active service, was raised to the rank of count, created a field- marshal, decorated with numerous orders, and appointed com- mander of the Imperial Guard. Conrad was one of the most pre- dominant personalities of the fallen monarchy, whose fate he was unable to avert. In his active military operations his most dis- tinguished colleague was Gen. Metzger (b. 1870), who, after Conrad's retirement, took over a high command, distinguishing himself on the Italian front and finally in France in cooperation with the German armies. (A. K.)
CONS, EMMA (1838-1912), English philanthropist, was born in London March 4 1838. As a young woman she studied art, but, owing to an acquaintance with Miss Octavia Hill, became
interested in social work, and in particular in questions of housing. She became best known, however, for her work in connexion
with Morley College and the Royal Victoria Hall, Waterloo
Road, generally known as the " Old Vic." At one time a well-
known theatre, it had degenerated into a disreputable haunt
where nothing but the lowest melodramas were played. Miss
Cons, whose social work in Lambeth had made her well acquainted
with the difficulties of providing decent amusement at a cheap
rate for the people of the neighbourhood, obtained an interest in
the building about 1880. It was enlarged and improved, the
sale of drink was forbidden, and miscellaneous programmes of
music, drama, and lectures were embarked upon. In 1882 the
wealthy manufacturer and philanthropist Samuel Morley
began to take an interest in the affairs of the Hall, and in 1884
he joined the executive committee. He contributed a large amount
of money to the scheme, and his unfailing sympathy and practical
business advice were of the greatest value. His death in 1886 was
a great blow to the work, but his name has been perpetuated in
the foundation of the Morley College for working men and women,
which developed from the lectures given at the " Old Vic." Its
first vice-principal was Miss Caroline Martineau, a friend and
co-worker of Miss Cons, and the institution now has over a
thousand members. Miss Cons's work bore fruit after some years
in the excellence of the entertainment provided and the high
repute which the " Old Vic " attained. In 1889 concert per-
formances of grand opera were started, and in 1896 a chorus
was formed, thus making it possible adequately to present the
operas. In 1905 symphony concerts were embarked on, and
continued for several seasons. Miss Cons was elected to the
first London County Council (1888), and was chosen an alderman,
but retired owing to difficulties raised as to the right of women to
sit. She died at Hever, Kent, July 24 1912.
Her sister, ELLEN CONS (1840-1920), was also closely associ- ated with many philanthropic schemes, and was one of the gover- nors of the " Old Vic." She died in London June 25 1920.
CONSERVATION POLICY. The name " Conservation " has been given in the United States to the movement for using and
safeguarding the natural resources of the country (or indeed
any country) for the -greatest good of the greatest number of
the inhabitants for the longest time. It is a fundamental mis-
conception to suppose that Conservation means nothing but
the husbanding of resources. The first principle of Conservation
is use, but it refuses to recognize needless waste and destruction
as normal processes in the proper development and enjoyment of
natural wealth. This conception of Conservation as a principle
to be followed by the American Government was first brought
into prominence by the Chief Forester of the United States
during the Roosevelt administration, and was first applied
to forest protection.
As with all nations that are both rich and young, a general indifference to the protection and preservation of its natural resources had marked the history of the United States. The rapid and reckless destruction of the forests was the first cause of a change in the attitude of the American people toward natural wealth. Effective action toward the protection and preservation of natural resources was not taken until long after the early warnings, which were heard nearly a century before the Con- servation movement was born. In 1819, more than three score years before forestry had secured a foothold in America, a French naturalist, Andre Francois Michaux, in his work The
North America Sylva, spoke thus of the destruction of forests in America:
"... neither the Federal Government nor the several states have reserved forests. An alarming destruction of the trees proper for building has been the consequence an evil which is increasing and which will continue to increase with the increase of population. The effect is already very sensibly felt in the large cities, where the complaint is every year becoming more serious, not only of excessive dearness of fuel, but of the scarcity of timber. Even now inferior wood is frequently substituted for the White Oak ; and the Live Oak, so highly esteemed in ship-building, will soon become extinct upon the islands of Georgia. '
Conservation, as an American problem, received its first recognition in the work of the Inland Waterways Commission. On Oct. 3 1907 this commission suggested to President Roosevelt, who had created it, the calling of a conference of governors to consider the condition of the natural resources of the United States. The conference assembled May 13 1908 in the White House at Washington. Among those in attendance were the President, the Vice- President, 7 of the 9 members of the Cabinet, the 9 justices of the Supreme Court, the governors of practically all the states and territories (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico), numerous members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, representatives of 68 national societies, more than 50 citizens selected for their special attainments, and the members of the Inland Waterways Commission. This was the first time the governors of the states met in conference, and the gathering was unique in American history. The conference, after deliberating for some days, adopted a declaration containing the following passage:
" We agree that further action is advisable to ascertain the present condition of our natural resources, and to promote the con- servation of the same: and to that end we recommend the appoint- ment by each State of a commission on the natural resources to co- operate with each other and with similar commissions of the Federal Government."
In accordance with this recommendation, the governors of 42 states promptly appointed state conservation commissions, and less than a month after the conference had closed President Roosevelt appointed a National Conservation Commission, divided into four sections dealing respectively with waters, forests, lands and minerals. The commission was directed by the President to investigate and report to him regarding the condition of the natural resources, and to recommend to him measures for conserving them. As the commission had no funds at its disposal, the President directed the heads of departments at Washington to place their officers and facilities at the service of the commission. Thereupon the commission undertook, for the first time in the history of any nation, to prepare an inventory of the natural resources of the country.
The report of the commission was presented to the President in Jan. 1909, and was by him transmitted to Congress with a special message concurring in its statements and conclusions, and recommending it to the consideration of Congress and of the people generally. After making its report the commission continued its efforts in cooperation with governmental and extra-governmental agencies for the conservation of natural resources, in order both to extend its inventory and to determine what specific laws were needed for the wise and orderly development of the country's natural wealth. Unfortunately, this constructive work was stopped by the abolition of the commission through a law enacted by Congress later in the same year. Meantime President Roosevelt had invited the governor-general of Canada, the governor of Newfoundland and the President of Mexico to appoint commissioners to discuss, with commissioners representing the United States, the principles of conservation in their application to the continent of N. America. As a result of this movement, the first N. American Conservation Congress was held in Washington in 1909. President Roosevelt in Feb. 1909, after consulting the Queen of the Netherlands, invited the powers of the world to meet at The Hague for the purpose of considering the conservation of natural resources everywhere. Although a majority of the nations accepted this invitation, the project, after President Roosevelt's retirement from the presidency,
