The Republican journal., 1914-08-27
freight, will be held up and It's carriage
almost entirely suspended during the

1t means that 0uQOenly marleFlAtS upOai
which great industries depend must be
obtained from other sources. Importers.
consumers and manufacturers are max
ing anxious inquiries as to where they
may find in the United States supplies OF
crude materials to replace the foreign
supplies now shut off. This is the oppor-
tunity of the United States to free itself
from dependence of its industries upon
other countries, and business men are
awakening to this fact. They look to the
Government for aid in finding new sourc-
ces of material with which to keep the
factories open and in operation. When
they have found the domestic supply and
begin its use, they will not return to de-
pendenct upon. the foreign supply, and
thereafter good or bad times in the Unit
ed States, so far as the maintenance. of
industries is concerned, will be more in
dependent of foreign complications.
''What is the Government doing to aid
industry in these matters?"
GAN it can do under present laws. re-
piled the Secretary. 1.-The Nation
greatest natural resources are part of
the public domain, and under the charge
of the Interior Department. The an
nual reports on the mineral resources of
the United States, published by the Unit
ed States Geological Survey for the last
thirty years, contain not only statistics
of yearly production of all commercial
minerals, but also useful facts regarding
the occurrence, exploitation and appli-
cation in the arts and sciences of the
mineral wealth of the country. The
Geological Survey has been instructed to
furnish upon request the addresses of
producers from whom buyers can supply
their wants if the mineral is produced at
all in this country or information regard
ing the localities where reported de-
posits are undeveloped. In some in
stances large deposits remain unde-
veloped simply because of the fact that
distance from market has given to the
foreign sources of raw material with
the lower ocean freights an advantage
over domestic producers shipping by
rail-"
''What Immediate effects upon mineral
industries may be expected from the
war;" Mr.. Lane was asked.
"Already the copper industry has felt
the injurious effect of war; he said,
9" and production has been curtailed.
While considerable copper is consumed
in the munitions of war, the construc-
tive arts of peace furnish far better
world market for American copper than
will the destructive art of war. In the
case of zinc, however, the effect of the
European war is the opposite. The
smelling centers of the Continent are
in the zone of fighting. In Belgium for
lie along the line of attack chosen by
81 vryhI in,
Prussia, Austria Hungary, and Russian
Poland the smelters are likewise located
where military operations promise to be
most active. 1t is within the limits OF
to expect loss of half mil
lion tons in The foreign production OF
zinc or nearly half the worlds output,
with beneficial effect upon the recent
over production in the United States,
as affording the opportunity
to export zinc and galvanized iron pro-
ducts to South American countries, which
market has hitherto been only in part
utilized by our exporters.
Fuel oil has a large use in naval war
fare of today. yet the tying up OF the
big tank steamers on both the Atlantic
and Pacific seaports is already embar-
RAISING the oil producers of this untry
who depend so largely upon the export
trade in all the forms of petroleum, crude
and refined. On the other hand, Russia,
our strongest rival in oil production,
must suffer more complete and longer
continued interruption of exports, which
should tend to enlarge the market for
our OIL"
1.-The supply of cheap foreign barytes
has prevented the development OF many
good deposits of that mineral, but with
the consumers of the Atlantic seaboard
already looking for domestic supplies,
some of the Southern mines should be
reopened to supplement the outputs of
those already in operation.
1.-The closure of TIE European market
leaves but one buyer for the radium ores
of Colorado and Utah, which is decided
ly to the disadvantage of the miner.
Had the legislation introduced in Con-
gress been promptly enacted the United
States Government would probably have
been buying these ores at this time.
"While the United States leads in coal
mines, continued the Secretary. 'tne six
European nations now at war happen to
be the six next largest coal mining coun-
tries, producing together over half the
worlds coal. Interference with both
the mining and the commerce of these
nations must necessarily increase the de-
mand for our coal at least in the neutral
countries of the world. And coal is our
one resource about which there need be
no present anxiety. The United States
is now producing 40 per cent of the
worlds supply of coal, and the reserves
vet to be drawn upon exceed, SO far as
known, those of all the rest of the
world con bined. 1t is not generally
known, however, to what an extent we
have been depending upon Europe, prin-
cipally Germany, for many of the chemi-
cal products derivable from coal, and
which we have been permitting to go to
waste, in the most reckless manner.
Coal tar obtained in the manufacture of
coal gas, and Of coke Tin retort ovens)
is capable of producing hundreds OF
chemical products, but the chemical H.
dustries dependent upon coal tar as a
raw material have had little develop
ment in the United States. Our i'm
ports of coal tar products in 1918 were
valued at ST., 1000, 900 at initiating points
and when they reached the ultimate con-
sumner probably cost double that amount.
If the present war continues any length
of time the American consumer will
have to do without anilfne colors and
dyes, certain drugs, and numerous other
coal tar products or the American manu-
facturers will undertake to supply these
essential commodities which have hither-
to carried the label "Made in Germany"
''The Panama canal is opened in time
to helm us in manV WAYS, Bolivia, for