5 
GOVERNOR F REAR'S ADDRESS. 
CONSERVATION A PRACTICAL THING. 
Peaceful movements may be quite as swift, as sweeping and 
as revolutionary as those produced by clash of arms. What 
movement today is more comprehensive, more fundamental, more 
transforming, more vital to the permanent welfare of a great 
nation than that which is the subject of this conference? 
"Conservation," in its present sense, although practically un- 
known only five years ago, has become a household word through- 
out the world. The progress of the movement is nothing short 
of phenomenal. It was ushered in by a John the Baptist in the 
person of Roosevelt and has been spread by countless apostles 
fired with the zeal of crusaders. But it is no transient or 
imaginary thing. There may be some to whom it is: only a fad — 
mere "conversational conservation," as it has been dubbed ; there 
may be some to whom it seems to be only a fad to others ; while 
there may be yet others who in their enthusiasm would so en- 
larg'e its scope as to dissipate it into meaninglessness. To the 
masses, however, as well as to its arch-advocates, it is of the very 
essence of the concrete and the practical. 
It is based upon awful necessity as shown by statisticians, but 
also upon grand possibilities as shown by scientists ; upon a dis- 
closure of reckless exploitation by special interests, but also upon 
a sure hope for the nation's future through appropriate action 
for the common interests. It is first of all a moral question — a 
question of duty to the present and to the future, and then, as is 
apt to be the case with all moral questions, it merges into the 
practical question of finding the proper remedy and applying it in 
a businesslike way. In a word, it is the case of a great people's 
aroused moral sense guided by its common sense. 
Again, "conservation" does not mean the mere husbanding of 
resources ; it does not mean mere prevention of wastefulness ; 
it is not a damper on enterprise ; nor does it look mainly to the 
future. Its cardinal idea is the fullest development and utiliza- 
tion of all of our natural resources, but in a wnse manner, by 
the present generation and by each succeeding generation in its 
turn. 
"Conservation," I grant you, is a word ill-chosen for the pur- 
pose, but language is a growth, a usage, a convenience, and 
words do not alwavs retain their etymological meanings. Liter- 
ally, "conservation" smacks too much of the selfish hoarding of 
the miser, that he may count his riches from time to time and 
gloat over them ; but, in its acquired sense, it suggests rather the 
thoughtful saving of the capitalist, that he may invest and re- 
invest and so multiply his opportunities and powers for enjoy- 
ment and usefulness. Forestr}- is the most typical form on the 
strict conservation side, while reclamation is most typical on the 
