Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-01-24

yentory would have been impossible.
The FIVE secretaries sign the report
with him. Z. .5 jg$ ss AZ.
The report of the commission "a &C.
voted mainly to an inventory Oh the Ri
country's resources In minerals, LANDS,
forests and waters, closing with q. 2 a So
ton on national efficiency.
The mineral production OF the unit-
ed States for 1907 exceeded $2,OOO.OOO.-s
coo and contributed 65 per cent OF the
total freight traffic of the country.
THE waste in the extraction and treat
ment Of mineral products during the
same year was equivalent to more:
than $500, 100000. The available ana
easily accessible. supplies Of coal ~ the &
United States aggregate approx imately
400 900 100000 tons. At the present
Increasing rate Of production this ;sup-
ply viii be 30 depleted as to approach
exhaustion before the middle OF the
next century. The high grade Iron
ores (the only iron ores available TOE
use under existing conditional cannot
be expected, to last beyond the middle q &.
Of the present century. The same r
true Of the petroleum supply. The sup,
ply Of stone, clay, cement, lime, sand 1
and salt is ample, while the stock Of
the precious metals and OF copper,5
lead, zinc, sulphur, asphalt, graphite,
quicksilver, mica and th6 rare metals
cannot well be estimated, but ia clear
" exhaustible within one to three cen.
turtles unless unexpected deposits are
found. -" q = ".'.l>@.. A."-s,5%$ i
The consumption Of nearly all our
mineral products is increasing far
more rapidly than our population =
stray CLEAN Of light in the otherwise
gloomy mineral situation Is seen IN
the fact that while the production OF
coal is increasing enormously. the
waste and loss In mining are diminish-
Ing. There ia urgent need Of greater
safety to tina miner. The loss. Of lie
through mine accidents is appalling.
Stress Is laid on the assertion that
four-afths Of the country's fire losses;
or an average Of 81 GOO. 600 day, could
be prevented If the precautions taken
In Europe were adopted here.
Speaking of the nations cultivable
area, the report declares that there has
been a slight increase In the average
yield of our great staple farm prod
ucts, but neither the increase IN acre
age nor the yield per acre has kept
pace with our increase in population.
Within a century we shall probably
have to feed three times as many
people as now, and the main bulk Of
our, food supply must be grown on our
own soil. We. have now nearly 5000
600 farms, averaging 148 acres each,
but only a little more than two-ffths
Of the area of continental United States
is under cultivation. The United
States can grow the farm products
needed by population more than three
times as great as our country now con-
tains, but we must greatly increase
the yield per acre. Nj ss, s.sss 81
The greatest unnecessary waste Of
our soil ID preventable erosion. Second
only to this Is the waste. nQnuseS and
misuse Of fertilizer derived from ami
mails and men. Other great causes Of
loss are. due to injurious mammals,
plant diseases and insects. Most Of
these farm losses are .preventable.
The present public land laws AZ
whole, do not subserve5 the best Inter
ests OF the people Title to the surface
Of the remaining nonmineral public :
lands should be granted only to actual
q HI. 5ss:ss ..s III. d b
Next to onr', need Of food and water
comes our need Of timber, declares the
report. The preservation by use under
the methods Of practical forestry Of /
all public forest lands either In state
or federal ownership IL essential to I
the permanent public welfare. Enec-
tive and immediate cooperation BY pr1-s$
vate enterprise, state ownership and
federal ownership is needed II the pub
lie interest is to be subserved. By reA-S
sonabie thrift we can produce sas con-
slant timber supply beyond our present
need ana with IT conserve the useful
ness Of our streams for irrigation, w.
ter supply. navigation and power.
OF the 10000, 600. O0O. 900 cubic feet
Of water annually flowing into the sea
less than per cent II restrained and
utilized for municipality and commu-
nifty supply; less than 2 per. cent (or
some 10 per cent Of that III the arid
and semiarid regions) IL used for irri-
CATION: perhaps 8 per cent Is used tor
navigation and less than 8 per cent tor
power. .s>s H 81 ~ 81
The freshets are attended BY de-
shuctive soil erosion. The soil matter
annually carried into lower rivers and
harbors or into the sea II computed 1t
$50, 100000 tons. Soil wash reduces BY
10 to 20 per cent the productivity Of
upland farms and increases channel
cutting and bar building IN the riyera