St. Paul Conservation congress

The second national conservation congress was held at Saint Paul Minn., September 5, 6, 7 and 8. The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was represented by a complete delegation of five, consisting of W. B. Jackson, Chicago, chairman, Morgan Brooks of Urbana, Ill., E. P. Burch and A. W. Leonard of Minneapolis, and Ralph W. Pope of New York. At a conference of the delegates it appeared that any possible technical features of the congress would be overshadowed by the political questions, which were introduced by the advocates of state versus federal control of streams and forests. This state of affairs led to an improvised conference of all technical delegates who could be reached, called by Isham Randolph of Chicago. The conference was organized on September 7, with Mr. Randolph as chairman and Mr. Pope as secretary. Twenty-eight civil, mechanical, electrical, mining and chemical engineers, surveyors and architects responded to the call. Sub-committees were appointed to prepare resolutions bearing upon the five subjects recommended by the congress for consideration by the resolutions committee of the congress. The resolutions of the technical delegates on water, minerals, forests, lands and vital resources were accordingly transmitted to the general committee on resolutions for the information of that body, through the courtesy of Cyrus C. Babb, of Augusta, Maine, a Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who was a state delegate and a member of the resolutions committee of the congress. At the closing session, September 8, John Wallace, of Des Moines, Iowa, was elected president. The time and place of the next congress, will be fixed by the executive committee.