Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-12-16
CUAL EXHAUSTION
NOT FAR DISTANT
BY MIDDLE OF NEXT CENTURY
SUPPLY WILL BE
GONE.
OUR LOSSES cHAReEA5LE TO
FIRES s234,oo1,oo0
YEARLY.

esting report was made by the Sec
ton Of Minerals of the National Con
ser=ation commission. It showed
/ that the available and easily access
/ iDle supplies Of coal in the United
+ States aggregate approximately l.
4 463 SOC, 000, 900 tons. At the present
increasing rate of production this
supply viii be so depleted as to APP
1 preach exhaustion before the middle
( of the next century.
/ From the beginning of coal-mining
in this country down. to the clio of
/ 1907, there were mined $685., 0O0,O0
/ tons. and it is estimated that for
every ton produced half ton has
/ been lost or wasted: so that the
above production repre- sents an ex-
haustion of the coal supply to Janu-
airy 1, 1908 aggregating 10000 O0,-
600 tons. The rate of production has
been steadily increasing.
The first step in extending the life
of our fuel supply, according to the
report, should be to lessen the waste
| in mining, handling. and transporta-
ton of coal. But there are equally
great possible savings in the use of
the coal, not only in the prevention
of waste now recognized as such, but
also in discovering means of avoiding
the losses involved in thetransforma-
ton of heat into mechanical and
electrical energy.
The known supplies of high grade
iron ores in the United States approx
innate 3,S40,06S000 tons, which at the
present increasing rate of consump-
ton can not be expected to last be-
yond the middle of the present cent.
ury II the average increase in the
production of coal which has been
shown in the past should be contin.
ued 1t would require the production
/ during the next three decades of g..
ol9OGO,000 tons. 1t is evident, there
fore, that before 1910 either the pro
duction will have reached a maximum
and begun to decline, or large use
must be made of low grade ores now
classied as available, or the impor-
tation of foreign ores must be greatly
increased.
Ihe known supplies of petroleum,
natural gas and high grade phosphate
rock can not be expected, according
to the estimate in the report. to la
much beyond the middle of the pres
ent century
Waste of Structural Material.
The waste of natural mineral re-
sources used in building and engin-
eering construction is of three kinds.
l. That due to improper and
wa teful methods of mining and pre-.
pairing for market
That due to excessive use of
structural material, because of ignor.
ance OF their strength, durability, etc.
3 That due to destruction by fire
on account of the inflammable char
acter of building construction and in.
adequate building laws. and the non.
enforcement thereof
The greatest source of waste of
structural materials and OF money
values is that due to fires and is one
which can be u,ost readily reduced by
the substitution of fireresisting build.
construction now so prevalent. The
cost of fire to tine country, including
not only property destroyed, but
mainte nance of fire departments.
payment of insurance premiums, pro-
tective agencies. additional cost of
Water supplies, etc.. amounted to over
s456.4S5,900 in 1907, or about 80 per
Nf ta1
building construction in that year.
This fire tax exceeded the total value
of coal. silver, copper and petroleum
production of the United Stf.tes in
that year, and was thirteen mes the
interest on the national delft Four
fifths of this loss, or S365,00 900 is
preventable waste compared with the
present European standard of building
construction and fire losses. The
property loss from fires in the United
States in 1897 was $2.51 per capita,
while in the cities of six large Euro.
pean countries it was only As cents
per capita. The total capita 10 s, in
GLIDING interest and maintenance of
fire departments, excessive water sup
plies. insurance premiums, etc, was
1874. In addition. 1,499 per. ons lost
their lives in fire. while 1854 were in
jured.
A notable feature of this fire loss is
that 81 per cent was due to fires ex-
tending beyond the building where
they originated. Such losses are
the result of infiammable construe-
ton. for with brick and less infiam-
mable buildings fires are more read
lily confined TO the building in which
they start. Ii Is even more noticeable
that only s6S,000.0 900 of this loss was
on brick, concrete, stone. and other
slow burning construction. while
double that amount. or about st4S. 600
600 was on frame buildings. In the
last 20 years the total fire waste
amounted to about four and a half
billion dollars.
AZ a reasonable estimate. probably
more than one-half the Insurance
one-fourth OF the city water supply
and distribution charges, three-fourths
OF the fire department charges. ana
three-fourths Of the fire losses. or a
total Of s2341s2,956 a year may be
rnasnr4a Nh NnoN-s s.