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vited to send one representa- 

 tive each to take part in the 

 discussions. The general pur- 

 pose of the conference is in- 

 dicated on pages 24-26 of the 

 preliminary report of the 

 Waterways Commission. 



I invite the cooperation of 

 the National Geographic So- 

 ciety in bringing this matter 

 before the people ; and it 

 gives me added pleasure to 

 invite you as President of the 

 Society, to take part in the 

 conference. 



Sincerely yours, 



Theodore Roosevelt. 



President Willis L. Moore, 

 National Geographic Society, 

 Washington, D. C. 



OUTLINE MAP OP PERSIA 



CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL 

 RESOURCES 



PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT has in- 

 vited the President of the National 

 Geographic Society, Dr Willis L. Moore, 

 as its representative, to take part in the 

 conference to be held at the White 

 House in May for the Conservation of 

 our Natural Resources. 



The White House, 

 Washington, March 14, 1908. 



My Dear Sir : Recently I invited the gover- 

 nors of the states and territories to meet in 

 the White House on May 13-15 next in a con- 

 ference on the Conservation of Natural Re- 

 sources. In issuing the invitation I expressed 

 the opinion that there is urgent need of taking 

 stock of our resources, and I added my belief 

 that the conference ought to take rank among 

 the more important meetings in the history of 

 the country. 



The replies to the invitation have been most 

 gratifying. They indicate that practically all 

 the governors, each with three special advis- 

 ers, will attend the conference. The Senators 

 and Representatives of the Sixtieth Congress, 

 the Justices of the Supreme Court, and the 

 members of the Cabinet have also been invited 

 to take part ; and the Inland Waterways Com- 

 mission, which suggested the conference, will 

 be present to reply to inquiries and make 

 record of the proceedings. A limited number 

 of leading associations of national scope, con- 

 cerned with our natural resources, will be in- 



Every student of geog- 

 raphy keenly appreciates 

 the importance qf the 

 conference called by the 

 President, and hopes for 

 lasting results from the 

 meeting. The National Geographic So- 

 ciety for many years through its Maga- 

 zine has endeavored to stimulate interest 

 in the great natural factors and prob- 

 lems of this country. It is always glad 

 to cooperate in any movement to con- 

 serve our animal, vegetable, and mineral 

 Avealth for future generations. 



THE NOME GOLD FIELDS 



N Bulletin No. 328, just issued by the 

 United States Geological Survey, 

 Mr Alfred IT. Brooks, in charge o£ the 

 division of Alaskan mineral resources, 

 describes the rapid industrial changes in 

 Seward Peninsula, Alaska : 



"A decade ago Seward Peninsula was 

 little more than a barren waste, unpeo- 

 pled except for a few hundred Eskimos 

 and a score of white men ; now it is the 

 scene of intense commercial activity, 

 supporting a permanent population of 

 3,000 or 4,000 people, which in sum- 

 mer is more than doubled. Then the 

 igloo of the Eskimos and a mission were 

 the only permanent habitations; now a 

 well-built town with all the adjuncts of 

 civilization looks out on Bering Sea, and 

 a dozen smaller settlements are scattered 

 through the peninsula. This region. 



