The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1909-01-28

ventory would have been impossible.
The Eve secretaries sign the report
with him
The report Of the commission is de-
voted mainly to an inventory OF the
counrry's resources in minerals, lands,
forests and waters. closing with sec
ton on national efficiency"
The mineral production Of the Unit
ed States for 1907 exceeded S2,000,OO0,-
600 and contributed Go 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 S3OOOO00OO The available and
easily accessible supplies Of coal In the
United States aggregate approximately
1.4OOO 100000 tons At the present
increasing rate Of production this sup
ply will be so depleted as to approach
exhaustion before the middle Of the
next century. The high grade Iron
ores dhe only iron ores available for
use under existing conditions) cannot
be expected to last beyond the middle
Of the present century. The same is
true of the petroleum supply. The sup
ply Of stone. clay, cement, lime, sand
and salt Is ample. while the stock OF
the precious metals and of copper.
lead. zinc. sulphur. asphalt, graphite,
quicksilver. mica and the rare metals
cannot well be estimated, but is clear
" exhaustible within one 10 three cen.
turies unless unexpected deposits are
found.
The consumption Of nearly all our
mineral products Is Increasing far
more rapidly than our population. A
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 I'm mining are diminish
ing. There is urgent need Of greater
safety to the miner. The loss OF life
through mine accidents is appalling.
Stress Is laid on the assertion that
four-hfths Of the country's FIRE losses,
or an average Of $100O,0OO a day, could
be prevented If the precautions taken
in Europe were adopted here.
Speaking Of the nations cultivable
area, the renort declares that there has
been 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 I'm 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 COCO.
600 farms. averaging lac 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
The greatest unnecessary waste OF
our soil Is prcveutable erosion. Second
only 10 this Is the waste. ronuse and
, misuse Of fertilizer derived from ami
. mails nud men, ether great causes OF
loss are duo to injurious mammals,
! plant diseases and insects. Most ot
those farm lossos orc 0reventable.
. The present uubli. land laws rs %
whole do nor subscrvc TIC best inter.
csts u. the people. wi,lc to the surface
OF the rouniuing uonminerai publ.
. . lands sh.n'd Do lrauted only to actual
. homcmaErrs.
, Next to our need OF food ana water
. comes our need of timber, declares th,
report. Thr preservation 10y use undo.
+, the methods Of practical forestry ui
all public forest lands either i'm stat,
- or federal ownership is essential {,
y the permanent public welfare. Efrcc
. tive and immediate cooperation by pyj
, vate enterprise. state ownership an,
? federal ownership is needed If the pub
- lie interest II to he subServed By rea
p sonable thrift we can produce con
- stant timber supply beyond our present
q need and with it conserve the useful
ness of our streams for irrigation. wa,
r ter supply. navigation and power.
- OF the 100000 0,OO0,OO0O00 cubic feet
D OF water annually flowing into the sea
r less than | per cent is restrained and
: utilized for municipality and commu
!. nifty supply; less than per cent (or
( some 10 per cent of that in the arid
% and semiarid regionsD Is used for irri
I cation; perhaps per cent is used for
= navigation and less than per cent for
power.
The freshets are attended by de
structiye soil erosion. The soil matter
annuslIY carried into lower rivers and
harbors or into the sea is computed al
7S0,000,000 tons. Soil wash reduces by
10 to 20 per cent the productivity Of
upland farms and increases channel
cutting and bar building in the rivers.
The annual loss to the farms alone is
$500,000,000, and large losses follow
the foullng of the waters and the di-
minished navigation of the streams.
Broad plans should be adopted pro-
viding for a system of waterway i'm
provement extending to all uses Of the