Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul Part 46

3--That such franchises be in the nature of leases for a long term of years. Such leases should be renewable on equitable terms. Rentals should be low, and should be applied to the extension of the State forest reserve.

4--That a reasonable Conservation charge be levied on all developed water-powers on rivers of which the headwaters are protected by forest reserve lands, the income from such charge to be applied to the extension of the State forest reserve.

5--That the survey of the water-powers of the State be completed in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey.

FORESTS. 1--The State Conservation Commission regard it of the utmost importance that the State forest reserve, located about the headwaters of the more important streams of the State, be greatly extended. At the present time the opportunities to make such extensions are much more favorable than they will be in the future, and therefore the Commission recommend that immediate action be taken to secure such extensions.

2--The State Conservation Commission recommend to the Governor that, in view of the large increase in area of the forest reserves since the last session of the Legislature and the probability that in the future such holdings will be materially added to, the annual appropriation of the State board of forestry for administrative purposes should be largely increased.

3--The State Conservation Commission also approved the following principles as adopted at the Lake States Forestry Conference, held at Madison, December 10, 1908:

"_Resolved_, That forest fires being one of the greatest enemies of the State, and thus akin to riot and invasion, the Executive power of the State should be employed to the utmost limit in emergencies in their suppression and control for the protection of the lives and property of the people.

"_Resolved_, That we advocate the patrol system as the only satisfactory method of preventing forest fires, and the commanding factor in fighting them.

"_Resolved_, That we recommend the retention of the fire warden system with the county, rather than the town, as the unit, as being essential in securing interest and responsibility among the people most affected.

"_Resolved_, That in all districts covered by State fire patrol a reasonable portion of the expense for such patrol should be placed upon the unoccupied, unimproved, or wild lands, whether forest or cut-over land, preferably in the form of an acreage tax.

"_Resolved_, That the expense of the local fire warden service, and the help called out for the suppression of fires, should be borne wholly or in part by the county or town, but the payment should first be made by the State to insure promptness.

"_Resolved_, That all officials, including public prosecutors, charged with the enforcement of fire-protective measures, should be subject to severe penalty or removal from office for non-performance of duty.

"_Resolved_, That the successful prosecution and a commensurate punishment in case of conviction often cannot be secured in the locality where the offense has been committed, and in order that the law shall be enforced, in the interest of justice, and under authority of the attorney general, a change of venue should be permitted.

"_Resolved_, That it is the sense of this meeting that lands containing forests should be taxed in the usual manner so far as the land is concerned, said land to be a.s.sessed as if it contained no timber; but the forest products should be a.s.sessed and taxed only when they are cut and removed, and then in an appropriate manner; that the harvest timber tax should be based on a stumpage value determined by the value of the forest product at the place where it is a.s.sessed, less the cost of placing it there."

SOILS. The State Conservation Commission recommend to the Governor that a soil survey of the State be undertaken and carried on at such a rate as will give a general view of the soils of the State in about five years. The Commission call especial attention to the immediate need of such a survey in the central and northern parts of the State, the soils of which are now coming rapidly into agricultural use; and also to its necessity on lands which may be included in a forest reserve and which should be devoted to forestry or agriculture according to the nature of their soil.

Let us see what were the results of these recommendations. A number of bills were introduced in the Legislature of 1909, seeking franchises to dam navigable streams and to create reservoirs and reservoir systems; but acting upon the recommendations of the Conservation Commission, all such bills were referred to a special committee of the Legislature on "Water-powers, Forestry, and Drainage" which has carefully investigated the development of the water-powers of the State and will report either to a special session of the Legislature or to the regular session in 1911. Undoubtedly the issuing of such franchises will be placed in the hands of a competent board or commission. All forestry bills introduced in 1909 were referred to the same special committee of the Legislature.

Two members of this committee have made their report, and include the following recommendations in regard to the forestry work of the State:

1--An act to provide a State tax of two-tenths of one mill for each dollar of the a.s.sessed valuation of the taxable property in the State, to be collected annually for a period of twenty years, the tax when levied and collected to const.i.tute "a forestry investment fund" to be used for the purchase, improvement, and protection of the forest reserve lands.

2--An act to provide for the piling and burning of white Norway and jack pine slash.

3--An act to provide for the employment of an efficient fire patrol by the State board of forestry.

In accordance with the recommendations of the Conservation Commission, the Legislature in 1909 pa.s.sed an Act providing for a soil survey of the State, and this work is being done by the Geological Survey and College of Agriculture, for the purpose of ascertaining the character and fertility of the developed and undeveloped soils of the State, the extent and practicability of drainage of the swamp and wet lands of the State, and the means for properly conserving and increasing the fertility of the soil of the State.

It will be seen from the above that the work of the State Conservation Commission has already shown important results, and it is believed that the Legislature and people of Wisconsin have now begun to realize clearly the urgent need and also the means which should be taken to conserve the great natural resources.

REPORT OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

The Conservation of natural resources is a subject in which an American academy of political and social science must necessarily have a keen interest. The primary purpose of the American Academy being to a.s.sist in the right solution of the political and economic problems confronting the people of the United States, it has actively cooperated with those individuals and organizations that have done most to give impetus to the Conservation movement.

At the White House Conference called by President Roosevelt in May, 1908, the American Academy was one of the National organizations represented. The following November, the Academy devoted one of its regular scientific sessions to Conservation, the chief address of the session being delivered by Mr Gifford Pinchot, the Chairman of the National Conservation Commission. The Academy was also represented at the Conference which met in Was.h.i.+ngton in December, 1908, upon the invitation of the National Conservation Commission.

The most valuable aid the American Academy has given the Conservation movement was rendered by the publication, in May, 1909, of a comprehensive volume containing eighteen papers especially prepared by men prominent in the Conservation movement. The scope and character of this volume are indicated by the following list of papers and contributors:

_Forestry on Private Lands_--Honorable Gifford Pinchot, U. S.

Forester, and Chairman National Conservation Commission.

_Public Regulation of Private Forests_--Professor Henry Solon Graves, Director Forest School, Yale University.

_Can the States Regulate Private Forests?_--F. C. Zacharie, Esq., of the Louisiana Bar, New Orleans.

_Water as a Resource_--W J McGee, LL.D., U. S. Inland Waterways Commission; Member National Conservation Commission.

_Water Power in the United States_--M. O. Leighton, Chief Hydrographer, U. S. Geological Survey.

_The Scope of State and Federal Legislation Concerning the Use of Waters_--Charles Edward Wright, a.s.sistant Attorney to the Secretary of the Interior.

_The Necessity for State or Federal Regulation of Water-power Development_--Charles Whiting Baker, C. E., Editor-in-Chief Engineering News, New York.

_Federal Control of Water Power in Switzerland_--Treadwell Cleveland, Jr., U. S. Forest Service.

_Cla.s.sification of Public Lands_--George W. Woodruff, a.s.sistant Attorney-General for the Department of the Interior.

_A Summary of our Most Important Land Laws_--Honorable Knute Nelson, U. S. Senator from Minnesota; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Lands, and Chairman of Committee on Lands, National Conservation Commission.

_Indian Lands: Their Administration with Reference to Present and Future Use_--Honorable Francis E. Leupp, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

_The Conservation and Preservation of Soil Fertility_--Cyril G.

Hopkins, Chief in Agronomy and Chemistry, University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana.

_Farm Tenure in the United States_--Henry Gannett, Geographer U. S. Geological Survey.

_What may be Accomplished by Reclamation_--Honorable Frederick H. Newell, Director U. S. Reclamation Service.

_The Legal Problems of Reclamation of Lands by Means of Irrigation_--Morris Bien, Supervising Engineer, U. S.

Reclamation Service.

_Our Mineral Resources_--Honorable George Otis Smith, Director U. S. Geological Survey.

_The Production and Waste of Mineral Resources and their Bearing on Conservation_--J. A. Holmes, Chief, Technologic Branch U. S. Geological Survey; Member National Conservation Commission.

_Preservation of the Phosphates and the Conservation of the Soil_--Charles Richard Van Hise, President of the University of Wisconsin.

There were 5500 copies of this volume published, and its wide distribution at a most opportune time caused it to have an exceptionally effective influence. By the end of 1909 the edition was practically exhausted, and a new edition became necessary. The Canadian members of the American Academy, it is interesting to note, were particularly pleased to receive this publication.

It is the belief of those most active in the work of the American Academy that the question of the Conservation of American resources outranks all other economic questions now before the people of the United States. It is especially important that National and local organizations should cooperate as fully as possible in educating the public as to the present condition of our resources, the manner in which they are being used, and the measures that should be taken to make these resources of permanent as well as of present value to the American people.

Respectfully submitted, [Signed] EMORY R. JOHNSON, _Chairman_ FREDERICK C. STEVENS WM. B. DEAN W. A. FLEMING JONES WM. L. WEST CHARLES W. AMES _Committee_