wealth and have quickly 

 availed themselves of their endowment. The 

 first easy and quick production for the press- 

 ing needs of the growing population, fol- 

 lowed by rapid strides toward the realization 

 of wealth, have brought large elements of the 

 natural resources to the danger line, some to 

 more costly and lessened production, while 

 others are threatened by extinction. Com- 

 mercial production will of necessity be gov- 

 erned by economic law; use will be dependent 

 on production, but both must be free of waste 

 and governed by intelligent foresight. There 

 are important natural resources whose com- 

 mercial uses are less obvious but whose de- 

 pletion is a grave disturbance of the balance 

 of nature. 



This is a problem of the public weKare. Its 

 solution should marshal not only scientific 

 knowledge and the economic interests of the 

 country but also the moral forces of the body 

 politic. Organized effort to safeguard our 

 natural heritage must come quickly. As use 

 becomes greater, abuse and wastage must be 

 diminished. 



This Executive Committee does not assume 

 a supervisory attitude in matters of conser- 

 vation but seeks to advise, coordinate and sub- 

 stantiate outstanding organizations. It sets 

 forth the following program as expressive of 

 its purpose: 



1. The problem is a basic one in public 

 welfare. It should therefore challenge intel- 

 ligent attention, command public confidence 

 and receive necessary financial support. 



2. This movement is at present representa- 

 tive of the scientific meiEbership and func- 

 tions of its parent societies, the iN'ational 

 Academy of Sciences, the National Research 

 Council, and the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science. The committee 

 may be enlarged from time to time by the 

 addition of members of experience and wis- 

 dom; but its work must be of a character 

 truly to represent its parent organizations. It 



