Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul Part 52

Man must know that in giving development to a stream it must be improved from its source to its mouth, and for its every use. Storage dams should be built at every available point. The fish raised in the reservoirs thereby created will soon pay for the outlay in construction. It is estimated that by fully conserving the waters and utilizing the water-power developed in connection with storage and other works, three times as much land can be reclaimed in the western half of the United States. Such dams will decrease largely the annual damage from flood waters, with which we are so familiar, as well as regulate a more even stream-flow. A larger and purer water supply will be a.s.sured; water for irrigation in the more accessible regions will be afforded. An improved stream provides cheaper power for manufacturing purposes, stimulates various industries, and thereby furnishes larger fields of employment.

If the limitation of streams as self-clarifiers were better understood there would be such protection given to them and their water-sheds that there would be no more refuse, laden with typhoid, cholera and inflammatory intestinal germs given to them, especially if the great distances these germs travel and their tenacity of life were better known. The developed stream affords water for transportation when the stream is navigable, which affects both the producer and consumer from the remotest section to the heart of the Nation.

It costs no more to develop the average stream than to build a railroad of the same mileage, but the improved stream carries 125 times as much freight per year as can be carried by rails, and at one-sixth the cost.

Some 75 percent of the total freight commodities originating on the traffic lines in the United States consist of heavy raw materials, the staple productions of the farms, the forests, the mines, and the live stock ranges of the interior. These are commodities where economy of transportation is a prime essential to production. The even stream-flow which comes from improvement gives moisture to the agricultural lands along the banks; the trees at the head waters and outlining its meanderings testify to the interdependence of forests and streams. An improved river system as outlined in these suggestions also necessitates drainage of all lowlands, save those suffering from the encroachments of the sea.

At a glance we readily see that the development of waterways affects the Nation at large and man individually in a more vital way than any other of the natural resources. The idea is generally prevalent that the development of our Nation's waterways is pre-eminently man's work, and that there is nothing for the women to do. Yet there is not one phase of waterway development that does not directly or indirectly touch every home of this Nation. Who is there, then, to say that it is not the duty of every woman as mother and citizen to inform herself thoroughly on so vital a subject that she may be among the most active educators in this great campaign? In almost every great sociological and reform movement, women have been the originators; and today they are the dynamic forces which destroy the evils that are opposing civic righteousness. Shall the homemaker refuse to protect her household from one of the greatest sources of physical infection which follows in the wake of modern indifference to pure water supply? Purity in water means health, impurity means sickness and death.

Every year millions of dollars are spent by Americans in travel in the older countries. We read beautiful descriptions of voyages down the Rhine. Along the Thames the Victorian embankment adds glory to London.

The little River Seine with its many ca.n.a.ls, making Paris, though inland, one of the greatest ports in France, remains beautiful throughout its length; flowing through the center of Paris, it has been kept decorative, banked with foliage and flowers, skirted by long lines of graceful masonry, with pleasure promenades, bordered on either side with beautiful statuary and sparkling fountains. Does it not fill your heart with a sense of mortification to compare these water fronts of European cities with the water fronts of our American cities? Public beauty excites that love of country which is at the very foundation of true patriotism. Let us resolve within ourselves to reverse these conditions, and bend our energies to improve and make of our waterways the most beautiful in the world.

Reports from the 39 States now in active work along these lines have shown great returns from the efforts put forth. We have 619 federated clubs showing definite results of their undertakings. In one State a splendid reference library on "Waterways" has been established; in another a great warfare was waged for pure drinking-water, the women going to the polls and making a fight for the sand filtration plan.

Sixty-three clubs have reported making sanitary and parking water fronts as their especial work with splendid results. Prizes have been offered in many States to school children for the best essay on "Inland Waterways": over 5000 children in one State alone entered this contest.

Placing Conservation in the public schools has been accomplished in several States; in every State great work is being done along educational lines, with the hearty cooperation and support of the superintendents and teachers. This subject has been given place on 150 programs of State, district, and local meetings of various organizations; and many speakers have addressed schools and club a.s.semblies. The press has been most courteous in every State in its cooperation with this Committee; 101 different articles have been published in all the prominent newspapers throughout the States. The Waterway Committee of the General Federation have sent delegates to waterway conventions in a number of States. There is scarcely a club in the Federation that has not given at least one number on its program, if not the entire program, to the Conservation of our natural resources.

Fifty thousand circulars and pamphlets have been sent from the Chairman's office and distributed throughout the States by the different chairmen. The great demand for waterway literature from every quarter convinces us of the growing interest in this subject. Thus we stand as strong allies in this great Conservation movement.

[Signed] Mrs J. D. WILKINSON, _Chairman Waterways Committee_ (Reported through Mrs G. B. SNEATH)

REPORT OF THE LAKES TO GULF DEEP WATERWAY a.s.sOCIATION

I bring greetings from three different bodies allied in this work: the Business Men's League of Saint Louis; the Missouri Waterways Commission, of which I have the honor to be Chairman; and the Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterway a.s.sociation, of which I have the honor to be President. On behalf of Governor Hadley and the State of Missouri, I wish to extend to this Congress the a.s.surance that Missouri is for the policy of Conservation of natural resources in the way in which it is understood by most of you; that is to say, she is for the economical development of her resources in the highest degree, and at the same time for the preservation of the rights of the people in the control of those resources.

Some time ago, following out the policy advocated by Mr Gifford Pinchot and by President Roosevelt, Governor Hadley appointed the Missouri Waterways Commission to examine and report upon the water resources of the State. In this department, Missouri is richer than many other States in the Union. Located in the center of the most fertile valley in America, she possesses two great rivers; the Mississippi, forming her entire eastern border, and the Missouri, exactly bisecting the State, connecting her two great princ.i.p.al cities. In addition to these there come down out of the Ozark Mountain region a series of smaller navigable rivers, the Osage, the Gasconade, the Big Piney, the Current, the Black, the White, and many smaller streams flowing into the great rivers and enabling boats to reach almost every part of the interior. In the course of time all of these rivers will be very much improved, and many of them made navigable. The sources of these streams are in the Ozarks, and they are fed by the most beautiful springs which are known to exist in America; one of these springs, named after our Governor, discharges, it is estimated, 50,000,000 gallons a day, even in the driest season--an amount equal to the entire consumption of a city of probably 50,000 inhabitants. There are many more which flow from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 gallons a day. You cannot go a quarter of a mile along any valley road in the Ozark region without coming upon a spring oozing out of the limestone or sandstone cliffs, and adding its limpid waters to some brook or river. The crest of the Ozarks is 2,000 feet above the sea, more than 1,500 feet above Saint Louis, and all of these streams flow pell-mell down the hills to their navigable portions; so that the State has a very large amount of latent water-power. It is well to remember that the Ozarks remain forested, and that it is in the shelter of these forests that the waters gather to form the abundant springs and streams.

The Missouri Waterways Commission has employed one of the best-known hydraulic engineers in America, Mr M. L. Holman, to make a preliminary survey of these and other resources; and on this he is now engaged. When this has been completed, a report will be made to Governor Hadley embodying a policy for the control and development of this power, and this policy, it is expected, will be recommended to the next State Legislature by the Governor with the view of securing legislation conserving at the same time the water resources and the people's rights in them.

This is not, of course, the full extent of the Waterway Commission's work, for we have also to consider the use of the streams for navigation, a department in which the State is as much interested as the Federal Government, although we are not allowed to tamper with the navigable rivers themselves. We are also to consider the reclamation of swamp lands, the preservation of soil, and the general use of water, which is today the Nation's greatest a.s.set. In the last Congress an appropriation of $1,300,000 was made for Missouri river, which means as much to Missouri as a part of its Conservation work as it does to the cities and the Nation for its value to navigation. Both the Missouri and the Mississippi are great devourers of soil. The Missouri will tear out an entire farm and ruin a farmer in an incredibly short s.p.a.ce of time when it is changing its bed. The application of revetment to the banks and the contraction system in the effort, certain of success, to obtain a 6-foot permanent channel between Kansas City and Saint Louis, will return to the farmer, it is estimated, more than the entire outlay in additional capital wealth represented by the rich accretions of the Missouri bottoms. The securing of this appropriation and the very large appropriations also for the Mississippi fronting the State and leading from this beautiful city of Saint Paul all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, has been largely stimulated by the work and activity of the Lakes to the Gulf Deep Water a.s.sociation; and many of you will remember how much that organization has had to do with the doctrines of Conservation.

This reference to the Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterway a.s.sociation may be pardoned, when it is remembered that this a.s.sociation has always stood for the complete utilization of the waterways for all purposes for which they are available, and that it has thereby become one of the most effective Conservation agencies in the world. It may interest you to know that we of the Lakes to the Gulf Waterway a.s.sociation played an historic part in the early history of Conservation in this country. In October, 1907, the a.s.sociation chartered a fleet of steamers and carried President Theodore Roosevelt from Saint Louis to Memphis to show a President of the United States for the first time the necessity of improving the inland waters. One of the steamboats which made that trip was the General McKenzie, and the pa.s.sengers on the McKenzie were the Inland Waterways Commission appointed by President Roosevelt, upon the suggestion of our a.s.sociation, to examine the question in hand. One of the members of this Commission was Gifford Pinchot; another was Mr Frederick H. Newell, head of the Reclamation Service; another was Dr W J McGee, Secretary of the Commission; another was Herbert Knox Smith, head of the Bureau of Corporations; and another was Alexander McKenzie, always a friend of the waterways. On the steamer Alton, escorting the President, were the Governors of 22 States; and still another vessel bore about 75 members of the Federal Congress.

The second night out from Saint Louis was a stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, and the vessels made their way with great difficulty through the intricate channel of Point Pleasant reached from New Madrid southward. On that memorable night Gifford Pinchot and his a.s.sociates in the Inland Waterways Commission came aboard the steamer Alton, and on the deck of that steamboat, protected from the storm by canvas awnings, held the historic meeting that gave birth to two great movements: Conservation, and the House of Governors. As a result of that meeting, where the policy of Conservation was fully laid out, President Roosevelt announced in his speech at the Lakes to the Gulf convention in Memphis that he would call a meeting of the Governors, and did call this memorable meeting of May 15-18, 1908, at which public sanction was given to the Conservation movement, and the House of Governors became an established organization. We have always felt that the place of the Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterway a.s.sociation in bringing about this meeting is one of the proudest achievements that the a.s.sociation has on its records, and will live in history.

The Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterway a.s.sociation has always felt the necessity of allying itself with the Upper Mississippi River Improvement a.s.sociation, the Ohio River Improvement a.s.sociation, and the general Conservation movement for the best development of all river channels.

The Mississippi today has the largest storage reservoirs in the world, although they are almost equaled now by the storage in the Salt River Irrigation Project in Arizona. But because of the cutting and burning of the forests, and the failure of the Government to complete the reservoirs, the Mississippi this year has been unnavigable above Saint Louis through the whole summer season. Nothing but conservation of the head-waters--and it must be remembered that adequate attention should be given to the forests about the head-waters--can prevent a recurrence of that circ.u.mstance in the next drought. The reservoirs which are now established should be supplemented by others on the Wisconsin, the Flambeau, the Chippewa, the Minnesota, and all the other streams flowing into the upper river, and some scheme for conserving the waters of the Ohio, although it will come at great expense; and the Tennessee also must be dammed and reservoired, both to withhold the floods and to conserve the water for dry-season navigation. Costly as these reservoir systems may be, it will require but little figuring to show that, again in league with the Conservation policy and a light charge by the Government on the water-power in these navigable streams, they will return interest and sinking fund on the cost of the improvements. Here in Saint Paul, and between here and Minneapolis, we have an ill.u.s.tration of the great lack of proper development in the series of falls and rapids--not half of which is properly utilized--on which the Government has spent much money and for which the people receive no return whatever.

But the Lakes to the Gulf channel is a magnificent ill.u.s.tration of Conservation. It requires, as in Illinois, the cutting of 100 miles of ca.n.a.l through rock and riverbed, and the building of dams which will develop 150,000 horsepower; and the use of the money from that power now going to waste will pay the entire cost of this expensive rock channel (this in itself is an ideal example of Conservation). In the Mississippi reach between Grafton and Cairo, which is to be deepened to 14 feet or more by three large dams, will be developed more than 600,000 horsepower, and this in return will also pay for the cost of the work and a surplus besides. Below Cairo the improvement of the river contemplates--and the present appropriations are carrying this out--the revetment of the banks in every bend, which will save to the Nation in soil an amount every year which it is impossible to calculate, but which is worth many millions of dollars; will allow the building of levees close to the waterfront without danger of their caving in, and so reclaim possibly 100 square miles of additional land in the Delta; and will make a permanent and safe drainage system for the great swamps along the river, from which a few years' crops will more than pay for the entire Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterway.

Swamp drainage, storage to prevent floods, storage to provide water-power and better channels, the establishment of suitable banks and good levees--all of these are a part of the Conservation policy that was launched on that memorable trip on which Theodore Roosevelt inspected the Mississippi.

[Signed] W. K. KAVANAUGH, _President_

REPORT OF THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN SPORTSMEN

The Committee appointed by the League of American Sportsmen to make recommendations to the National Conservation Congress beg leave to report briefly as follows:

_Federal Laws_

The United States should enact laws so that in addition to those now in force, the following will be possible:

The protection by the United States Government of migratory birds and fishes.

The setting apart and protection of game refuges, parks, and breeding grounds, and scientifically caring for same. Some of these should be established in the forest reserves now existing that are suitable for this purpose, and competent caretakers put in charge. The Wichita Reserve is a good example to follow. Marsh lands and water should not be forgotten, as all bird and forest life must be considered.

Trained Government game-keepers or experts should be provided, that can be furnished upon applications received from State or private game parks--same to be paid by the applicant served.

_The States_

The States should each and all set apart game refuges and parks and care for them practically. Competent care-takers and trained game-keepers should be put in charge. These game refuges for wild life should be distributed as generally in each State and cover as wide an area as possible; for it must not be forgotten that the song and insectivorous birds are as important to save and find refuges for, as is what is usually denominated "game."

The game laws of the States should be as nearly the same as geographical and local conditions will permit.

The enforcement of the game, bird, and fish laws, together with the care of game preserves, should be divorced from politics. At present in most of the States the selection of a game warden is based not upon training or fitness for the position, but is the reward of party or personal political fealty. Should by chance the appointee show adaptability and really study the subject of game protection, by the time his education is well under way and he has become valuable to the State, the political wheel turns again and some one else is to be rewarded.

So-called game laws to be enforcible must be practical and have the sympathy of the people. Therefore, the work of education must be continued and amplified by both the State and Federal powers to show, _first_, the value of bird life to the farmer and all the people as insect and weed-seed destroyers; _second_, the value of game and fish as food products; _third_, their value as an incentive to a life out-of-doors and health; _fourth_, the value to the State because of the tourist and sportsmen's travel attracted thereby (statistics on this subject should be gathered by both Federal and State authorities, and given constant and wide publicity); _fifth_, the non-resident hunting and fis.h.i.+ng license should be made as nearly alike in the several States as possible, and a reasonable amount of fish or game allowed to be taken home by the terms of said license; _sixth_, resident licenses issued by the State should furnish funds for carrying on the work of game, bird, and fish protection and propagation, and we recommend a careful consideration of this subject by those States that have not already such laws in force; and _seventh_, the so-called spring shooting of water-fowl should be stopped.

All of which is respectfully submitted:

[Signed] WM. B. MERSHON, Saginaw, Mich.

_Chairman_ JNO. F. LACEY, Oskaloosa, Iowa F. SHAROIR, Stamford, Conn.

J. H. MCDERMOTT, Morgantown, W. Va.

J. ADAMS BROWN, New York City R. D. EVANS, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.

_Conservation Committee_

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS

Since the commencement of the Conservation movement, the National Board of Fire Underwriters has been deeply interested in the governmental and a.s.sociational activities aiming to foster and protect the natural resources with which our country has been so bountifully blessed. Our representation at the Was.h.i.+ngton Conferences of 1908 indicated our sympathy with the propositions presented, and the continuance of our Conservation Committee is a manifestation that we have been and are ever ready to cooperate in a furtherance of those principles which you as an organization stand pledged to advance. We believe that unless there is an intelligent development and utilization of our natural resources, the comfort, prosperity, and happiness of future generations will be seriously impaired, and we are in hearty accord with all legislation having for its object the preservation from destruction of Nature's gifts and Man's handiwork.

The address which this Committee presented to the Joint Conservation Conference sought to set forth some very important facts concerning the excessive fire waste which persists in the United States and suggested remedial measures, which we still firmly believe, if adopted, would materially diminish the grievous loss of life and the tremendous and unnecessary destruction of created values by fire. We therefore beg to reaffirm those suggestions at this time, as follows:

The present fire waste in this country is an unnecessary National calamity, and to reduce it it is essential--

_First_--That the public should be brought to understand that property destroyed by fire is gone forever, and is not replaced by the distribution of insurance, which is a tax collected for the purpose.

_Second_--That the States severally adopt and enforce a building code which shall require a high type of safe construction, essentially following the code of the National Board of Fire Underwriters.

_Third_--That munic.i.p.alities adopt ordinances governing the use and keeping of explosives, especially inflammable commodities, and other special hazards, such as electric wiring, the storing of refuse, waste, packing materials, etc. in buildings, yards, or areaways, and see to the enforcement of such ordinances.

_Fourth_--That the States severally establish and support the office of fire marshal, and confer on the Fire Marshal by law the right to examine under oath and enter premises and to make arrests, making it the duty of such officer to examine into the cause and origin of all fires, and when crime has been committed requiring the facts to be submitted to the grand jury or proper indicting body.

_Fifth_--That in all cities there be a paid, well disciplined, non-political fire department adequately equipped with modern apparatus.

_Sixth_--That an adequate water system with proper distribution and pressure be installed and maintained. In the larger cities, a separate high pressure water system for fire extinguishment is an absolute necessity, to diminish the extreme imminence of general conflagrations.

The publication by the U. S. Geological Survey of Bulletin 418, known as "The Fire Tax and Waste of Structural Materials in the United States,"

is worthy of high commendation, and we believe a wider distribution of this pamphlet and the preparation and dissemination annually of similar information, will materially serve to awaken the public to a realization of the enormous values in utilized resources which are destroyed by fire beyond recall, and cause action to be taken by States, munic.i.p.alities and individuals to enact such laws and regulations as will make for the exercise of greater care and forethought in the preservation of materials produced from our natural resources. It must be evident that the conservation of our forests and mines will fail of its full results if the utilized products therefrom are to continue to be unnecessarily destroyed by fire to a degree that is a National disgrace.