Germantown Academy - Ye Primer Yearbook (Fort Washington, PA)

Page 29 text:

XNhy has this been brought about? Wfhat is the cause of all this desolation and waste? The answer is simple. Man's greed for wealth. How? . In his mad scramble for wealth man little thought that the tremendous waste in mining and his promiscuous cutting away of trees would be fatal to the nation in years to come. The only remedy for this is to properly con- serve our resources. By their conservation is meant that they should remain as undimin- ished as possible in order that this heritage of natural wealth may pass in full measure to succeeding generations. It this is to come to pass it must bebrought about by the gov- ernment. VVhy then, you ask, has not effective legis- lation been made? You say that other countries have complete regulation of their natural deposits. VVhy then does not this nation? Because our legislators, disliking to come to a division, keep putting it off until a more favorable day. They do not realize that a delay in this case will be fatal. The onlyway to save this -country is to immediately pass laws which will effectively put a stop to this drainage of our natural re- sources. In reference to coal, the waste in mining must be greatly reduced. The smoking chim- ney must be abolished. The electric motor must be used in place of the steam engine. As far -as practicable substitutes must be used for coal. Oil should be only used for lighting and lubricating, and only those oils not adapted for these uses shouldbe used for fuel. New wells should be opened up only when neces- sary. Qur metals, like coal, are absolutely limited in amount. The waste in mining these is tre- mendous and ,must be cut down. These must be used in a manner which will enable them to be kept in existence. Our waters require the maintenance of a uniform How in streams. ln order to get this uniform How it is necessary that the forests be preserved in essential areas, especially on the steep slopes of mountains and along the borders of streams. This will help naviga-

Page 28 text:

The Conservation of our Natural Resources. Ladies and Gentlemen.-Wfhen the Pilgrim fathers came to this country they found it one of exquisite beauty and unboundless wealth. From the rock bound coast of Maine to the Everglades in Florida, millions of trees and countless streams were found to be there. In years which ensued great changes were wrought, thousands of acres of trees were felled to meet the needs of the nation and to make room for the growth of cities. Now, our beautiful forests, where once wild animals prowled and the half-breed hunter pursued his quarry, we see violated by the woodman's axe and saw, and, on the mirrored streams where half naked savages paddled in birch-bark canoes, we see the steamboat, the gasoline launch and the eight-oared college shell. Wfhere coal and minerals were once mined with the greatest zest we ind abandoned 'holes in the ground, of no use to any one. V Even as our Pilgrim fathers did not foresee our skyscrapers and railroads, it smay be, it must come to pass that there will be changes which we cannot see at the present time. 'Let us look ahead for two hundred and fifty years and take a glimpse of our native land. Instead of broad fields yielding vast quanti- ties of wheat, corn, and the other necessities of life, we see a great expanse of barren, parched, withered ground. Instead of our templed hills we see sad mon- uments of dead beauty, with rocks protruding' in air, stripped of vegetation. Instead of our mirrored lakes and silver streams we see great rivers dwindled down to muddy, sluggish' streams, suited only for small steamers and launches.

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lim-n. the erosion of land will be diminished, the waters will be confined to their banks, and the increased use of water for power will greatly lessen the strain on our coal deposits. Uur forests are unlike minerals in that they may be renewed. though slowly. W'e may use them, but not more freely than they may be renewed. Fire losses must be reduced and waste stopped. XVe must substitute brick and stone for wood in building, and most import- ant, we must increase the growth itself. XYithout the resources which make labor productive, American energy, enterprise and skill would not in the past have been able to make headway against adverse conditions. Our children and their children will not be able to make headway if we leave them an im- poverished country. Our lands, our waters, our soil, our min- erals and our forests are the resources from which come directly or indirectly the liveli- hood of all of us. The necessity for a comprehensive and sys- tematic improvement of our waterways, the preservation of our soil and forests, the secur- ing from monopolistic private appropriation of 'the power in navigable streams, the retention of the undisposed of coal lands of the gov- ernment froni complete alienation-all these are matters of vital importance to the people of the United States. Unless this is done, there will be total de- struction of the forests, our waters will dry up, our mineral supply will fail us, and death will result, fulfilling the prophecy made years ago, America is the graveyard of many na- tions: she may some day become the grave- yard of her own.