Proceedings of the second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul, September 5-8, 1910

by United States. National Conservation Congress

REPORT FROM FLORIDA

Cromwell Gibbons
Florida Conservation Commission

The spirit of Conservation prevaileth everywhere in these modern times, and for the reason that during the past several years vicious attacks have been made upon the National resources throughout the length and breadth of our land, and to such a marvelous extent that our whole people have awakened to the fact that something must be done and at once if we wish to preserve our general resources sufficiently to care for those we expect to come after us, and who are dependent on our country for an honest and successful living. We have been greedy and selfish in the past, and now is the time for us to curb this vicious appetite and think of those who are to come hereafter. Modern times have come to stay, but the spirit of Conservation will grow until we have accomplished the grand results of providing proper protection to our forests, mineral wealth, lands, water-power and waterways, and last but not the least our various climates that God Almighty has given us to conserve the health of our people.

Much is said as to the methods to be adopted and what necessary legislation should take place to obtain actual results of Conservation. The idea of giving absolute control over the forests, the inland waterways, and the public lands confined within the States to the National Government is repugnant to me and I believe to all of the people of my State. It has too much the tinge of centralization of power in the Federal Government, and we have had enough of this already. The notion that giving the States power and control is in favor of the special interests is ridiculous when we look back and know what has already been done by the Federal Government giving away some of its most valuable resources to the trust-monopoly corporations of the country, and we view in comparison what the States have done where they have controlled many of these resources. I have but to call your attention to what we are doing in Florida and have done the past several years in the way of Conservation. We realized some years ago that our public lands were fast being absorbed by the railways operating in our State, and that the time would soon be at hand when our people would be unable to secure homesteads, and immigration to our great State would be unable to place that energy with the soil of our State and bring about the development of resources we were entitled to through the natural course of developments. We had within our borders a vast empire of land, over 4,000,000 acres of fertile land known as the Everglades, all of which was looked upon by the land grabbers as not worth 15 cents an acre; but greatly to his credit, to Governor Napoleon B. Broward, now our nominee for United States Senator, is due the reclamation of this property and a saving to the State of lands now valued at over $35,000,000. Against great political odds and vigorous contests, the policies of Governor Broward were endorsed; and after much litigation through the State and Federal courts we have been able to conserve this vast area of land by drainage under State supervision and at the expense of the State. The policy was greatly doubted, but it has proven a grand success in that the State, securing title to these lands, successfully sold half of the same at a price sufficient to build the necessary dredges and pay for the work of the draining of the entire tract of property by carrying the surplus waters from Lake Okeechobee through the trunk canals to the waters of the Gulf and to Atlantic Ocean. The work that is now going on has accomplished over 100 miles of main canals with locks to preserve sufficient water for the purpose of irrigation in dry spells. When the work is completed, which will be inside of three years, the State will have provided over 275 miles of canals with the lateral canals approaching the properties of the various owners, all of which will not only result in giving the necessary drainage and irrigation but will also furnish water transportation to the Gulf and to the inland water route from Key West to Jacksonville (a distance of about 500 miles), as well as deep-sea connections at the various ports along this route. By this State Conservation we are giving to the people one of the richest bodies of fertile lands in the United States, a territory greater than the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, every inch of which will grow either sugar-cane or truck of all kinds through winter and summer. These lands will produce at least three crops a year, and to the industrious citizen who desires to live in a country that will give renewed youth and a climate unexcelled and a living independent of the world. I know of none that can be found better located to give the results than this vast empire known as the Everglades, so promptly conserved by our State Government and our people.

We are also interested in another line of Conservation, and that is the preservation of our pine forests and the prohibiting of the destruction of our sapling trees which have been attacked by those who are greedy for wealth and have no regard for the future. Much will be accomplished in this direction, as our people are absolutely opposed to the complete destruction of the forests, as it will provide no future for our timber markets; and destruction of our pine forests would undoubtedly affect our climate, which by all means should be conserved as well as the timber for the building of our homes of the future.

It may be as well for me to call your special attention to the fact that, in addition to this great work of Conservation I have related in reference to the saving of public land and our efforts in the direction of saving the forests, our State has for several years aided in a public way in the building of the great inland waterway along the Atlantic coast within the State of Florida. These canals have been made during the past 15 years, until now we have a thorough water route from Saint John's River southward connecting streams and inlets until there has been dug over 300 miles of canal, giving this great waterway and enabling the people along the eastern coast sections a cheap means of transportation to the railway center of the State at Jacksonville.

I think that we have done our part toward Conservation, and all under the jurisdiction and authority of our State. There has been no effort at graft, but all have worked in harmony in the interests of the public welfare, thus demonstrating (so far as Florida is concerned) that she is able to control her own affairs; and all she asks of the National Government is its aid and assistance.