[1906]
Toward the close of the nineteenth century, attention was called to the
fact by scientific men that the methods employed in the use of our soil,
mines, forests, and water supply were extremely wasteful. During the
previous decades the resources of the country were regarded as
inexhaustible. As stated by President Roosevelt in 1907: "Hitherto as a
nation we have tended to live with an eye single to the present, and
have permitted the reckless waste and destruction of much of our
national wealth." At the same time the call came for the conservation of
our natural resources.