The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-10-23
PERIL IN GREAT WASTE
Lumber and Coal Supply Of Ma
ton Is Diminishing Fast.
PLAN TO CHECK DIMINUTDN
Government Commission Has Been APP
pointed to Inquire Into Nations
Resources.

Chicago, lll.--Over fifteen million
people, or more than half the total
wage-earners in the United States,
are directly dependent for their live
lihood upon coal, iron, timber, the
soil and other natural resources
which are rapidly being exhausted, az
cording to figures which have just
been compiled by the Conservation
league of America. According to
the league, the avoidable waste Of the
nations, wealth is reaching alarming
proportions, yet few people realize
the extent to which the country as
q whole will be affected by measures
designed to check this waste. 1t was
with the intention of clearing up this
point that the present investigation
was undertaken, and the results.
which are now made public, disclose
some interesting facts.
The first subject. to receive atten-
ton was lumber. According to the
last census reports, 962,876 persons in
the United States are engaged in the
lumber business, or as carpenters and
jOiners, cabinet-makers and the Hike,
are dependent upon the lumber bus
mess for their livelihood. These have
already been affected by the exhaus-
ton of timber in the east and middle
west and are vitality concerned in the
efforts of the government to conserve
as much of the remaining supply as
possible According to the experts
of the forest service at Washington
our present rate of cutting is three
4f4.1 ae,. +laf ~ ryroxsyth oYd a. f1,Sest rate
the remaining supply Of timber will
hardly last thirty years.
The coal supply is also threatWned
with exhaustion Anthracite coal is
timed to last but fifty years. Bitumi-
nous coal will not be exhausted UNI
til later, but unless a check is put
upon the present uneconomical meth
DDS of mining, which have already
wasted as much coal as has been
mined, it will not outlast the next
century.
The total number of coal miners,
according to the figures now made
available, Is i344,292, to which are to
be added over 100000 coal and wood
dealers and stationary engineers and
firemen, making total of 604, 100 per-
DOhS WIZ NAC uAtCSOAJ uCpCAluSlk AbDAA
coal for their work, and who would
have to change their occupation If
coal should give out.
In addition to the workers in these
important industries, the farmers are
beginning to take keen interest in
conservation, in FIVE or six different
ways. Soil exhaustion, erosion, irri-
cation, drainage, waterways, and the
regulation of water supply by the for
ests on the headwaters and source
streams Of the larger rivers are all
matters that directly affect the farm
ers' pocketbook. For this reason fig-
ure of the total number of persons
dependent for their livelihood upon
the soil or dealing in the products
of the soil is particularly interesting.
1t reaches the enormous total of TO-,
644,154 or over third of the total
number Of persons engaged in gainful
occupations in the United States.
AS result Of this investigation,
Uncle Sam will, for the first time,
know just the extent of his inheri.
lance and whether he has been using
1t wisely or ILL.,