portunity to officers for advancement, with a corresponding increase in the life and strength of the corps. Twenty additionai junior officers were authorized for duty as watch officers on the cruising cutters, which will enable the Department to properly officer the ships. The pay of the enlisted men was increased and provision made for placing them on waiting orders at threefourths pay after thirty years of faithful service. This act has been followed by a marked decrease in the number of desertions and by an increase in contentment among the crews of the vessels.

An increase in the pay of commissioned officers was brought about by the Army Appropriation Bill, approved May 11, 1908, 30 that officers of the Revenue Cutter Service receive the same pay and allowances as officers of corresponding rank in the army.

During the past four years eleven vessels of all classes have been completed or authorized for the Revenue Cutter Service.

The Service has been making every effort toward rendering assistance to distressed vessels, and its success along these lines is attested by the fact that during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, the value of vessels assisted and their cargoes amounted to $9,196,097.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

For some years past the quarters of this important branch of the Government service have been inadequate for the immense volume of business transacted, and extreme difficulty has been experienced owing to the necessity of crowding large numbers of employees into confined spaces. This condition of affairs will soon be remedied, however, for Congress, at its last session, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury, authorized the purchase of a site and the erection of a building, and appropriated over two million dollars towards this purpose. The new building will embody the latest and most improved methods of construction, and will contain every provision for the health, safety, and comfort of the nearly four thousand employees that modern building and sanitary science can suggest.

In the past four years there has been an increase in the output of the Bureau in paper money and securities for general use of nearly thirty-two per cent, and an increase in the number of employees on the rolls for labor of twenty-two per cent. The five hundred million dollars ($500.000.000) national currency authorized to be issued under act of May 30, 1908, is being produced at the rate of four million dollars ($4,000,000) per day, so that in case an emergency should ever arise the currency can be distributed to relieve the situation without any delay.

New Gold Coinage.

For many years the inartistic designs of the coins of the United States have been the subject of criticism, no change except in minor details having been made in any of the coins for a number of years.

In 1904 President Roosevelt took up the question of securing more artistic designs for the coins of the United States, and through his efforts Augustus St. Gaudens, the greatest of American sculptors, was induced to undertake the preparation of designs of the double eagle and the eagle now being coined and placed in circulation.

It can be truthfully said that, without exception, the gold coins of the United States of the new design are the most artistic of those of any country in the world. the credit for which is due to the active interest taken by President Roosevelt successfully to accomplish this purpose.

Public Health and Marine Hospital Service.

A National Bureau of Health was established under the Treas ury Department by an act approved July 1, 1902, which reorganized and added new public health duties to the United States Marine Hospital Service. An advisory board consisting of sanitarians of established national reputations in their various lines of work was appointed for consultation with the Surgeon-General of

the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service relative to the work, and investigations to be carried on in the Hygienic Laboratory then in course of construction. This laboratory was founded for the investigation of infectious and contagious diseases and matters pertaining to the public health. Under this auspicious arrangement much valuable public health work has been done by the public health service, including imporant investigations on the following subjects: 1. The presence and distribution of hookworm disease in the United States. This is a subject of great sanitary and economic importance to a large number of our Southern States. 2. The cause of the prevalence of typhoid fever in cities. Typhoid fever has for some time been unusually prevalent in many cities, and few sanitary subjects are of greater importance. 3. The relation of milk to the public health. This work has placed in the hands of health officers and physicians a report containing all available knowledge on the subject. Few questions are causing as much agitation and interest on the part of health officers and physicians as is that of milk, and possibly none are more important. The work done by the Service on the milk problem has been therefore of general utility. 4. The practical uses and application of disinfectants.

The Public Health Service inspects annually all establishments manufacturing and selling in interstate commerce serums, antitoxines and similar products used in the treatment of disease.

In the summer of 1905 yellow fever became epidemic in New Orleans, and spread with such rapidity that it was soon beyond the control of the local sanitary authorities, who then requested the Federal Government to take charge of its suppression. The Public Health Service immediately sent a corps of officers into the affected territory, who took charge of the work. The confidence shown on the part of the people living in the invaded territory and the lack of the usual dread and fear customary in yellow fever epidemics were commendatory of the efficiency of the work done.

In the summer of 1907 plague broke out in San Francisco. As in the previous epidemic of 1900, the local authorities again sought the aid of the National Public Health Service, who since that time have had charge of the eradication of the disease in San Francisco.

This Bureau has charge of the national maritime quarantine, which prevents the introduction of epidemic diseases. It has also conducted the medical inspection of the millions of immigrants who have come to this country.

Work of the Treasury Department in Connection with Public Buildings from July 1, 1904, to March 1, 1908.

On July 1, 1904, there were 375 buildings, exclusive of Marine Hospitals and Quarantine Stations, completed and occupied, the cost of which, including the amounts spent for the sites. extensions, additions, and remodeling when required, $135,871,726.31.

Since that date 120 buildings have been completed at an aggregate cost of $33,886,245.40, and four have been added by legislation and executive orders. This makes a total of 499 public buildings, exclusive of the 43 Marine Hospitals and Quarantine Stations, completed and occupied.

In addition to the above, 30 buildings have been extended or remodeled, at a total expense of $3,509,397.20.

The following is a summary of the cost of the public buildings:

499 completed and occupied

Extending or remodeling 30 buildings

Total

$169,757,971.71

3,509,397.20

173,267,368.91

money has been

spent on sea

the

Much harbors and mouths of our rivers at the sea, but comparatively little upon the internal waterways which nature has furnished to the country, and which form highways of travel from one border of it to the other. The call from the country for the development of a well-thought-out plan for the improvement of all these waterways is so emphatic that it cannot longer be resisted.-Hon. Wm. H. Taft, at Kansas City, Mo.

N

THE CONSERVATION POLICY.

The policy of the conservation is a development of the present administration of President Roosevelt. Its beginnings are to be found in parts of his annual message of 1906, dealing with public land questions. The first step in definite action to make ready a program was the appointment by the President of the Inland Waterways Commission; and in his letter notifying the members of their appointment, the President formulated the fundamental principles of the policy. The findings and recommendations of that Commission, transmitted to Congress by the President on February 26, 1908, with the special message which accompanied it, was the next step forward; and the White House Conference of May 13, 14, and 15, 1908, which was presided over by the President and attended by the Governors of the States and Territories, including Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, fairly launched the movement before the country at large.

In his address before the National Editorial Association at Jamestown, Va., June 10, 1907, President Roosevelt said:

"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life. Unless we maintain an adequate material basis for our civilization we can not maintain the institutions in which we take so great and so just pride; and to waste and destroy our natural resources means to undermine this material basis."

In his message to the 60th Congress, which assembled December 2, 1907, President Roosevelt said:

"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life. We must maintain for our civilization the adequate material basis without which that civilization can not exist. We must show foresight, we must look ahead. As a nation we do not only enjoy a wonderful measure of present prosperity, but if this prosperity is used aright it is an earnest of future success such as no other nation will have. The reward of foresight for this nation is great and easily foretold. But there must be the look ahead, there must be a realization of the fact that to waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed."

In his letter inviting the Governors of all the States and Territories to meet with him at the White House, May 13, 14, and 15, 1908, to discuss the question of the Conservation of the Nation's Natural Resources the President said, in part:

"It seems to me time for the country to take account of its natural resources, and to inquire how long they are likely to last. We are prosperous now; we should not forget that it will be just as important to our descendants to be prosperous in their time.

"Recently I declared there is no other question before the nation of equal gravity with the question of the conservation of our natural resources, and I added that it is the plain duty of us who, for the moment, are responsible to take inventory of the natural resources which have been handed down to us, to forecast the needs of the future and so handle the great sources of our prosperity as not to destroy in advance all hope of the prosperity of our descendants,

"It is evident the abundant natural resources on which the welfare of the nation rests are becoming depleted, and, in not a few cases, are already exhausted. This is true of all portions of the United States; it is especially true of the longer settled communities of the East.

"Facts, which I cannot gainsay, force me to believe that the conservation of our natural resources is the most weighty question now before the people of the United States. If this is so the proposed conference, which is the first of its kind, will be among the most important gatherings in our history in its effect upon the welfare of all our people."

The Governors of the States and Territories at the White House assembled, after having discussed the conservation of the country's natural resources for three days, united in the adoption of the following "Declaration of Principles :"

"We, the Governors of the States and Territories of the United States of America, in conference assembled, do hereby declare the conviction that the great prosperity of our country

rests upon the abundant resources of the land chosen by our forefathers for their homes, and where they laid the foundation of this great nation.

"We look upon these resources as a heritage to be made use of in establishing and promoting the comfort, prosperity, and happiness of the American peopie, but not to be wasted, deteriorated, or needlessly destroyed.

"We agree that our country's future is involved in this; that the great natural resources supply the material basis upon which our civilization must continue to depend, and upon which the perpetuity of the nation itself rests.

"We agree, in the light of the facts brought to our knowledge and from information received from sources which we cannot doubt, that this material basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even as each succeeding generation from the birth of the nation has performed its part in promoting the progress and development of the Republic, so do we in this generation recognize it as a high duty to perform our part; and this duty in large degree lies in the adoption of measures for the conservation of the natural wealth of the country.

"We declare our firm conviction that this conservation of our natural resources is a subject of transcendent importance, which should engage unremittingly the attention of the Nation, the States, and the people in earnest cooperation. These natural resources include the land on which we live and which yields our food; the living waters which fertilize the soil, supply power, and form great avenues of commerce; the forests which yield the material for our homes, prevent erosion of the soil, and conserve the navigation and other uses of the streams; and the minerals which form the basis of our industrial life, and supply us with heat, light, and power.

"We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soil-wash shall cease; and that there should be reclamation of arid and semi-arid regions by means of irrigation, and of swamp and overflowed regions by means of drainage; that the waters should be so conserved and used as to promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power in the interests of the people; that the forests which regulate our rivers, support our industries, and promote the fertility and productiveness of the soil should be preserved and perpetuated; that the minerals found so abundant beneath the surface should be so used as to prolong their utility; that the beauty, healthfulness, and habitability of our country should be preserved and increased; that sources of national wealth exist for the benefit of the people, and that monopoly thereof should not be tolerated.

"We commend the wise forethought of the President in sounding the note of warning as to the waste and exhaustion of the natural resources of the country, and signify our high appreciation of his action in calling this conference to consider the same and to seek remedies therefor through cooperation of the Nation and the States.

"We agree that this cooperation should find expression in suitable action by the Congress within the limits of and coextensive with the national jurisdiction of the subject, and. complementary thereto, by the legislatures of the several States within the limits of and co-extensive with their jurisdiction.

"We declare the conviction that in the use of the national resources our independent States are interdependent and bound together by ties of mutual benefits, responsibilities, and duties.

"We agree in the wisdom of future, conferences between the President, Members of Congress, and the Governors of States on the conservation of our natural resources with a view of continued cooperation and action on the lines suggested; and to this end we advise that from time to time, as in his judgment may seem wise, the President call the Governors of States and Members of Congress and others into conference.

"We agree that further action is advisable to ascertain the present condition of our natural resources and to promote the conservation of the same; and to that end we recommend the appointment by each State of a Commission on the Conserva

tion of Natural Resources, to cooperate with each other and with any similar commission of the Federal Government.

"We urge the continuation and extension of forest policies adopted to secure the husbanding and renewal of our diminishing timber supply, the prevention of soil erosion, the protection of headwaters and the maintenance of the purity and navigability of our streams. We recognize that the private ownership of forest lands entails responsibilities in the interests of all the people, and we favor the enactment of laws looking to the protection and replacement of privately owned forests.

"We recognize in our waters a most valuable asset of the people of the United States, and we recommend the enactment of laws looking to the conservation of water resources for irrigation, water supply, power, and navigation, to the end that navigable and source streams may be brought under complete control and fully utilized for every purpose. We especially urge on the Federal Congress the immediate adoption of a wise, active, and thorough waterway policy, providing for the prompt improvement of our streams and the conservation of their watersheds required for the uses of commerce and the protection of the interests of our people.

"We recommend the enactment of laws looking to the prevention of waste in the mining and extraction of coal, oil, gas, and other minerals with a view to their wise conservation for the use of the people, and to the protection of human life in the mines."

The Forest Policy.

The Forest policy of the Government is not a party issue, for it has had the support of both the Republican and the Democratic parties, but it has been developed mainly under Republican leadership. President Roosevelt has done more than any other President to establish and extend it, through his messages to Congress and through executive action in creating National Forests (or "reserves"). These Forests, preserved for the use of the people as unfailing supports of industry and sources of present and future prosperity, will be for all time a national monument to his foresight.

The law authorizing the creation of National Forests was passed by a Republican Congress (the Fifty-first) and action under that law was begun by a Republican President (Harrison). The law authorizing the administration of these Forests along the present lines was passed by another Republican Congress (the Fifty-fifth). The law transferring the control of the Forests from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture was passed by the Republican Fifty-eighth Congress. The appropriations for the Government's forest work have from 1898 to the present time been increased by successive Republican Congresses. It may justly be claimed that the Republican party, the party of action, has contrived and put into effect this great and now accepted policy, though the Demoreatic party, the party of opposition, has never disputed its wisdom.

Under these laws, there have been set aside and placed under the administration of the Forest Service over 166,000,000 acres of the public domain. This land is kept in public ownership for the public benefit. The National Forests embrace the more mountainous parts of the West. They maintain the flow of streams, conserving water supply for irrigation and power, as well as maintaining a steady supply of timber for the West. They also permit the best use of the forage crop without injury to other interests. They do not close the land to prospecting and mining development, nor to agriculture where the land is more valuable for agriculture than for forest growth, but they protect the general welfare by preventing the evils which follow forest destruction. They are administered by the Forest Service, which opens them to every use consistent with the permanent good of the West. Mature timber is sold, or is given away to settlers and communities for whom it would be a hardship to buy, under regulations which insure the perpetuation of the forests through new growth. Each National Forest is in charge of a Supervisor, who is a local agent to conduct business with forest