Chapter I: Part 1

Proceedings
of the
Third
National Conservation Congress

at
Kansas City, Missouri
September 25, 26 and 27, 1911

“_Let us conserve the foundations of our prosperity_”
(Declaration of the Governors, 1908)

Kansas City, Missouri
National Conservation Congress
1912

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES FOR 1910-11

_President_
HENRY WALLACE, Des Moines

_Executive Secretary_
THOMAS R. SHIPP, Washington, D. C.

_Treasurer_
D. AUSTIN LATCHAW, Kansas City, Mo.

_Recording Secretary_
JAMES C. GIPE, Clarks, La.

_Executive Committee_

J. B. WHITE, Kansas City, Mo., _Chairman_
B. N. BAKER, Baltimore
L. H. BAILEY, Ithaca
JAMES R. GARFIELD, Cleveland
FRANK C. GOUDY, Denver
W. A. FLEMING JONES, Las Cruces
MRS. PHILIP N. MOORE, Saint Louis
WALTER H. PAGE, New York
GEORGE C. PARDEE, Oakland, Cal.
GIFFORD PINCHOT, Washington, D. C.
J. N. TEAL, Portland, Ore.
E. L. WORSHAM, Atlanta

_Vice-Presidents_

ALABAMA, Hon. Albert P. Bush, Mobile; ALASKA, Hon. James
Wickersham, Fairbanks; ARIZONA, B. A. Fowler, Phenix;
ARKANSAS, A. H. Purdue, Fayetteville; CALIFORNIA, E. H.
Cox, San Francisco; COLORADO, Murdo Mackenzie, Trinidad;
COLUMBIA (District of), W J McGee, Washington; CONNECTICUT,
Rollin S. Woodruff, Hartford; DELAWARE, Hon. George Gray,
Wilmington; FLORIDA, Cromwell Gibbons, Jacksonville; GEORGIA,
Hon. Jno. C. Hart, Union Point; HAWAII, Mrs. Margaret R.
Knudsen, Kauai; IDAHO, James A. McLean, University of Idaho;
ILLINOIS, Julius Rosenwald, Chicago; INDIANA, F. J. Breeze,
Lafayette; IOWA, Carl Leopold, Burlington; KANSAS, W. R.
Stubbs, Topeka; KENTUCKY, James K. Patterson, Lexington;
LOUISIANA, Newton C. Blanchard, Shreveport; MAINE, Bert M.
Fernald, Augusta; MARYLAND, William Bullock Clark, Baltimore;
MASSACHUSETTS, Frank W. Rane, Boston; MICHIGAN, J. L. Snyder,
Lansing; MINNESOTA, Ambrose Tighe, Saint Paul; MISSISSIPPI,
A. W. Shands, Sardis; MISSOURI, Hermann Von Schrenk, Saint
Louis; MONTANA, E. L. Norris, Helena; NEBRASKA, Dr. F. A.
Long, Madison; NEVADA, Senator Francis G. Newlands, Reno; NEW
HAMPSHIRE, George B. Leighton, Monadnock; NEW JERSEY, Charles
Lathrop Pack, Lakewood; NEW MEXICO, W. A. Fleming Jones, Las
Cruces; NEW YORK, R. A. Pearson, Albany; NORTH CAROLINA, T.
Gilbert Pearson, Greensboro; NORTH DAKOTA, U. G. Larimore,
Larimore; OHIO, James R. Garfield, Cleveland; OKLAHOMA,
Benj. Martin, Jr., Muskogee; OREGON, J. N. Teal, Portland;
PENNSYLVANIA, William S. Harvey, Philadelphia; PHILIPPINE
ISLANDS, Maj. George P. Ahern, Manila; PORTO RICO, Hon. Walter
K. Landis, San Juan; RHODE ISLAND, Henry A. Barker, Providence;
SOUTH CAROLINA, E. J. Watson, Columbia; SOUTH DAKOTA, Ellwood
C. Perisho, Vermillion; TENNESSEE, Herman Suter, Nashville;
TEXAS, W. Goodrich Jones, Temple; UTAH, Harden Bennion, Salt
Lake City; VERMONT, Fletcher D. Proctor, Proctor; VIRGINIA,
A. R. Turnbull, Norfolk; WASHINGTON, M. E. Hay, Olympia; WEST
VIRGINIA, A. B. Fleming, Fairmont; WISCONSIN, Charles R. Van
Hise, Madison; WYOMING, Bryant B. Brooks, Cheyenne; NATIONAL
CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, Gifford Pinchot, Washington.

_Standing Committees_

FORESTS—H. S. Graves, U. S. Forester, Washington, D. C., _Chairman_; E. M. Griffith, Madison, Wis.; E. T. Allen, Portland, Ore.; J. Lewis Thompson, Houston.

LANDS—Governor W. R. Stubbs, Topeka; _Chairman_; Dwight B. Heard, Phenix; J. L. Snyder, Lansing; Murdo Mackenzie, Trinidad; Charles S. Barrett, Union City, Ga.

WATERS—W J McGee, Washington, D. C., _Chairman_; E. A. Smith, Spokane; Henry A. Barker, Providence; J. N. Teal, Portland, Ore.; Herbert Knox Smith, Washington, D. C.

MINERALS—Charles R. Van Hise, Madison, _Chairman_; Joseph A. Holmes, Washington, D. C.; D. W. Brunton, Denver; John Mitchell, New York; I. C. White, Morgantown, W. Va.

VITAL RESOURCES—Dr. William H. Welch, Baltimore, _Chairman_; Professor Irving Fisher, New Haven; Dr. H. W. Wiley, Washington, D. C.; Dr. J. H. Kellogg, Battle Creek, Mich.; Walter H. Page, New York.

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES FOR 1911-12.

_President_
JOHN B. WHITE, Kansas City, Mo.

_Executive Secretary_
THOMAS R. SHIPP, Washington, D. C.

_Treasurer_
D. AUSTIN LATCHAW, Kansas City, Mo.

_Recording Secretary_
JAMES C. GIPE, Clarks, La.

_Executive Committee._

PROF. E. LEE WORSHAM, Atlanta, Ga., _Chairman_.
J. LEWIS THOMPSON, Houston, Tex.
W. A. FLEMING JONES, Las Cruces, N. M.
WALTER H. PAGE, New York.
EX-GOV. GEORGE C. PARDEE, Oakland, Cal.
DR. H. E. BARNARD, Indianapolis, Ind.
MRS. PHILIP N. MOORE, St. Louis, Mo.
BERNARD N. BAKER, Baltimore, Md.
DR. HENRY C. WALLACE, Des Moines, Ia.
GIFFORD PINCHOT, Washington, D. C.

_Vice-Presidents._

_Arkansas_, E. N. PLANK, Decatur.
_California_, FRANCIS CUTTLE, Riverside.
_Colorado_, I. S. T. GREGG, Golden.
_Connecticut_, PROF. J. W. TOWNEY, Hartford.
_District of Columbia_, DR. H. W. WILEY.
_Florida_, T. J. CAMPBELL, West Palm Beach.
_Georgia_, SENATOR L. R. AKIN.
_Illinois_, BALLARD DUNN, Chicago.
_Iowa_, PROF. P. G. HOLDEN, Ames.
_Louisiana_, HON. HENRY E. HARDTNER, Urania.
_Massachusetts_, PROF. F. W. RANE, Boston.
_Missouri_, HERMAN VON SCHRENK, St. Louis.
_Nebraska_, PROF. E. A. BURNETT, Lincoln.
_New Jersey_, E. A. STEVENS, Hoboken.
_New York_, DR. W. T. HORNADAY, New York City.
_Ohio_, J. C. RODGERS, Mechanicsburg.
_Oklahoma_, THOMAS C. HARRICE, Wagoner.
_South Carolina_, PROF. M. W. TWITCHELL, Columbia.
_South Dakota_, GOV. R. S. VESSEY, Pierre.
_Texas_, W. GOODRICH JONES, Temple.
_Washington_, A. L. FLEWELLING, Spokane.
_Wisconsin_, HERBERT QUICK, Madison.

_Local Board of Managers for Kansas City Congress Representing Commercial Club_—J. C. LESTER, _President_; E. M. CLENDENING, _Secretary_; F. P. NEAL, _Chairman_; F. A. FAXON, F. L. HALL, W. B. HILL, F. J. MOSS, J. C. SWIFT, R. A. LONG.

STANDING COMMITTEES. 1911-12.

_Forests_—H. S. GRAVES, Washington, D. C., _Chairman_; E. T. ALLEN, Portland, Ore.; Major E. G. GRIGGS, Tacoma, Wash.; WILLIAM IRVINE, Chippewa Falls, Wis.; GEORGE K. SMITH, St. Louis.

_Minerals_—Dr. JOSEPH A. HOLMES, Washington, D. C., _Chairman_; Dr. CHARLES R. VAN HISE, Madison, Wis.; Dr. I. C. WHITE, Morgantown, W. Va.; C. W. BRUNTON, Denver, Col.; JOHN MITCHELL, New York City.

_Lands and Agriculture_—Prof. L. H. BAILEY, Cornell University, _Chairman_; Prof. GEORGE E. CONDRA, Nebraska; Prof. J. L. SNYDER, Lansing, Mich.; F. D. COBURN, Kansas; CHARLES S. BARRETT, Union City, Ga.

_Education_—Dr. C. E. BESSEY, Lincoln, Neb., _Chairman_; Dr. DAVID STARR JORDAN, Leland Stanford University, Oakland, Cal.; Dr. EDWARD E. ALDERMAN, University Of Virginia, Charlotteville; Dr. E. C. CRAIGHEAD, Tulane University, New Orleans, La.; Prof. FAIRCHILD, Topeka, Kas.

_Vital Resources_—Dr. WILLIAM H. WELCH, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., _Chairman_; Prof. IRVING FISHER, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; Dr. J. N. HURTY, Indianapolis, Ind.; Hon. A. B. FARQUHAR, York, Pa.; Dr. OSCAR DOWLING, Shreveport, La.

_Homes_—Mrs. MATTHEW T. SCOTT, Washington, _Chairman_; Mrs. HARRIET WALLACE ASHBY, Des Moines, Ia.; Mrs. J. E. RHODES, St. Paul, Minn.; Mrs. SARAH S. PLATT-DECKER, Denver, Col.; Mrs. AMOS F. DRAPER, Washington, D. C.

_Child Life_—Hon. BENJAMIN B. LINDSAY, Denver, Col., _Chairman_; Dr. SAMUEL M. LINDSAY, New York City; Judge HENRY L. MCCUNE, Kansas City, Mo.; Mrs. CARL VROOMAN, Bloomington, Ill.; Dr. ANNA LOUISE STRONG, Seattle, Wash.

_Food_—Dr. HARVEY W. WILEY, Washington, D. C., _Chairman_; F. G. URNER, New York; Prof. F. SPENCER BALDWIN, Boston, Mass.; J. F. NICKERSON, Chicago, Ill.; LUCIUS P. BROWN, Nashville, Tenn.; E. H. JENKINS, New Haven, Conn.; M. A. SCOVELLE, Lexington, Ky.; Prof. GEO. A. LOVELAND, Lincoln, Neb.

_Civics_—RALPH EASLEY, New York, _Chairman_; Judge ALBERT HALL WHITFIELD, Jackson, Miss.; B. A. FOWLER, Phoenix, Ariz.; Hon. H. M. BEARDSLEY, Kansas City, Mo.; Hon. FRANCIS J. HENEY, San Francisco, Cal.

_General_ (_Including Domestic Animals and Wild Life_)—Dr. W. T. HORNADAY, New York, _Chairman_; Dr. J. O. HOWARD, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. MINNIE MADDERN FISKE, New York City; Dr. JOHN MUIR, Martinez, Cal.; D. AUSTIN LATCHAW, Kansas City, Mo.; Prof. GEO. A. LOVELAND, Lincoln, Neb.

_Waters_—Hon. J. N. TEAL, Portland, Ore., _Chairman_; Hon. JOSEPH E. RANSDELL, Lake Providence, La.; WALTER S. DICKEY, Kansas City, Mo.; Hon. HERBERT KNOX SMITH, Washington, D. C.; W. K. KAVANAUGH, St. Louis, Mo.; Dr. W J MCGEE, Washington, D. C.; Prof. GEO. F. SWAIN, Harvard University.

_National Parks_ (_to include Mammoth Cave, Ky., and Adjacent Lands_)—Dr. W J MCGEE, Washington, D. C.; Dr. HENRY F. DRINKER, South Bethlehem, Pa.; Hon. WILLIAM P. BORLAND, Kansas City, Mo.; Hon. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Washington, D. C.; Col. W. H. CRUMP, Bowling Green, Ky.

CONTENTS.

CONSTITUTION IX

RESOLUTIONS XIII

OPENING SESSION 1

Invocation by BISHOP LILLIS 1

Welcome by MAYOR BROWN 1

Address of Welcome by PRESIDENT LESTER for Commercial Club 4

Address by GOVERNOR HADLEY 5

Address by PRESIDENT WALLACE 11

Address by HONORABLE J. B. WHITE 19

Appointment of Credentials Committee 21

Announcements by PRESIDENT WALLACE 21

Announcement by SECRETARY SHIPP 21

Announcement by RECORDING SECRETARY GIPE 22

Request by DELEGATE BAUMGARTNER 22

SECOND SESSION 22

Invocation by the REV. DR. KERR 22

GOVERNOR HADLEY Made Chairman 23

Remarks by GOVERNOR HADLEY 23

Call of States 24

Address by MR. J. C. BAUMGARTNER of California 24

Address by PROFESSOR WORSHAM of Georgia 24

Address by MRS. HOLLAND C. DAY 28

Address by COL. ISHAM RANDOLPH of Illinois 28

Address by MR. HARRY EVEREST BARNARD of Indiana 28

Message from MEXICAN AMBASSADOR 28

Address by MR. THOMAS H. MACBRIDE of Iowa 29

Remarks by MR. A. W. STUBBS of Kansas City, Kansas 29

Address of DEAN WATERS of Kansas 29

Address by COL. CRUMP of Bowling Green, Ky. 29

Address by MR. FRED J. GRACE of Louisiana 30

Introduction of EX-PRESIDENT B. N. BAKER 30

Motion by MR. BREEZE of Indiana 30

Remarks by CHAIRMAN HADLEY 30

Address by JUDGE LINDSAY of Colorado 31

Address by MR. D. M. NEILL of Minnesota 43

Address by HONORABLE GEORGE COUPLAND of Nebraska 43

Announcement by PROFESSOR CONDRA 43

Address by HONORABLE E. A. STEVENS, Commissioner of Public Roads 44

Address by PROFESSOR RANE of Massachusetts 44

THIRD SESSION 45

Announcements by ACTING CHAIRMAN CONDRA 45

Remarks by MR. EMIL GUNTHER 46

Address by STATE COMMISSIONER JOHN D. MOORE 46

Address by DR. TWITCHELL of South Carolina 47

Address by MR. GROSS, President of National Soil Fertility League 47

Address by CHAIRMAN CONDRA 49

Address by EX-PRESIDENT BAKER 50

Address by PRESIDENT TAFT 54

FOURTH SESSION 62

Invocation by BISHOP HENDRIX 62

Roll Call of States Resumed 62

Announcement by CHAIRMAN FOWLER of Resolutions Committee 63

Announcement by SERGEANT-AT-ARMS 64

Address of MR. LOGAN of the Missouri Waterways Commission 64

Remarks of MR. C. P. DYAR of Ohio 68

Address by MR. MILTON BROWN of Oklahoma 68

Address by MR. A. B. FARQUHAR 68

Address by DR. DRINKER of Lehigh University 68

Remarks by PRESIDENT WALLACE 71

Address by MR. B. G. HOLDEN of Iowa 71

Address by MR. R. A. LONG 76

Address by HONORABLE W. A. BEARD of California 78

Chair Assumed by HONORABLE J. B. WHITE 87

Announcement by CHAIRMAN FOWLER of Resolutions Committee 87

Address by MR. HERBERT QUICK 88

Reading of Telegram 109

Appointment of Committee on Nominations 110

FIFTH SESSION 111

Invocation by the REV. DR. COMBS 111

Announcement by RECORDING SECRETARY GIPE 111

Introduction of GOVERNOR VESSEY as Chairman 111

Address by GOVERNOR VESSEY 111

Reading of Letter from COLONEL ROOSEVELT 112

Reports from National Organizations 113

Report by MR. MULLIN 113

Report by MAJOR GRIGGS 113

Report by MR. RUSHTON 113

Report by HONORABLE E. T. ALLEN 114

Report by MR. SCHWEDTMAN, of St. Louis 116

Report by MR. COFFIN, of New York 116

Report by DR. FIELD, of the Audubon Society 116

Report by MR. E. R. TAYLOR 116

Address by MRS. VROOMAN 117

Vote of Thanks by DELEGATE BAUMGARTNER 119

Remarks by MR. MCBRIEN 120

Address by PROFESSOR GREENWOOD 120

Address by DEAN MUMFORD, of Missouri 121

Address by MRS. ASHBY, of Des Moines 121

Address by MRS. SCOTT, President General, Daughters American
Revolution 125

Address by MISS FRANCES BROWN 128

Report of Executive Committee by CHAIRMAN WHITE 129

Amendments to the Constitution 129

Adoption of Amendments 130

Address by MISS WELLER, of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs 130

Address by MR. GUTHRIE, of St. Paul 131

SIXTH SESSION 131

Address by MRS. MOORE, President General, Confederation Women
Clubs 132

Address by DR. WILSON, of Presbyterian Church 139

Address by DR. WILEY 139

SEVENTH SESSION 147

Induction of DR. NORTHROP as Chairman 147

Invocation by THE REV. DR. NEEL 148

Address by MR. BAILEY 148

Remarks by DELEGATE STUBBS 151

Discussion by PRESIDENT WALLACE 151

Call of States Resumed 152

Report by MR. FILSON 152

Address by PROFESSOR SPILLMAN, of the Department of Agriculture 152

Address by MRS. WEEKS, of the National Congress of Mothers 156

Address by CONGRESSMAN F. S. JACKSON 157

Address by HONORABLE CURTIS HILL, of Missouri 163

Report of Committee on Credentials 167

Address by HONORABLE J. B. WHITE 167

Report of Committee on Nominations 174

Address by PRESIDENT WHITE 175

Address by PROFESSOR HOPKINS, of University of Illinois 176

Remarks by SECRETARY COBURN, of Kansas 183

Address by DR. MCGEE, of the Department of Agriculture 183

EIGHTH SESSION 193

Invocation by the REV. DR. MONROE 193

Entrance of MR. BRYAN 193

Address by PROFESSOR TEN EYCK 193

Resolution Complimenting GIFFORD PINCHOT 193

Address by HONORABLE WALTER L. FISHER, Secretary of the Interior 194

Remarks by MR. BRYAN 203

Letter from COLONEL ROOSEVELT 204

Address by MR. GROUT, of Illinois 205

Report of Committee on Resolutions 211

Personnel of Committee on Resolutions 211

Remarks by DELEGATE SHOFFER 212

Resolution by DELEGATE STUBBS 212

CLOSING SESSION 214

Address by PROFESSOR HOYNES, of Notre Dame University 214

Address by SENATOR OWEN, of Oklahoma 218

Address by MR. BRYAN 220

SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS 231

Address by DEAN MUMFORD, of the University of Missouri 231

Address by EX-GOVERNOR HOARD, of Wisconsin 234

Address by HENRY I. WILLEY, of New York 237

Address by MR. GRIGGS, of Washington 245

Address by PROFESSOR TEN EYCK 247

Address by the REV. DR. WILSON 257

Address by F. A. FILSON 259

Address by MR. SCHWEDTMAN 261

Report of PRESIDENT STILLMAN 262

Report of DR. FIELD 263

Address by MR. RUSHTON 264

Report of the Camp Fire Club 265

Report by Committee of National Board of Fire Underwriters 267

Report of National Association of Audubon Societies 272

Letter from MR. VAN ORNUM 273

Address by MR. BAUMGARTNER 274

Report for Idaho by MRS. DAY 275

Report for Illinois by COLONEL RANDOLPH 275

Report for Indiana by MR. BARNARD 277

Report for Iowa by MR. MACBRIDE 277

Report for Kansas by DEAN WATERS 278

Report for Louisiana by MR. GRACE 278

Report for Massachusetts by PROFESSOR RANE 281

Report for Minnesota by MR. NEILL 284

Report for Nebraska by MR. COUPLAND 285

Report for New York by MR. MOORE 286

Report for Oklahoma by MR. BROWN 287

Report for Oregon by MR. TEAL 288

Report for Pennsylvania and Philadelphia by MR. GUNTHER 290

Report of Conservation Movement by MR. FARQUHAR 291

Report for South Carolina by DR. TWITCHELL 299

National Organizations Represented at the Congress 301

List of Registered Delegates 303

Index 315

CONSTITUTION OF THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS

_As Amended by the Third Congress._

ARTICLE 1—NAME.

This organization shall be known as the National Conservation Congress.

ARTICLE 2—OBJECT.

The object of the National Conservation Congress shall be: (1) to provide a forum for discussion of the resources of the United States as the foundation for the prosperity of the people, (2) to furnish definite information concerning the resources and their utilization, and (3) to afford an agency through which the people of the country may frame policies and principles affecting the wise and practical development, conservation and utilization of the resources to be put into effect by their representatives in state and federal governments.

ARTICLE 3—MEETINGS.

_Section 1._ Regular annual meetings shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by the executive committee.

_Section 2._ Special meetings of the Congress, or its officers, committees or boards, may be held subject to the call of the president of the Congress or the chairman of the executive committee.

ARTICLE 4—OFFICERS.

_Section 1._ The officers of the Congress shall consist of a president, to be elected by the Congress; a vice-president from each state, to be chosen by the respective state delegations; and from the National Conservation Association; an executive secretary, a recording secretary, and a treasurer.

_Section 2._ The duties of these officers may at any time be prescribed by formal action of the Congress or executive committee. In the absence of such action their duties shall be those implied by their designations and established by custom. In addition, it shall be the duty of the vice-presidents to receive from the state conservations commissions, and other organizations concerned in conservation, suggestions and recommendations and report them to the executive committee of the Congress.

_Section 3._ The officers shall serve for one year, or until their successors are elected and qualify.

ARTICLE 5—COMMITTEES AND BOARDS.

_Section 1._ An executive committee of seven, in addition to which the president of the National Conservation Association and all ex-presidents of the Congress shall be members, ex officio, shall be appointed by the president during each regular annual session to act for the ensuing year; its membership shall be drawn from different states, and not more than one of the appointed members shall be from any one state. The executive committee shall act for the Congress and shall be empowered to initiate action and meet emergencies. It shall report to each regular annual session.

_Section 2._ A board of managers shall be created in each city in which the next ensuing session of the Congress is to be held, preferably by leading organizations of citizens. The board of managers shall have power to raise and expend funds, to incur obligations of its own responsibility, to appoint subordinate boards and committees, all with the approval of the executive committee of the Congress. It shall report to the executive committee at least two days before the opening of the ensuing session, and at such other times as the Congress or the executive committee may direct.

_Section 3._ An advisory board, consisting of one person from each national organization having a conservation committee, shall be created to serve during that Congress and during the interval before the next succeeding Congress. The board shall report to and coöperate with the executive committee.

_Section 4._ A committee on credentials shall be appointed, consisting of five (5) members, by the president of the Congress not later than on the second day of each session of the Congress. It shall determine all questions raised by delegates as to representation, and shall report to the Congress from time to time as required by the president of the Congress.

_Section 5._ A committee on resolutions shall be created for each annual meeting of the Congress. A chairman shall be appointed by the president. One member of the committee shall be selected by each state represented in the Congress. The committee shall report to the Congress not later than the morning of the last day of each annual meeting.

_Section 6._ Permanent committees, consisting of five members each, on each of the following five divisions of conservation: forests, waters, lands, minerals and vital resources, shall be appointed by the president of the Congress. The committee on vital resources is to consist of six subordinate committees as follows: food, homes, child life, education, civics (including wild life, domesticated animals, and cultivated plants). These committees shall, during the intervals between the annual meetings of the Congress, inquire into these respective subjects and prepare reports to be submitted on the request of the executive committee, and render such other assistance to the Congress as the executive committee may direct.

_Section 7._ By direction of the Congress, standing and special committees may be appointed by the president.

_Section 8._ The president shall be a member, ex officio, of every committee of the Congress.

ARTICLE 6—ARRANGEMENTS FOR SESSIONS.

_Section 1._ The program for the session of each annual meeting of the Congress, including a list of speakers, shall be arranged by the executive committee. The entire program, including allotments of time to speakers and hours for daily sessions and all other arrangements concerning the program, shall be made by the executive committee.

_Section 2._ Unless otherwise ordered, the rules adopted for the guidance of the preceding Congress shall continue in force.

ARTICLE 7—MEMBERSHIP.

_Section 1._ The personnel of the National Conservation Congress shall be as follows:

OFFICERS AND DELEGATES.

Officers of the National Conservation Congress.

Fifteen delegates appointed by the governor of each state and territory.

Five delegates appointed by the mayor of each city with a population of 25,000 or more.

Two delegates appointed by the mayor of each city with a population of less than 25,000.

Two delegates appointed by each board of county commissioners.

Five delegates appointed by each national organization concerned in the work of conservation.

Five delegates appointed by each state or interstate organization concerned in the work of conservation.

Three delegates appointed by each chamber of commerce, board of trade, commercial club, or other local organization concerned in the work of conservation.

Two delegates appointed by each state, or other university, or college, and by each agricultural college, or experiment station.

HONORARY MEMBERS.

The President of the United States.

The Vice-President of the United States.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Cabinet.

The United States Senate and House of Representatives.

The Supreme Court of the United States.

The representatives of foreign countries.

The governors of the states and territories.

The lieutenant-governors of the states and territories.

The speakers of state houses of representatives.

The state officers.

The mayors of cities.

The county commissioners.

The presidents of state and other universities and colleges.

The officers and members of the National Conservation Association.

The officers and members of the National Conservation Commission.

The officers and members of the state conservation commissions and associations.

ARTICLE 8—DELEGATIONS AND STATE OFFICERS.

_Section 1._ The several delegates from each state in attendance at any Congress shall assemble at the earliest practicable time and organize by choosing a chairman and a secretary. These delegates, when approved by the committee on credentials, shall constitute the delegation from that state.

ARTICLE 9—VOTING.

_Section 1._ Each member of the Congress shall be entitled to one vote on all actions taken _viva voce_.

_Section 2._ A division or call of states may be demanded on any action, by a state delegation. On division, each delegate shall be entitled to one vote; provided (1) that no state shall have more than twenty votes; and provided (2) that when a state is represented by less than ten delegates, said delegates may cast ten votes for each state.

_Section 3._ The term “state” as used herein is to be construed to mean either state, territory, or insular possession.

ARTICLE 10—AMENDMENTS.

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Congress during any regular session, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given from the Chair not less than one day or more than two days preceding; or by unanimous vote without such notice.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE THIRD NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS.

The third National Conservation Congress, made up of delegates from all sections and nearly every state and territory of the United States, met at the call of a great moral issue, now in session assembled in the city of Kansas City and State of Missouri, does hereby adopt and solemnly declare the following platform of opinion and conclusion concerning the inherent rights of the people of the United States:

Heartily accepting the spirit and intent of the Constitution and adhering to the principles laid down by Washington and Lincoln, we declare our conviction that we live under a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; and we repudiate any and all special or local interests or platforms or policies in conflict with the inherent rights and sovereign will of our people.

Recognizing the natural resources of the country as the prime bases of property and opportunity, we hold the rights of the people in these resources to be natural and inherent, and justly inalienable and indefeasible; and we insist that the resources should and shall be developed, used, and conserved in ways consistent both with current welfare and with the perpetuity of our people.

We commend the efficient work of the federal forest service, and particularly urge upon Congress the need for more liberal financial provision for protection of the national forests from fire, and the desirability of making the army available without delay whenever needed to supplement such protection.

We also appreciate the forestry progress being made by many states, believing it not only the function, but the duty of the state to safeguard its forest resources by liberal appropriation for fire prevention; by acquisition and conservative management of state owned forest lands; by encouraging the practice of private forestry on timber lands and wood lots in every way, especially through reform in forest taxation; and by providing for the educational work necessary to secure all these ends.

We commend the increasing effort at better forest management and protection by timber owners themselves, and urge upon all such the study and emulation of the several coöperative systems for this purpose.

We urge the coöperation of public and private educational authorities in instilling the principles of forest economics in the minds of the young of today, who will be the doers of tomorrow.

We are in sympathy with the policy of establishing public parks to be used for the benefit of the people forever, including localities of scenic, scientific or historic interest, by states and by the National Government, and we cite as an example the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, one of the wonders of the world; we recommend this policy to obviate the danger of such national heirlooms being held permanently in private ownership and subordinated to private interest rather than the public good.

Recognizing the 900,000,000 acres of well-watered arable land in this country as the chief source of food and clothing for our people, we hold that these lands should be guarded as a natural heritage to be kept in sacred trust for our children and our children’s children; that they should be safe-guarded from loss through natural agencies and negligent or thriftless use; that they should be protected from monopoly and private or corporate rapacity; that they should be so cultivated and improved that they may pass to each coming generation with increased fertility and productivity; and that they should forever be used as sites for homes in which the strength and spirit of the Nation may be conserved for the general welfare of mankind.

Approving the withdrawal of public lands pending classification, and the separation of surface rights from mineral, forests, and water rights, including water-power sites, we recommend legislation for the classification and leasing for grazing purposes all unreserved lands suitable chiefly for this purpose, subject to the rights of homesteaders and settlers, or the acquisition thereof under the land laws of the United States; and we hold that arid and non-irrigable public grazing lands should be administered by the Government in the interest of small stockmen and homeseekers until they have passed into the possession of actual settlers.

We favor the repeal of the commutation clause of the Homestead Law, and the disallowance of homestead entries on land chiefly valuable for its timber at time of filing.

We hold that mineral deposits underlying public lands should be transferred to private ownership only by long-time leases with revaluation at stated periods, such leases to be in amounts and subject to such regulations as to prevent monopoly and needless waste; and that in case of doubt as to the availability of such mineral deposits, or while they are waiting exploitation, surface rights to the land should be transferred by lease only under such conditions as to promote development and protect public interest.

Since all successful conservation effort must follow ascertained fact, we agree (1) that there should be in each commonwealth an active conservation commission or equivalent organization; and (2) that such commission should use, and strive ever to coördinate, all agencies, state or national, which have for their object the discovery of exact data and the ascertainment of scientific information in reference to all natural resources and conditions in each of the several states and in the country at large.

We hold that phosphate deposits underlying the public lands should be safe-guarded for the American people by appropriate legislation, and that export of phosphates and other natural and manufactured fertilizing material should be limited and regulated by law.

Realizing that the productivity of our soil depends on water supply; that one of the chief losses to the farm is destructive soil erosion; that the freshets and floods due to storm and thaw waters are destructive of property and even of life; and knowing through experience in this and other countries that the waste and destruction due to unregulated run-off are largely susceptible to control by appropriate agricultural methods, we hold that the aim of every farmer should be to make his farm take care of the water naturally reaching it; we also hold that allowing ordinary storm waters to carry silt and sand from farms into neighboring streams and rivers works a public injury which may be prevented by appropriate legislation.

Realizing that the strength of the Nation will ever lie in the multiplication of homes on the land up to its full capacity, we approve the successful efforts of the Federal Government to provide for such homes through irrigation of the more arid portions of the country; we endorse and commend the Reclamation Service, and urge its continuance with such increased means as may be found needful; and we urge the immediate extension of the same policy to the drainage of swamp and overflow lands, to be carried forward so far as appropriate through coöperation between state and federal agencies.

We recommend the early opening of the coal fields and other resources of Alaska belonging to the people of the United States, for industrial and commercial purposes, on a system of leasing, national ownership to be retained pending such development of that portion of our territory as to permit the creation of states within its area; and as a means of promoting industry and commerce in Alaska we approve the construction of necessary highways, railways, and terminal facilities by the National Government.

Realizing that the prosperity of the country and its suitability for homes must always depend largely on transportation facilities, we recommend extension of the good roads movement until every community is provided with safe and easy ways to schools, churches and markets; and in developing the necessary road systems, we favor coöperation between townships, counties, states, and the federal government in such manner as to secure the greatest benefits to the entire country at the minimum cost.

Realizing that the current cost of railway transportation is apparently exorbitant, amounting to about $2,750,000,000 annually, equivalent to a tax of $150 per family (or one-third the cost of living) or an impost of over $5 on each acre of improved land in the United States, we urge on the Federal Government appraisal of railway property and such investigation and supervision of railway business as will insure protection of the public interests; and to this end we recommend enlargement of the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

As a means of reducing the cost of living and promoting the general welfare, we favor the establishment of a parcels post.

Realizing that products of the soil on which our people depend for food and clothing are sometimes diverted from the most direct lines leading from producer to consumer for speculative purposes, and that they are made the basis for gambling transactions, we hold that all dealing in futures and gambling operations involving foodstuffs and materials for clothing are a public injury, and recommend investigation of the matter by authority of the Federal Congress; and in case our judgment is sustained by such investigation, we demand the enactment of law by the Federal Congress prohibiting the sale of these necessaries of life by men or interests who do not own them at the time of such sale, under penalties including imprisonment at least for any second offense.

Since noxious insects and plants, including weeds, are a source of public injury, we urge appropriate state and federal legislation tending to their extermination; and we commend the development of that public spirit finding expression from time to time in communities and states in crusades against insect and plant pests in the public interest.

Recognizing in coöperative enterprises an effective means of conserving human energy and increasing the efficiency of our soils in feeding our people cheaply, and thereby affording means for the development of equal opportunity for all, we approve and commend such coöperative organization among our producers and consumers as will tend to promote economy and prevent waste in handling the necessaries of life.

Realizing that the interests of our citizens, our states, and our Nation are identical, and impressed by the success which has attended coöperation between state institutions and the Federal Government, we favor continuation and extension of such coöperation as a highly efficient means of promoting the general welfare.

Impressed by immeasurable benefits derived by our people from the work of the United States Department of Agriculture in promoting the use and conservation of our soil and its products, we endorse and commend that department; we strongly urge on Congress increased appropriation for its necessary work; and we recommend the enactment of such state and federal legislation as will enable the state colleges of agriculture and experiment stations to maintain in every agricultural county a capable field demonstrator to aid farmers in practical application of newly acquired agricultural knowledge.

Since all successful conservation effort must follow ascertained fact, we agree (1) that there should be in each commonwealth an active conservation commission or equivalent organization; and (2) that such commission should use and strive ever to coördinate all agencies, state or national, which have for their object the discovery of exact data and the ascertainment of scientific information in reference to all natural resources and conditions in each of the several states and in the country at large.

Recognizing the waters of the country as a great national resource, we approve and endorse the opinion that all the waters belong to all the people, and hold that they should be administered in the interests of all the people.

Realizing that all parts of each drainage basin are related and interdependent, we hold that each stream should be regarded and treated as a unit from its source to its mouth; and since the waters are essentially mobile and transitory and are generally interstate, we hold that in all cases of divided or doubtful jurisdiction the waters should be administered by coöperation between state and federal agencies.

Recognizing the interdependence of the various uses of the waters of the country, we hold that the primary uses are for domestic supply and for agriculture through irrigation or otherwise, and that the uses for navigation and for power, in which water is not consumed, are secondary; and we commend the modern view that each use of the waters should be made with reference to all other uses for the public welfare in accordance with the principle of the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time.

Viewing adequate and economical transportation facilities as among the means of conservation, and realizing that the growth of the country has exceeded the development of transportation facilities, we approve the prompt adoption of a comprehensive plan for developing navigation throughout the rivers and lakes of the United States, proceeding in the order of their magnitude and commercial importance.

Recognizing the vast economic benefits to the people of water power derived largely from interstate and source streams no less than from navigable rivers, we favor public control of water power development; we deny the right of state or federal governments to continue alienating or conveying water by granting franchises for the use thereof in perpetuity; and we demand that the use of water rights be permitted only for limited periods, with just compensation in the interests of the people.

We demand the maintenance of a federal commission empowered to deal with all uses of the waters and to coördinate these uses for the public welfare in coöperation with similar commissions or other agencies maintained by the states.

We recognize the great service that has been, and can be, rendered in the conservation of our mineral resources, by developing and mining in large units with adequate capital, and approve the encouragement of such development under proper regulation.

We heartily approve of the work of the United States Government in improving sanitary conditions and in lowering the death rates of Cuba, the Philippine Islands, and the Canal Zone. We are especially pleased that in 1911 the National Government, through its wise provisions for the maneuver division of the United States Army operating in western Texas, demonstrated that the achievements in health and life security found possible in Cuba, the Philippine Islands, and the Canal Zone, are possible with Americans on American soil. We therefore call on our municipal, state, and national governments, to accomplish these same results for the people of the United States.

Our National Government in the Canal Zone of Panama has demonstrated that Caucasians, properly directed, can work in the tropics without loss of efficiency, and we express our opinion that this is one of the monumental discoveries of the age.

The Hook Worm Commission is demonstrating another possibility in increasing efficiency; and we endorse the efforts of this commission, and all other efforts, governmental and extra-governmental, for increasing human efficiency through promotion of physical welfare, and call on our governments—municipal, state, and national—to increase their activities along these lines.

We favor a child welfare bureau under, and as a part of, each municipal and state government.

Inasmuch as nearly all the states and most of the cities have health departments as coördinate branches of administrative work, we endorse the plan of bringing together as a department of health the various human health activities of the United States Government as a coördinate branch of its administrative work, divorced from the impediment of being a part of other administrative work of entirely different character and conducted for entirely different purposes; this in order that the efficiency of the service may be increased to a point in some degree commensurate with its importance.

We protest against the present neglect of health, life security, and work for physical efficiency by the municipal, state and national governments, and we ask that they be given that study and care that have proven so broad an economy in the case of live stock and farm crops.

We are of opinion that municipal, state, and national governments should pass proper laws, and provide proper means of enforcement of such laws that there may be prevented, (1) blindness, (2) birth accidents, (3) infant mortality, (4) labor by immature children, (5) communicable diseases of children, (6) occupational diseases, (7) occupational accidents, and especially mine and transportation accidents, (8) communicable diseases of adults, (9) bad ventilation, and (10) physical inefficiency.

We deplore the practice of disposing of sewage and manufacturing waste by dumping it into the streams, lakes, and coastal waters of the Nation, thereby polluting the chief sources of water for drinking and domestic purposes, destroying fish and crustacean life, rendering the waters obnoxious to sight and smell, and losing beyond hope of recovery vast quantities of elements essential to plant life.

We earnestly advocate the employment by communities and manufacturing concerns of such methods of sewage disposal as will render their waste products innocuous to health and utilize them in the restoration of soil fertility, and to this end we urge the enactment by states of stream-pollution laws, and by the Federal Government of such legislation as will prevent the pollution of interstate and coastal waters.

Deeply concerned at the rapid disappearance of wild life from the continent of North America and the large economic loss that the continued destruction of that life is bound to entail, we call upon the people of America to adopt more stringent measures to stop the excessive killing of birds, quadrupeds and fish, and to enact more drastic and far-reaching laws for the protection of the remnant from the extermination that threatens it.

We realize that the tremendous importance of our fishery resources is underestimated, and that this great asset is threatened with serious diminution. We urge upon Congress and the states to provide more liberally for fish propagation and preservation, in the interest of the conservation of this food source so important at present and vital for the future.

The problem of the preservation of migratory birds, fishes and quadrupeds is interstate; therefore, we emphatically endorse the resolution of the second National Conservation Congress to the effect that the National Government supplement the laws of the states with comprehensive national laws for the protection of migratory animals.

The losses of life and property from fire in the United States are enormous and abnormal, amounting to 1,500 human lives annually, and with the cost of prevention to nearly $400,000,000 of property, or ten times that of any other civilized country of the world. Such losses may be largely prevented by economical treatment, and we recommend to the Congress of the United States a national investigation of this subject under government supervision, the collection, classification and analysis of data concerning the causes of such fire losses, and the relation of fire insurance rates thereto, to the end that a permanent department of government be established to collect and furnish to the United States and the people thereof reliable information in relation to life and property losses and practical means for their prevention.

The children of the United States are recognized as the most precious resource of this Nation, and the Federal Bureau of Education as the best agency for collecting, publishing and distributing educational information throughout the country. We therefore urge that national appropriations for studying problems involving the welfare of the Nation’s school children be made comparable in amount with those annually made for studying problems involving the welfare and conservation of the Nation’s material resources.

In a system of free schools all the children should be trained for good citizenship and for the useful industries; owing to the rapidly changing and increasingly complex social and economic condition in all sections of the Union, our public schools should make ample provision for instructing the youth of the land in the more important occupations in which our people are engaged, and the parents and teachers should counsel together to determine if possible for what vocation each child is best adapted. We recommend that the schools should be so organized and conducted that the great purposes for which this Congress exists may be realized through the work and lives of men and women who have been trained in health, home-making, citizenship, and industry.

We urge upon all who are concerned with the actual work of conservation, whether in the state or Nation, that they secure quickly as possible through unprejudiced scientific investigation exact knowledge concerning our various resources and the conditions which affect their development, and we urge that all constructive conservation policies be based upon such exact information.

As this notable Congress draws to a close we, the delegates, desire to express our hearty appreciation of the many courtesies and the warm hospitality extended to us by the citizens of the city and state in which we are assembled. We desire, especially, to proffer warm thanks to His Excellency Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri, and to Honorable Darius A. Brown, Mayor of Kansas City, for their words of welcome, borne out later by actions.

We desire also to express a special acknowledgment of the courtesy, energy and ability and good will of the Commercial Club of Kansas City, as manifested particularly by its accomplished president, Mr. J. C. Lester, and its highly capable secretary, Mr. E. M. Clendening. We appreciate our obligation, too, to the local board of managers, and to Chairman Neal, for their efficient service.

We also acknowledge a debt to the clergy of Kansas City for their coöperation in several sessions and for the spirit emanating from them which has done so much to temper and ennoble the deliberations of the Congress.

We, the delegates, desire also to express appreciation of the devotion, eminent fairness, tireless energy, and endless good humor of retiring President Wallace; we acknowledge no less indebtedness to the highly efficient chairman of the executive committee, Mr. John B. White, now president of the Congress.

We also note our debt to the efficient executive secretary of the Congress, Mr. Thomas R. Shipp, without whose untiring efforts the Congress would have fallen short in the accomplishment of duty; and we appreciate, too, the efficiency of Recording Secretary Gipe.

We desire to signalize our appreciation of the notably efficient service of our worthy sergeant-at-arms, Colonel John I. Martin, who has not only maintained perfect order under trying circumstances, but has smoothed the practical working of the Congress by his courtesy and good humor.

Finally, we acknowledge a special obligation to the press of Kansas City for the notably full and fair reports of our proceedings from day to day, and in equal degree for the preliminary publicity which contributed so much to the success of this Congress.

THIRD NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS

_OPENING SESSION._

The Congress convened in Convention Hall, Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of September 25, 1911, President Henry W. Wallace in the chair.

President WALLACE—The convention will come to order and will be opened with an invocation by the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Lillis, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City.

INVOCATION.

_In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, Amen. Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy
name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
Heaven; give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen._

President WALLACE—An address of welcome will now be delivered on behalf of Kansas City by its Mayor, the Honorable Darius A. Brown. (Applause)

Mayor BROWN—Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: In the very brief time in which I have to speak to you, if there is one fact of which I want to convince you it is that I am absolutely not responsible for the condition of the weather this morning. Convention Hall, the walls of it, have probably enclosed many important conventions and congresses, but I do not believe in the entire history of the institution, or of Kansas City, that there has ever gathered here a congress or convention whose deliberations and conclusions are of such vital importance to the great mass of people as that which will soon convene here this morning. We have had all sorts of conventions for the purpose of discussing ways and means of pursuing their public avocations, and how to best carry on the business in which they are engaged, but this is a Congress which is not gathered for the purpose of determining how it is best to make money or to carry on business, but for the purpose of solving some of the great problems which are necessary to be solved in order that we should go forward in the way in which this Nation should go forward.

Beginning with a strong desire to prevent waste of some of the lands and natural resources of this country, the principle of conservation has been so extended and its scope so widened that today it is only limited by the bonds of human activity, and this principle of conservation is certainly of vital importance to the great cities of this country, and it has lately come to be given a practical application in the saving and preventing from waste of the valuable rights which the people of great cities have in their streets and public thoroughfares. For a long time past when private individuals sought certain valuable rights in the streets and thoroughfares of our great cities it has been the custom to give them for the asking, but now has come a time when the minds of the people are turned to the principles which demand that none of these things should be wasted or granted away unless there is a fair and just return to the people for the rights which are granted. There is another application of this principle of conservation in the life of our great cities. Conditions have arisen and exist today, and have existed, the cause of which has not yet been definitely determined, whereby the lives and the health and the morals of the people are being wasted; and so the thinking patriotic people of every city in this country are directing their minds, not so much to anything that is the result of these conditions as to get directly at the cause and prevent the results which are flowing from the causes which have existed. And the officers of this Congress have become so saturated and so imbued with this principle of conservation that the secretary, in sending out his notices to those who have been selected to deliver these addresses of welcome this morning, inserted therein a clause wherein he said there will be five addresses for the morning session, and therefore all of them will necessarily have to be brief; and the secretary was right. And it is absolutely right that it should be so, for many reasons, particularly two: Because there will assemble here this morning and during the days of these sessions some of the most distinguished, able and learned men of the United States, men who have shown their right to speak authoritatively on these great subjects; men who have devoted their time, energy, their lifetime, to the study of the proper solution of the great problems of American life; men who are coming here with a message to deliver to the people of this Congress and to the people of this great country; and therefore it is not right and proper that their time and the time of the people who have come here to listen should be wasted by an address of welcome.

And it has been suggested that on account of the fact that possibly some of those who are to deliver these addresses of welcome have caused considerable delay, that they ought to be abolished altogether. There is another reason why no time should be wasted in hearing addresses of welcome. I do not know why this custom has grown up in this country that when any considerable body of citizens of one part of the country gathers in another part that it is necessary for some high dignitary or executive of the city to deliver an address of welcome. Perhaps it came from the older countries of the world, where the provinces and the municipalities and states were clutching at each other’s throats, and they built great walls around the city, and when one man wanted to visit another community it was necessary for him to go to the gate and rap on it and have some high dignitary bid him enter. In this great country of ours we have been drawn so closely together by the influence of the newspapers, the magazines, the railroads, telephone and telegraph that today we are one great common people, actuated by the same great motives and inspired by the same high ideals, and so a citizen of one portion of this country today is just as welcome in another portion of the country as the rising sun in the morning. (Applause) And so I say it is not necessary for any representative of the city to say to this gathering that they are welcome in Kansas City, or to say that the arms of the people of Kansas City are extended in a hearty welcome, because we believe that the result of the deliberations which you will hold here and the conclusions which you will reach will not only be of lasting and vital benefit to the people of this city, but to the people all over this country. And it is an encouraging sign of the times that in every branch of human endeavor the people are gathering periodically, yearly or monthly, or biennially, for the purpose of discussing the questions which affect them in their peculiar avocations. It has been said a great many times that perhaps democracy is a failure, that the people all have shown themselves incapable of governing themselves. But the most prolific cause of that opinion has been that in the past the public servants have been selected and the public questions have been solved by a small body of men, sometimes too many of which are actuated only by a desire for their personal aggrandizement.

And the great rank and file of the citizenship, the individual citizen, has not seen fit to devote any of his time to a study of any of those problems, but has left the whole government of the people to be done by this small coterie of men. The people are awakening to their responsibility as citizens of this country: they are beginning to ally themselves with some such organization as this, which has for its purpose the study and solution of these problems, and day by day, more and more, by enactment of Congress, amendments of constitution, state legislative action, amendments of city charters, more and more of these great questions are being submitted directly to the people for solution, and so I say, when the time comes through this awakening which we have seen, when the individual citizen will come to a full appreciation of his responsibility, and these problems are submitted to them, they will all be solved right and properly. And I want to say in conclusion that I hope, and I express the hope of every good citizen of Kansas City, that this Congress will achieve great things, will do more than has ever been done before to solve these great problems that are clamoring for solution. I thank you. (Applause)