Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-06-24


ewes. 1t was not a frenZied alarmist
but a hard-headed man of science who
also wrote that future historians will
date the end of barbarism from the
time when generations began to feel
that they rightfully had no more than
a life-estate in this sphere. with no
right to squander the inheritance OF
their kind" The reform that is so
sorely needed must gain it's motive
power not from the well-intentioned
enthusiasm of the few, but from the
well-informed intelligence of the
many The campaign for conservation
must be one of education.
The United States leads the world
in every important form Of natural
wealth, whether it be the product of
the farm or of the mine. Our wheat
crop forms q per cent. of the worlds
harvest, our corn crop IS per cent, and
our cotton crop 50 per cent So, also,
in the matter of live stock, our herds
and focks comprise Il per cent. of the
worlds grand total. Take the more
important minerals-our output OF
coal is 40 per cent. of the worlds pro-
duction. of copper 50 per cent, of iron
ore and Oil at least 60 per cent.
The increase in our per capita pro-
Guction and consumption Of natural
resources perhaps furnishes the best
index of the increasing dependence OF
the nation upon it's natural resources.
At the outbreak of the Civil War the
per capita consumption of coal in this
country was only 4 little over One-half
ton: in 1900 it was about 3lA tons; but
in 1907 the consumption had increased
to 81. tons In 1850 our per capita
consumption of lumber was 250 board
feet; today it is undoubtedly close to
500 board feet In 1870 our per capita
production of iron ore was 100 pounds;
last year it exceeded half a ton. Other
metals might be cited, where the in
crease has been great. as, for instance,
copper, which is hardly less useful
than iron, and cement of which the
country is just beginning to learn the
use. The mineral fuels, iron, copper,
cement, and lumber are simply the
important letters in the alphabet with
which man now spells Industrial pros
perity.
The most valuable of all natural re-
sources are water and soil. No more
attractive field for increasing the
country $ aNdlldUle wealth. llco pCioiP
us today than that of determining the
possibilities of our rivers and streams.
Here we shall find the solution of the
problems of improved inland water
transportation, successful agriculture,
cheap power development, ana ade-
quate protection from floods The
rivers of Maine now turn wheels that
furnish a total of somewhat more than
210, 900 horsepower and with proper
storage facilities the full development
of her water powers might yield
100000 horsepower. This conservative
estimate of the Importance of Names
water power is fair index OF tho
value Of the nations water resources,
by far the larger part Of which is yet
undeveloped.
Great soil loss is occasioned by tillage
methods which permit washing. The
soil waste thus started by mere negli-
gence increases until the slopes are
quilted, the bottom lands covered with
waste, the streams choked, and the
navigablc rivers filled with bars. So
universal and persistent is this drain
upon our resources that it is estimated
that at least one billion tons Of this
nations richest soil is annually carried
into the sea by our rivers.
The subjects of soil and water re-
sources cannot be discussed without
mention of the conserving influence of
the forest. The records of the flow of
many rivers but too plainly show the
effect of removing the forest cover.
There is vital relation between the
forest agriculture, manufacture, and
navigation. AS the great conSGrver of
other resources the forest deserves the
nations care.
Recent surveys of the nations coal
fields Indicate an area for the more
accessible Goals Of 327, 900 square miles.
This is cour times the area of the
known coal fields of the rest of the
world In these vast coal fields the
nation has available nearly 2,0o0 billion
tons OF coal, ninable under present
conditions, or twice the tonnage csti
mated for the rest of the world. APP
parently Americas supply is so great
as to render immediate alarm unneces-
sary, hut if the present phenomenal
rate of increase in consumption is
maintained the supply of easily and
cheaply mined coal will be gone before
the middle of the next century.
Ine waste OF our natural gas supply
has been estimated at one million Gu
bic feet daily, or the equivalent of ten
million tous Of coal 4 year. Nor is
he record for petroleum much better.
In the case Of coal there is waste at
every stage of mining and consump-
ton. For each ton of merchantable
coal brought to the surface ut least
half n ton is wasted by being left in
the ground or thrown unon the culm
pile. Great also is the loss 10y mef'i-
cient consumption. Less than 10 per
cent. of the heat units of coal are uti-
lzed under the ordinary steam boiler
| and in the locomotive the waste Is said
to be not less than 95 per cent.
The record of waste, however. before
which every American should stand
aghast is that of the destruction of hu-
man life in the coal mines. So far re-
ported with several states unheard
from, 1924 coal miners We're killed last
year. or an increase of so per cent. over
1906. 1t is q matter of some gratifica-
tion, however, that at last the nation
has made some provision for mvesti-
cations that may prevent or lessen