Mabch 26, 1909] 



SCIENCE ' 



495 



to secure the uniform progress of the work and 

 the fullest use of the streams for all purposes. 

 We further express our belief that all waterways 

 so developed should be retained under exclusive 

 public ownership and control. 



We regard the monopoly of waters, and espe- 

 cially the monopoly of water power, as peculiarly 

 threatening. No rights to the use of water powers 

 in streams should hereafter be granted in per- 

 petuity. Each grant should be conditioned upon 

 prompt development, continued beneficial use, and 

 the payment of proper compensation to the public 

 for the rights enjoyed; and should be for a defi- 

 nite period only. Such period should be no longer 

 than is required for reasonable safety of invest- 

 ment. The public authority should retain the 

 right to readjust at stated periods the compensa- 

 tion to the public and to regulate the rates 

 charged, to the end that undue profit or extortion 

 may be prevented. 



Where the construction of works to utilize 

 water has been authorized by public authority 

 and such utilization is necessary for the public 

 welfare, provision should be made for the expro- 

 priation of any privately owned land and water 

 rights required for such construction. 



The interest of the public in the increase of the 

 productiveness of arid lands by irrigation and of 

 wet lands by drainage is manifest. We therefore 

 favor the participation of the public to secure the 

 complete and economical development and use of 

 all water available for irrigation and of all lands 

 susceptible of profitable drainage, in order to 

 ensure the widest possible benefit. Special pro- 

 jects should be considered and developed in con- 

 nection with a general plan for the same water- 

 shed. In the matter of irrigation, public au- 

 thority should control the headwaters and provide 

 for the construction of storage reservoirs and for 

 the equitable distribution and use of the stored 

 water. 



Lands. — We recognize land as a fundamental 

 resource, yielding the materials needed for sus- 

 taining population, and forming the basis of social 

 organization. Increase in the productivity of the 

 soil is a growing need, and the possession of the 

 land by the men who live upon it not only pro- 

 motes such productivity, but is also the best 

 guarantee of good citizenship. In the interest of 

 the homemaker, we favor regulation of grazing 

 on public land, the disposal of public lands to 

 actual settlers in areas each sufficient to support 

 a family, and the subdivision of excessive holdings 

 of agricultural or grazing land, thereby prevent- 

 ing monopoly. 



The preservation of the productivity of the soil 

 is dependent upon rotation of crops, fertilization 

 by natural or artificial means and improved 

 methods in farm management. The quantity and 

 quality of crops are also dependent upon the 

 careful selection of seed. We therefore favor the 

 distribution by government bureaus of scientific 

 and practical information on these points, and 

 we urge upon all farmers careful attention thereto. 



The national importance for grazing of non- 

 irrigable public lands too dry for cultivation and 

 the public loss occasioned by overgrazing are gen- 

 erally acknowledged. We therefore favor govern- 

 ment control of such lands in order to restore 

 their value, promote settlement and increase the 

 public resources. 



The first requisite for forest or other covering 

 which will conserve the rainfall and promote 

 regularity of water flow is the retention of the 

 soil upon watersheds. We therefore favor the 

 construction of such artificial works as may eilect 

 this purpose and the encouragement thereof by 

 remission of taxes, government cooperation, or 

 other suitable means. 



Minerals. — We recognize the mineral resources 

 as forming the chief basis of industrial progress, 

 and regard their use and conservation as essential 

 to the public welfare. The mineral fuels play an 

 indispensable part in our modern civilization. 

 We favor action on the part of each government 

 looking towards reduction of the enormous waste 

 in the exploitation of such fuels, and we direct 

 attention to the necessity for an inventory thereof. 

 Such fuels should hereafter be disposed of by lease 

 under such restrictions or regulations as will 

 prevent waste and monopolistic or speculative 

 holding, and supply the public at reasonable 

 prices. 



We believe that the surface rights and under- 

 ground mineral rights in lands should be sepa- 

 rately dealt with so as to permit the surface of 

 the land to be utilized to the fullest extent, while 

 preserving government control over the minerals. 



Regulations should be adopted looking to the 

 most economical production of coal and other 

 mineral fuels and the prolongation of the supply 

 to the utmost. We favor also the substitution of 

 water power for steam or other power produced 

 by the consumption of fuel. 



Great economy in the use of fuel has resulted 

 in the past from the application of scientific in- 

 ventions and the use of improvements in ma- 

 chinery, and further progress can be made in the 

 same direction. We therefore recommend that all 

 possible encouragement and assistance be given in 



