CHAPTER VII.
THE MORAL ISSUE The central thing for which Conservation stands is to make this country the best possible place to live in, both for us and for our descendants.
It stands against the waste of the natural resources which cannot be renewed, such as coal and iron; it stands for the perpetuation of the resources which can be renewed, such as the food-producing soils and the forests; and most of all it stands for an equal opportunity for every American citizen to get his fair share of benefit from these resources, both now and hereafter.
Conservation stands for the same kind of practical common-sense management of this country by the people that every business man stands for in the handling of his own business.

It believes in prudence and foresight instead of reckless blindness; it holds that resources now public property should not become the basis for oppressive private monopoly; and it demands the complete and orderly development of all our resources for the benefit of all the people, instead of the partial exploitation of them for the benefit of a few.

It recognizes fully the right of the present generation to use what it needs and all it needs of the natural resources now available, but it recognizes equally our obligation so to use what we need that our descendants shall not be deprived of what they need.
Conservation has much to do with the welfare of the average man of to-day.

It proposes to secure a continuous and abundant supply of the necessaries of life, which means a reasonable cost of living and business stability.

It advocates fairness in the distribution of the benefits which flow from the natural resources.