nt Roosevelt created the National
Conservation Commission, consisting of forty-nine men of prominence,
about one-third of whom were engaged in politics, one-third in various
industries, and one-third in scientific work. Gifford Pinchot was
appointed chairman. The Commission proceeded to make an inventory of the
natural resources of the United States. This inventory contains the only
authentic statement as to the amounts of the national resources of the
country, the degree to which they have already been exhausted, and their
probable duration. But with this inventory there came to an end the
activity of the Conservation Commission, for Congress not only refused
any appropriation for its use but decreed by law that no bureau of
the Government should do any work for any commission or similar body
appointed by the President, without reference to the question whether
such work was appropriate or not for such a bureau to undertake.
Inasmuch as the invaluable inventory already made had been almost
entirely the work of scientific bureaus of the Government instructed by
the President to cooperate with the Commission, the purpose and animus
of this legislation were easily apparent. Congress had once more shown
its friendship for the special interests and its indifference to the
general welfare.

In February, 1909, on the invitation of President Roosevelt, a North
American Conservation Conference, attended by representatives of the
United States, Canada, and Mexico, was held at the White House. A
declaration of principles was drawn up and the suggestion made that
all the nations of the world should be invited to meet in a World
Conservation Conference. The President forthwith addressed to forty-five
nations a letter inviting them to assemble at The Hague for such a
conference; but, as he has laconically expressed it, "When I left the
White House the project lapsed."

CHAPTER X. BEING WISE IN TIME

Perhaps the most famous of Roosevelt's epigrammatic sayings is,
"Speak softly and carry a big stick." The public, with its instinctive
preference for the dramatic over the significant, promptly seized upon
the "big stick" half of the aphorism and ignored the other half. But
a study of the various acts of Roosevelt when he was President readily
shows that in his mind the "big stick" was purely subordinate. It was
merely the ultima ratio, the possession of which would enable a nation
to "speak softly" and walk safely along the road