The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-03-06
THE NATIONS GEOLOGY.
isE. Clarence King Explains
Some MATTERS.

Smls, chairman or the committee on ap-
preparations, presented to the Senate, to-
day, a letter received by HIM from Clar-
ence King, director of the geological
survey, to be printed in connection with
the L ouse joint resolution proposing to
authorize an extension of the geological
survey to the state, which was reported
to the Senate yesterday. The communi-
cation Is reply TO several inquiries made
by Davis in regard to the geological sur
Yey. The first question which Mr.. King
replies to Is whether, under the provisions
), OF the sundry civil act, referred to in the
joint resolution, he would be able 10
make a geological survey which
will show the mineral resources of
the whole country. King says the
act referred to created an officer
called director Of the geological survey
and provided that he should have charge
OF the survey Of The geological structure
and mineral resources Of the national
domain" term which is held by the
| department of the interior to signify the
public lands. Thus ciTcumscribed, he
says, it is impossible 10 make geo, og;cal
survey or general investigation and expo
sltlon of the mineral resources of the
whole country, owing to the fact that 81
| developed mines are held IN private or
corporate ownership, are 10 longer upon
the national domain, and are hence out
Of the fed of inquiry, and to the further
fact that nearly all undevelOped mineral
resources, when considered from q broad
point of view, are partly, at least, OFF the
public land. The iron and coal fields OF
the United States would be partly in the
old states, partly in private ownership
and parsly on the public land and
aoy att mpt TO grasp the problem
Of lhe iron and coat industries, ans
attempt to furnish scientific knowledge
concerning these great elements of
national wealth, any effort to render |
efficient aid in their developments, must
fined 10 the public land, without the |
passage of some law extending the field !
Of geological survey over the whole /
United States, the people, Mr.. King says,
must remain ignorant of the extent, |
nature and broad practical relations OF |
their mineral possessions. In reply to |
the question as to whether the govern
ment survey has al advantage over the
stste survey, Mr.. King says economic
geo ogy is a weak science unless it Is
worked upon ;hres broad principles
First, precise exhaustive knowledge of
special deposits. Second, the practical |
of one class of deposit with
others. Third, The relations of
all deposits to the mineral industries.
The value of deposit in one state may
be opened wholly on a single chemical
ia ct in the nature of deposit. In the
remote state of Virginia iron ore may be
only of value when mixed in New Jer-
sey with another iron ore from Mich
lgan, reduced by fuel from Pennsylvania,
IN furnace lined with a refractory brick |
from Connecticut. Provided all the
states and territories were to begin stimuli
taneously and make thorough economic
survey, their results, even then, would
be OF imperfect value for want of COM
PARSONS. In the gold field the investi-
gators Of Georgia would lack q personal
knowledge of California. The iron in
corps of Wisconsin could
never safely judge Of Pennsylvania ore
which was required to be mixed with q
w wisconsin product, unless the two were
investigated together, and their relations
studied, but practically the states are not
keeping up their surveys. Few states
have lately made resurveys. Lately
there Is not eight active state surveys and
not one in the territories. Since the be-
ginning of government there has been no
time when tho lahnrs of a rtato survey,
admirable end mastery as some OF them
have been, could give for the whole
country even shadow Of conception of
the mineral resources and industries of
the United States. Single states could
not afford an effective laboratory for
investigation and analysis. The
mineral laboratory of the government
survey would serve for the whole cOun-
a ffnr cauaUfaap Of i
service on the state and government sur
yeys, am firmly of the belief that the
mineral wealth of the country will never
Re reasonably well known till studied by
q national survey. In answer to the
question whether the passage Of the joint
resolution now pending before the Senate
the director of the geological
surveys to extend his examination into
states will enable him to give better and
more thorough and complete examina-
tons and report as to the for
nation, quantity and quality of the
mineral resources ard products of
the whole country. King says: With
the understanding that the passage of the
resolution under consideration will leave
the geological survey free to work over
the whole United States and to study its
whole economical geology, answer con-
fidently that l shall be able to make an
incomparably better report on the mineral
resources and the product of the country
than is possible under the existing law.
To-day, government and the people do
not know within S1OO,OOO,OOO Of the an
nual value of our mineral product.
1t would, in my opinion, be the duty of
the Geological Society to present yearly
a volume giving a statistic analysis
of all the mineral products. Unless
the advance of our industries shall be
checked by some unexpected cause, we
are likely, within a few years, to reach
an aggregate mineral yield of 81 900, 000,-
coo yearly, and the passage of
the JOINT resolution will enable the
survey to famiiarize the country with |
all the features and bearings Of this great |
source of wealth and power TO keep |
pace with and report the facts of its rapid |
progress by the prompt publication of
correct information; to actually and
directly aid in its development and
promote and guard the influx of
foreign capital. Briefly and finally,
in my belief, the question Of the passage
OF defeat of the resolution under con-
sideratioD, is 8 question as to whether it
is or not desirable and needful for the
people of the United States to thoroughly
l.. 90