SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 700 



So far as the relations among the states 

 and between these and the national govern- 

 ment, are concerned, the general opinion ex- 

 pressed in public addresses and personal con- 

 versation was that the conference marked a 

 new era, comparable only with that opened 

 by the Philadelphia Conference in 1787, at 

 which the constitution was framed. 



Numerous resolutions were introduced, and 

 were referred to a committee consisting of 

 Governors Newton C. Blanchard, of Louisiana 

 (chairman) ; John F. Fort, of New Jersey; 

 J. O. Davidson, of Wisconsin; John 0. 

 Cutler, of Utah, and M. F. Ansel, of South 

 Carolina; which committee, after weighing 

 all the resolutions, expert statements, and 

 other matter germane to the conference, 

 framed and submitted a general declaration 

 of principles which, after discussion, was 

 imanimously adopted. While the value of 

 any formal document necessarily falls below 

 that of the consensus of opinion and feeling 

 among the nation's executives, it may be re- 

 garded as the chief tangible result of the con- 

 ference. It is as follows: 



We, the governors of the states and territories 

 of the United States of America, in conference 

 assembled, do hereby declare the conviction that 

 the great prosperity of our country rests upon 

 the abundant resources of the land chosen by our 

 forefathers for their homes, and where they laid 

 the foundation of this great nation. 



We look upon these resources as a heritage to 

 be made use of in establishing and promoting the 

 comfort, prosperity and happiness of the Amer- 

 ican people, but not to be wasted, deteriorated or 

 needlessly destroyed. 



We agree that our country's future is involved 

 in thi^; that the great natural resources supply 

 the material basis upon which our civilization 

 must continue to depend, and upon which the 

 perpetuity of the nation itself rests. 



We agree, in the light of facts brought to our 

 knowledge and from information received from 

 sources which we can not doubt, that this ma- 

 terial basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even 

 as each succeeding generation from the birth of 

 the nation has performed its part in promoting 

 the progress and development of the Republic, so 

 do we in this generation recognize it as a high 

 duty to perform our part; and this duty in large 

 degree lies in the adoption of measures for the 



conservation of the natural wealth of the country. 

 We declare our firm conviction that this con- 

 servation of our natural resources is a subject of 

 transcendent importance, which should engage 

 imremittingly the attention of the nation, the 

 states, and the people in earnest cooperation. 

 These natural resources include the land on which 

 we live and which yields our food; the living 

 waters which fertilize the soil, supply power and 

 form great avenues of commerce; the forests 

 which yield the materials for our homes, prevent 

 erosion of the soil, and conserve the navigation 

 and other uses of our streams; and the minerals 

 which form the basis of our industrial life and 

 supply us with heat, light and power. 



We agree that the land should be so used that 

 erosion and soil wash shall cease; that there 

 should be reclamation of arid and semi-arid re- 

 gions by means of irrigation and of swamp and 

 overflowed regions by means of drainage; that 

 the waters should be so conserved and used as to 

 promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to 

 be reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power 

 in the interests of the people; that the forests, 

 which regulate our rivers, support our industries 

 and promote the fertility and productiveness of 

 the soil, should be preserved and perpetuated; 

 that the minerals found so abundantly beneath 

 the surface should be so used as to prolong their 

 utility; that the beauty, healthfulness and hab- 

 itability of our country should be preserved and 

 increased; that the sources of national wealth 

 exist for the benefit of all the people, and that 

 monopoly thereof should not be tolerated. 



We commend the wise forethought of the Presi- 

 dent in sounding the note of warning as to the 

 waste and exhaustion of the natural resources of 

 the country, and signify our high appreciation of 

 his action in calling this conference to consider 

 the same and to seek remedies therefor through 

 cooperation of the nation and the states. 



We agree that this cooperation should find ex- 

 pression in suitable action by the Congress within 

 the limits of, and coextensive with, the national 

 jurisdiction of the subject, and complementary 

 thereto, by the legislatures of the several states 

 within the limits of, and coextensive with, their 

 jurisdiction. 



We declare the conviction that in the use of 

 the natural resources our independent states are 

 interdependent and bound together by ties of mu- 

 tual benefits, responsibilities and duties. 



We agree in the wisdom of future conferences 

 between the President, members of Congress and 

 the governors of the states regarding the con- 



