The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-03

sources shaA. not be exhausted Passing ove,
tue atmospheric elements that minister indirect
| l! 10 the rational economy, there are lust fou,
s"toes from which mankind must draw all
| hatlonal wealth. OF these the sea does moi
| supply more than 3 per cent of mans
tood. 1t may, therefore. be dropped from the
calculation, as ii cannot be made much more
largely contrilutory to human sunnort Tbe
| forest once Il rich heritage, is rapidly disap.
pearlns. Its product is valuable not as food
! Dill Zoe shelter and as an accessory in the
production IT wealth. It's fate is interesting
| hero rather in the role Of an example For We
hnve done with our forests already what we
are ICING Just as successfully with the remain.
oer OF our natlonal capital. Except for the
areas u" the Pacific coast. the forest rs a
source Of wealth is rapidly disappearing With
In twenty years perhaps shall have nowhere
east Of the Fccky Mountains timber, product
worth recording, and shall then be compelled
10 begln In earnest that slow process of refor-
es;ing.
Wasting Resources.
What Is less clearly perceived is that we are
wasting IN the same fashion other resources
which no repentance and no ingenuity can re.
store or rcplenish. The exhaustion of the great
| est OF these, the land, will be spoken of later
Our mineral wealth, however, stands on another
| plane What Is taken from the mine can never
| he replaced. Thru all eternity, as far as we
| can see, TIE consumption of mineral wealth
|
possible gross product is mathema tically lin.
! It'd. The adaptation of this to future uses
should I e matter of infinitely greater anxiety
than the present balance-sheet of business
| concern. Yet the singular fact is that, among
a people convinced that they are grounded In
the rudiments Of political economy the progress.
I've exhaustion Of this precious resource is every
| where heralded as a triumph of enterprise and a
gage OF national prosperity. The national pub
hsnes periodically the record of scattering Of
| assets never to be regained, and waits with
a smile of complaisance, for general congrat-
| ulaton.
| Coal and Iron. '.'.
| The two great resources of the under earth,
economically speaking, that are Indispensable to
| human comfort and growth, are coal and iron
| Our Inheritance of these was princely The
most wonderful achievement Of this age is the
| incredible activity with which we are exhaustilg
| them. The coal areas and measures Of the
united States are deScribable only in somewhat
general terms. But the fact of" the future is
not doubtful. No dependable authority gives
| more than century of life to our main avail
able coal supply.
1t is certainly q moderate statement to saw
| That, by the middle OF the present century
When our population shall have reached the
2oooOo0OO mark, our best and most convenient
coal Will have been SO far consumed that the
remainder can only be applied to present uses
at an enhanced cost, which would probably COM
pei the entire rearrangement of industries and
reVolutionize, the common lot and common life
| Il
| which Our country must face.
| The prospect of the mighty iron interest is
even more threatening and more sure. The
| most reasonable computation of scientific all-
| thority affirms that existing production cannot
be maintained for fifty years, assuming that all
the available iron ore known to us is mined. In
| fact, the limitation is likely to be less than
that period In 1870 the United States pro-
duced a little more than 1900. 900 tons of Iron
ore. 1t increased by. about $50, per cent for
each decade to 1890. szAs late as 1896 it was
a trde short Of 16,OOo,0Oostons. In 1902 and
! 1908 1t was In round numbers 35, 100000 tons
and, last year 1t to about AZ, 900, 900 tons
| at this rate, as all the trade statistics indi-
cate, and as our present policy and growth In
population require. it will reach $4,000, 900 tons
| almost Immediately. BY every possible means
| we are stimulating consumption; especially by
tariff that places bounty on the exhaustion
OF the home supply Of both coal and iron, thus
| prohibiting recourse to outside supplies, and
compelling the exhaustion of our own reserve.
Lake Superior Region.
Now, the main iron deposits in this country
are those in the Lake Superior region These
furnish nearly or quite three-fourths Of the
of these our output would shrink to beggarly
i ten million tons a year. And these de.
1 posits are not veins Of unknown depth and rich.
ness, but moles or pockets Of ascertainable vol.
ume. There Is within reach possibly l. 500, O0O,.
900 tons of merchantable iron in the deposits
| of Minnesota. Wisconsin and Michigan. This
VIII keep our industry going, surprising con.
sumption to remain stationary. for. thirty or
! forty years. In the year 1850, 2as far as our
| own resources are concerned; will approach an
| 1ronless age. For a population of zoe, 900 OOO
people, our home supply of iron, will have re-
| treated almost to the. company Of the precious
metals. There is no substitute whose produc-
! ton and preparation for practical use is not
far more expensive. Not merely our manufac-
| turing industries, but whole complex indus
| trial life, intimately built upon cheap iron
and COAL will feel the strain and must suffer
reaitgnment. The peril is not one of remote
geologic time, but Of this generation.
Glance at Great Britain.
If any man think this prophecy of danger
fantastic, let him glance at Great Britain.
That nation was not SO extravagaDt as we, be-
cause 1t did not compel the instant exhaustion
OF or Its resources by a tariff prohibiting such
imports and because it's surplus population could
and did scatter over the globe. But 1t has con-
centrated effort upon the secondary form of
industry-manufacturing- the sacrifice Of the
primary-the tillage of the SOIL Its iron SUNNY
Is now nearly exhausted. : 1t must import much
OF the crude material or close it's furnaces and
| mills. Its coal is being drawn from the deeper
| levels. The added cost pinches the market and
| makes trade smaller both in. volume and In
profits. The process of construction has only
| begun. None are advertising it. only the few
| understand It, But already there is the cry Of
want and suffering from every street In Eng
| land. From a million to d million and a hair
| of men are lowering together in her cities, ut
| tering that most pathetic and most awful
| ultimatum "'Damn your charity, give us
work" And this is only the beginning of that
| industrial readjustment which the unwise appli.
| cation Of industry and the destruction of mar
ural resources must force everywhere
Reliance Upon Soil.
Every people is thus reduced in the final
! appraisal Of. Its estate to reliance upon the
| soil. This IS the sole asset that does not per:
| ish. because it contains within itself, If not
abused, the possibility of infinite renewal sour
| one resource, therefore, looking at humanity
| as something more than the creature of n day,
is the productivity of the SOIL But only be-
cause the earth Is more long suffering, only be-
cause the process of exhaustion is more diff
| fcult and occupies longer period, have we
| escaped; the peril that looms so large mother
quarters Vets the waste of icur treasure has
| proceeded 80 far that the actual value of the
| soil for productive purposes has already defer
| iorated more than 1t should have done in awe
centuries of use. There is except in isolated
| and individual cases. little approaching inten-
| sive agriculture In the United States. There is
only the annual skimnling Of the rich cream
I Barley for Quotations.
4 "A N ~ N :