Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-02-23

world affairs has for it., Foundation
material resources and geographical
'1ot IA, ion unmatched lS az, other '0un-
try--w. might safely say. unmatched
by any other continent oar peculiar
advantages our vast resources for
the DEVELOPMENT of manufactures. for
Tho production a fooistuns with
" hich 10 supply the needs of hundreds
of millions OF people and Tor growing
the materials-cotton and wool with
which to clothe them, a" unique.
The world has no DUPLICATE"
Europe, with 400. 900 o"o people. has
~ 900 square miles OF coal land.
The United States. with S',"'h.o"o
people. has 100000 s4uar" miles OF
good coal and $4,000" Spuar" miles
of inferior Goals ard ii%nitos. Our
coal supply il at least ton times as
great as Europe's. and Is greater than
all the known coal supply of tn" rest
of the world. E,urop" raises practical
t. no cotton. We rails" 500 ooo.Goo
worth a wear Europ" has five
Zines a. many mouths Ia feed. hut
of wheat and corn combined W"
raise one-half of all produced in the
world, and about 80" ,h""."G" more
bushels than all produced III Europe.
Europe may partly ofrs"' This BY rye
but we offset rye by tic" and oNher
fOodstuffs.
With 6 per cent. of III" land of IN"
world and 81 per cent. Of n" world
population he have on" half OF IT'S
wheat and corn. 20 per cent. OF It's
cotton more coal than has been as
covered in the rest of III" world. ana
as much iron ore. Our wa'er-paweTs
can be developed to snch an extent
tina; they would furnish more power
than is used in all power plants IN
America. They are easily accessible.
near to centers of POPULATION. or OF IN
dustrv. or TO raw materials for manu-
featuring or mining.
With So per cent, of the worlds
population. we have 40 per cent of the
worlds railroad mileage and our trai-
fic is growing so rapidly that we
rcdC to double our entire railroad
facilities within the next 10 or 10
wears. Our population increases at
the rate Of about . per cent. a year
On The present basis of S7,oo0,O0o.
this would give Us 17.000000 to IS :
tV,bUD IlOlS pCoplV III NV A'>-"t
wears and something over 20.OOo.0oo
in the following decade. This Will
give us over 125.000.060 by 1890 ana
l so 900 900 people by 1910. In 80 years
we will add to our population more
than the total population Of the entire
country in 1880. In 80 years our popu'
lation will be about 20 per cent.
larger than /! is today. but iy vortue
of the increasing power OF transporta-
ton on land ane sea. the use Of the
telephone and telegraph-which are
among the greatest agents that ever
came into existence for accelerating
business and adding to mans produc'
tive capacity-the 20 per cent. OF
increase in population will have far
greater potentiality than the tota'
population of today. nj other words.
the 100000 people that will be
living in the United tSates bv 1910
will vastly exceed in their potentially
| to produce and to consume what the
same number could do today. II Is
l. not at all impossible. judging the
future BY the past. that the Individual
potentiality will be doubled. and
that the $50. 900 900 people 80 years
hence will be equal in producing and
consuming power to 100000 people
| today.
We have the material foundation
on which to build. Our resources
have really been but scarcely touch,
ed. We have hardly begun TO find
| out what We have We are anrigntea
b., stories about the destruction OF our
natural resources. unduly alarmed. in
fact for MANY OF these reports are
;t.sed on false premises We have
been moving very rapidly in the last
no or IS years into scietihc age
lin which conservation Of our re-
sources is taking the form OF a higher
efficiency through scientific study
We are getting more out OF our soil
We are saving our timber by the won
derful development OF concrete IN
construction W" are greatly increas
ling the efficiency Of coal by the utii'
zation of the gas engine We are
developing water powers. the use Of
which will to some extent lessen the
demand on the coal mines. About the
so-caIled danger Of destroying Our
prosperity by the waste OF natural re
sources We need not be seriously dis
turbed. because science has for years
been doing the work which recent dis
cussions about conservation nave
taken up as though II were something
new and startling. The victory fOr
conservation through the improvement
of soil by adding TO its productivity
the saving of coal by better handling
and better methods Of firing. by the
gas engine. and by other scientific at
tainments. and the re foresta,ion o.
orr cut-oyer timber lands, had been
practically won long tefore the hut
rah of recent months, The ploddins
scientists. steadily at work during tns
years past. had already accompi,sne0
these results through having shown
what could be done and how to do it
They had already proved the value o'
forest preseryetion and the countr,
Il -.-.o..ni 70 rnrk On that line