The Washington herald., 1908-08-26
Cooperative Conservation
By FREDERIC J. HASKIM

TO install their own scientific. and yet
practical. methods throughout the luul-
bering regions OF the country. Under the
old method OF prodigal abuse Of our re-
sources. virgin forests have been cut
70 the ground over millions Of acres and
now little is left but waste land A great
scarcity Of lumber is predicted within a
quarter Of a century. even with proper
conservation. 50 great has been the waste
American mining methods are also
wastefuL To illustrate this It Is only
necessary 10 say that Of every ls0 tons
Of anthracite coal mined, only forty tons
are marketed. Every ton sent TO mar
ker represents an exhaustion Of the
mines 10 the extent OF two tons. This
alarming state Of affairs is due 70 the
fact that a large portion Of the coal is
left in the mines as refuse and in the
form Of pillars which support the roof
Of the mines while more Is wasted OUT
side il washing and other processes. It
is no wonder that anthracite is becoming
. luxury
The necessity OF conserving our min
eraI resources is pointed out by seien-
lists. who declare that at best the human
race can only mine s Per cent Of tie
amount Of coal that was originally laid
down in the formation OF the world The
other q per cent is said TO have been
destroyed through natural processes dur
/ ias almost endless geoIoSic ages. There
fore. Il our present mining methods are
70 continue. We can only get the benefit
Of - per cent Of the original coal sup
ply. Il bcho0ves Us 20 be conservative
and careful in using this small cTaJUlty
from nature.
The estimated extent Of coal fields n
this country is 1915 square miles. much
OF il very inaccessible ana Jznsler heavy
cover. The original supply of coal IN
these fields. when mining began. was Ss-
tiuated at 3157 243. 1Jdp0 shorc tons OF
this supply only 261i1lS5dJ. 10 tons were
easily accessible. while ll53. - OBJ. 90 tons
were accessible with 5lthculrg-- OF the
easily accessible coal IL - estimated tnar
! ss3. so go, GO tons are stil available.
In 1875 the -otaI production u coal IN
this country was 4l4I57.Z-S tons Up 10
January / 1905 the .otal production Of
each from American mines. including
waste. was I9.2IS. 700 tons. The cCal
supply IS not expected 20 last 40 years
although improved mining methods and
row unknown coal fields may prOlJLg the
supply
Fifty million tons or Iron 5re are being
mined in the United States Annually. but
az that rate the estimated workable sup
Ply Of that mineral oi 2)500. 1t-i ijj II tons
viii last 40 years TIE total value q
minerals produced n tae United States
IN 1876 was nearly SZG11. .l11.010 IS COM
pared with S254 $4,000 lr ISS1. tine first
available reliable fggCes A this rate
I Of increase il Is fea-ad thl- II VIII not
{ be long before the nation viii be bark
TCr- from a min=-oI standpoint L Is
not the actual cons Enr-i0l- hOve-c-. but
{ the waste. that w1~-te IS economists an1
I practical scientists
/ Many thousands Of acres OF as good
/ farming land as can be found il the fer
I tile Nile Valley are washed down into
+ the sea every year by our rivers. which
have become uncomfortable with the de-
! IstrUctiOn OF forests. During many months
I Of she year the streams are nearly dry
/ and much TOO low for navigation. while
al other and shorter times the valleys
Z are overofwed by destructive foods
River commerce Is decreasing Water
power BY the uillIcns OF horsepower IS
going % waste. Nearly 15.N10100 acres Of
arid land have been irrigated arti6cially-
F but many millions more remain 20 be
war5red- small areas Of swamp lands
. have been drained but millions more re-
main 20 be treated that way. and trans
formed from diseased breeding places into
fce farming lands which VIII support a
. large population The public domain has
{ been ru-hlessiy wasted. but nov Il is
/ being conserved and developed by home
makers
/ To carry out these worthy objects out
lined above VIII be the work OF a IA
} JioraI conservation league. which would
voice popular sentiment OF the subject
/ aid operate through the national and
state conservation commissions. through
: Congress. through the legislatures and
4 through the executive department Of the
T government There Is reason 20 believe
that e new and greater organization
would be encouraged By the admin lstra-
( tons conservation experts and agents.
and receive loyal cooperation and sup
port from smaller organizations having
Z the same object il view. and from the
E best element OF the nations population.
3 who are anxious for any cooperative
! scheme that viii conserve our natural
( resources
-Ccp-rSa-. lss. b FTede-sc J. HzSkil-I
/ TO-mOrrOw-POstaI Clerks Con-
[ ventfOn.