Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-01
MINING STATISTICS IN
Conservation Commission Be-
gins to Prepare Report.
MEETING IN THE LIBRARY
Important Facts About Coal and
Iron Submitted by Experts.
MR.. PINCHoT DISCUSSES WORK
Presiaes Over Session-Lands Will
ests Thursdays Topic.

The national conservation commission
| met today at the Congressional Library
| to begin the preparation Of its report to
the President
II was notable meeting. There were
present not only senators and representa-
| tfves In Congress OF all sections OF the
country. all genuinely Interested In the
conservation work. bat there were gov
eminent experts. the best Of their sort
| in their various lines. WHO had been doing
the real field work and collecting facts
and figures. go they could be presented
In the bfiefest and most comprehensive
form:
The meeting, under the craftsmanship
Of Clifford Pinchot, the chief forester, was
held In the senator's reading room. This
in itself was quite a departure: 1t is the
first time the magnificent room has
ever been used for anything but strictly
senatorial meetings.
The walls were covered with maps and
charts germane to the subject under dis
cussiOn. These charts had all been
framed and mounted in keeping with the
decorations of the room.
Mr.. Pinchot Discusses Work.
Mr.. Pinchot spoke Of the general scope
of the work. He said il was the first
time that national inventory Of this
sort had ever been attempted in any eoun-
try; and not only this natien but ether
nations are looking forward with great
interest to the results to he obtained.
He said that the four chief sections of
the commission would report in turn. and
that these reports would be condensed
into single report for the benefit OF
President Roosevelt When the matter
was once in the Presidents bands the re-
sponsibility of the commission was at an
end.
The subject taken Up was the mineral
resources of the United States. j. A
Holmes of the geological survey was the
secretary of this section and made his re-
port.
The chief minerals dealt with were. of
course. iron and coal. The waste in min
were the chief considerations Of the re-
port
But there was all sort Of other infor-
mat ior. touching prs ctieaIly all the metals
and minerals with which the country has
TO deal in commercial quantities.
Startling Facts Uncovered.
The report went into considerable detail,
as to the amount Of coal. both hard Snd
soft. in this country. the l,;In3n Of the
various fields. and the Approximate
amount remaining in the ground. the an
nual rate OF mining and the possible time
that the supply would last. IL connection
with this was the waste IN n-tning. the
possibility OF utilizing he now waste
coal. by means Of briquet.. making ana
the conversion OF waste INTO gas.
Many facts Of startling interest In this
connection were brought out. Some OF
them touched the waste Of burning coal,
as there was only a small fraction OF the
energy developed from the best coal when
COnVpTtod n
steam It was shown that the use OF
coal In gas engines was much more eco
nomicaI. 1t was brought out through
tests that had been made in the geological
survev's fuel plant that some coal of a
quality too poor to burn made gas equal
10 the best steam coal.
The whole Of the days session was
spent in consideration of the mineral re-
port.
will he lands 1t will be shown just how
much of the public domain has been utii-
lied, what part of it Is used in dry farm
ing. what part is arid or semi-arid and
has to be irrigated, what methods can
be used to save the farms from being
worn out and how the amount Of crops
could be increased, what portion of the
country Is taken no with swamp lands
and how much of this can be drained and
at what expense.
Forests Considered Thursday.
AT the next days meeting forest prob
lens will be discussed 1t will be shown
what portion of the country is still in
forests, how fast these are being cut, and
what precautions are being taken to cut
judiciously and what provisions are being
made to replace forests that either are cut
off or are destroyed by fire.
The last section of the commission S
work will deal with waters 1t will he
shown what the great natural waterways
of the country are and what has been
done to improve them. 1t will show also
what further work in the line of this i'm
provement is most urgent.
Aside from the Improvement of the in
land waterways and harbors, the report
will deal with the arid region of the west.
will show what has been done so far in
reclamation work by the national reclama-
ton service. how far water available will
go in irrigating arabic lands and how far
irrigation streams can be made to serve
the needs of commerce.