III
THE CONSERVATION OF RAILWAY SERVICE[1]
It is a hopeful sign that our people have realized the necessity for the conservation of the resources of the country. We have realized, and in parts of the country realized too late, that our timber-supply is not inexhaustible. The lack of conservation of the soil in the South was indirectly one of the causes bringing on the Civil War, and the proper conservation of the soil is one of the great questions before the country to-day. Year after year the necessity of stopping waste in the mining of coal has been pointed out, and now the country is paying attention to the care of its water-power; at the same time we are told that there is a limit to the amount of iron ore that can be reclaimed.
In naming the soil, timber, coal, ore, and
- ↑ Address delivered at the Second Minnesota Conservation and Agricultural Development Congress, Minneapolis, Minn., November 20, 1912.
