THE NATION'S UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES 



183 



from an old chest upstairs, the ridiculous 

 side of the situation was complete. 



Now that the canal is essentially fin- 

 ished, what are the American people go- 

 ing to do with it ? Shall the new markets 

 brought into existence on the Pacific 

 shores of Central and South America by 

 this new cheap transportation route be 



supplied by the United States or by for- 

 eign countries? 



In my judgment, that depends, more 

 than anything else, upon whether the 

 Congress of the United States enacts 

 such laws as will bring into existence a 

 United States merchant marine engaged 

 in foreign commerce. 



THE NATION'S UNDEVELOPED RESOURCES 



By Franklin K. Lane 



SECRETARY OE THE INTERIOR 



The following article gives such a constructive and national presentation and 

 discussion of our country's undeveloped resources that it should be read by every 

 American. It forms the annual report to the President of the United States by 

 Mr. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, and is here published in full. For a map 

 of Alaska, see the Supplement to this number of the National Geographic 

 Magazine. 



THERE exists a feeling in the 

 West that its affairs and needs 

 have not been given that consid- 

 eration at the hands of the national gov- 

 ernment which they merit. This feeling 

 is not confined to speculators or exploit- 

 ers. It is the sentiment of many who are 

 without selfish motive and regard the 

 matter wholly from the standpoint of na- 

 tional growth. They point to the condi- 

 tions which obtain in Alaska as unparal- 

 leled among people of our aggressive and 

 nation-building stock. 



So, too, they are unable to understand 

 why ways have not been found by which 

 the great bodies of coal and oil lands, of 

 phosphate and potash lands, may be de- 

 veloped, and the waters of the mountains 

 made available for the generation of 

 power and the redemption of the desert. 



There is one very simple explanation 

 for the existence of this feeling. We 

 have adventured upon a new policy of 

 administering our affairs and have not 

 developed adequate machinery. We have 

 called a halt on methods of spoliation 

 which existed, to the great benefit of 

 many, but we have failed to substitute 

 methods, sane, healthful, and progressive, 

 by which the normal enterprise of an am- 

 bitious people can make full use of their 

 own resources. We abruptly closed op- 



portunities to the monopolist, but did not 

 open them to the developer. 



EORMEREY WE TRIED TO GET RID OE OUR 

 EAND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE 



I have said that we had put into force 

 a new land policy, which caused dismay 

 and discontent. Let me explain what I 

 mean by this. It was, in fact, but a new 

 application of an old policy. Congress 

 has always been most generous as to the 

 disposition of the national lands. One 

 cannot read our land laws without being 

 struck with the fixed determination which 

 they show that it was wisest to be quit 

 of our lands as quickly as possible. It 

 might almost be said that the government 

 regarded its lands as a burden rather than 

 an asset. We gave generously to our 

 railroads and to the States. There was 

 land for all, and it was the government's 

 glad function to distribute it and let those 

 profit who could. 



There was no thought then of creating 

 timber barons or cattle kings, or of coal 

 monopoly. The sooner the land got into 

 hands other than those of the govern- 

 ment the better. 



And this generous donor was not so 

 petty as to discriminate between kinds of 

 lands, the uses to which they could be 

 put, or the purposes which those might 



