The Mena weekly star., 1909-01-28


 Vital to the Welfare of the Nation
 Public Land Laws Declared tc
 Require ModIfIcation--tiow Suppl,
 of Timber May Best Be Conserved Washington.-wit the message that President Roosevelt submitted to con. sress regarding the workings of the Ma tionai Conservation commission the re. port of the commission also was for warded. Practically the document was as follows:
 National Conservation Commission.
 Washington, Jan. II, 1s0s
 Sir Herewith I have the honor tc place in your hands the report of the National Conservation commission, ere ated by you June s. 1908, to inquire into and advise you as to the condition of our natural resources, and to cooperate with other bodies created for similar purposes by tho states
 The mass of material which consti. tutes the inventory has been summarized under the direction of the secretaries of the respective sections of the commission 70 as to assemble tho most salient points of the inventory"
 Chairman Clifford Pinchot makes cor- dial acknowledgment of the services rem dered to the commission by subcrdinates In particular eulogizins the work of Mir. Henry Gannett. In substance the reports arc as Follows:
 Report of the National Conservation
 Commission.
 The duty of man to man. on which the Integrity of nations must rest. is no higher than the duty of each generation to the next; and the obligation of the nation to each actual citizen Is no more sacred than the obligation to the citizen to be. who. In turn, must bear the na- tions duties and responsibilities.
 Tn the growth of the country and gradual development of the natural re- sources there have been three noteworthy stages. The first stage was that of indi- vidual enterprise for personal and family benefit. It led to the conquest of the wilderness.
 ''The next stage was that of collective enterprise. either for the benefit of com munities or for the profit of individuals forming the communities. It led to the development of cities and states, and too often to the growth of great monopo- lies.
 The third stage is the one we are now entering. Within it the enterprise is col fective and largely cooperative, and should be directed toward the larger ben eht of communities. states, and the peo- pie generally.
 ''In the first stage the resources re- ceived little thought. In the second they were wastefully used. In the stage which we are entering wise and beneh- clal uses are essential. and the checking of waste is absolutely demanded.
 Waste reduced and resources saved are the first but not the last object of conservation. The material resources have an additional value when their pres ervation adds to the beauty and habita- AZ ta., n.,ru In x.1o txt land In which to dwell. To increase its beauty and augment it's fitness cannot but multiply our pleasure In it and strengthen the bonds of our attachment. Tn the conservation of all the re- sources of the country the interest of the present and all future genera tions is concerned. and in this great work-in- volving the welfare of the citizen, the family. the community. the state and the nation--our dual system of government. state and federal. should be brought into harmonious cooperation and collabora- ton.
 Minerals.
 The mineral production of the United States for 1907 exceeded e2. GOO, 900 00o. and contributed sS per cent. of the total freight traffic of the country. The waste in the extraction and treatment of min eral products during the same year was equivalent to more than s3oo. 00.ooo.
 The production for 1907 included 3as 100000 tons of bituminous and s5.o0oo ooo tons of anthracite. coal. ss.oo0.c0o barrels of petroleum, &5,Oo0. 000 tons of high grade and 900 tons of low-grade iron ore. 25oo 0o0 tons of phosphate rock and s6e : oo0.ooo pounds of copper. The values of other mineral products during the same year included clay products $iG2, ,ooo. 900: stone s7i. 900. GOO: cement $56, ,000 900: natural gas $50 oo0. 900; gold. e90 GOO GOO: silver. ST. 0oo.0oo lead. tssooo.ooo, and zinc. ses,ooo.- O00
 The available and easily accessible supplies of coal in the United States az eregate approximately f.4oa. .ooo. 900 900 tons. At the present increasing rate of production this supply will be depleted as 10 approach exhaustion before the middle of the next century"
 Enumeration of the natural wealth of the country. and it's sectional distribution. follows. The report proceeds:
 'The consumption of nearly all our mineral products is increasing far more rapidly than our population In many cases the waste Is increasing more rap Idly than the number of our people. While the production of coal is increas- Ing enormously, the waste and loss in mining are diminishing. At the begin ming of our mineral development the coal abandoned in the mine was two or three times the amount taken out and used. NOW me mine Wdste hNtKdEts uttft fnoft than half the amount saved. The chief waste is in imperfect combustion in fur naces and fire boxes. Steam engines utilize on the average about eight per cent of the thermal energy of the coal. rnternal-combustion engines utilize less than 20 per cent. and in electric lighting far less than one per cent of the thermal energy is rendered available.
 with increasing industries new min eral resources become available from time to time. Some lignites and other low-srade coais are readily gasified and. through the development of internal-com- bustion engines. check the consumption of high grade coals. Peat is becoming important. 1t is estimated that N000, ,o00 po tons are available in the United gtatee Its value Is enhanced because of d..tribution through states generally re mote from the fields of coal. oil and natural gas
 ''The building operations of the coun- trv now aggregate about $i. .000, GOO 900 per year The direct and indirect losses from fire in the United States during 1907 ap- proximated s450. .000. .o00 or one-half the coat of construction. Of this loss four nfths. or an average of u,oooeoo per day, could he prevented. shown by com harrison with the standards of construc. ton and fire losses in the larger Euro pean countries.
 There ie urgent need for greater safety to the miner. The loss of life through mine accidents Is appalling, and preventive measures cannot be taken too soon.