REPORT FROM WASHINGTON
E. G. Griggs
Chairman Washington Delegation
On behalf of the Washington delegation, of which I have the honor of being Chairman, I desire to congratulate this Congress and every delegate on the opportunity afforded us in hearing that grand interpretation of Conservation so ably presented by President Taft. It will live as an epic, and should be translated throughout the land.
Since that opening day I have been thrilled and electrified by this theme of Conservation, which is but another name for Patriotism, the husbanding of the Nation's resources.
The country is stirred by that same feeling which I sometimes think aroused our Fathers before the Civil War. Let us profit by the great forward steps they made in the determination of State and Federal rights. To us it has fallen to solve these patriotic, philanthropic, and commercial questions of the day.
I deplore the interjection of demagoguery and personal political advancement. I believe there is a sane, safe and sound Conservation that we can all practice. Above all things, let us eschew politics and throw a little more of that unselfish, self-sacrificing effort into this great fight for the Nation that characterizes our friend and collaborator, Gifford Pinchot.
We should leave this Congress united in this one idea at least, that we will stop the Nation's waste and encourage its development, so far as it lies within our power.
Eighteen years ago I left the State of Minnesota and this delightful city which was my home, to do my share in the development of the Pacific Slope—"I love its rocks and rills, its woods and templed hills." Wild horses could not drag me back to Minnesota, where fifty years ago my father pioneered, and is yet interested—not that I love Minnesota less, but only that I love Washington more. You have grown and developed great cities. Do not forget to let us do likewise.
We no longer say, with Greeley, "Go West;" we say, Come West. Under the classic shades of our noble forests and within easy access of the snow-capped peak of Mount Tacoma—that mother of water-powers and protector of forests—we are solving our pioneer problems, and we are not lagging behind in the race.
Our citizenship is of the highest type and from all of your States, for it is composed of that progressive element that first made your own cities famous—and did not back out of big problems. We are no longer savages devastating the frontier and Uncle Sam's patrimony. He is no longer "rich enough to give us all a farm;" but we are citizens alive to the big problems of the day—and we are the virgin State in which Conservation and common sense can be practiced before it is too late. I predict for the State of Washington—with wise Federal and State legislation—a shining example of what horse-sense and Conservation will bring about.
If we sell our common lumber at the mills on Puget Sound for $8 to $10 a thousand, which is two to three dollars less than we got 15 years ago, and have to pay $600 to $700 for a team of horses in Minnesota today that 15 years ago we could buy for $200 to $300, is it any wonder that we lumbermen of the West are interested in Conservation?
Rich beyond measure in timber, coal, fish, mines, and agricultural lands, the great State of Washington is with you and your commissions that must finally work out and crystallize wise and patriotic legislation. Let us Nationally inventory our stocks and resources, unify and codify our laws affecting taxation and irrigation, liability and responsibility—develop our interstate commerce, and promote the general welfare.