Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-08-23
Effect Of the European War on
the Mineral Industry Of the
United States Will be Marked

materials independent of the rest of
the world, and business men will not
neglect the opportunity to make our
industries safe from the Interruptions
of war we are now experiencing"
Tho Steel Industry.
What other industries are there
now dependent upon the products of
other countries, which can be made in
dependent" Mr.. Lane was asked.
! 1.-THE steel industry for one he re-
piled. Manganese is of large import
, ance to this industry, and the largest
supply of ore comes from Russia and
other countries with which commerce
is now paralyzed. There are large
deposits in South America which have
not been developed, but it is not neces-
sary even to go so far away as that.
We have great stores of manganese in
! this country. To bring this home sup
ply into use means merely adoption of
methods for it's publication, which arc
| known and can be successfully used.
and then we can continue making
manganese steel without regard to for
eign wars or sources of material. There
are other international contributions
though, in the steel industry. We have
depended largely upon the island of
Ceyfon for the graphite used in the
manufacture of the crucibles in which
crucible steel for edge tools and small
firearms is made. Or to take another
metal, European shelters, using In
part Chinese and Mexican ores, have
in late years furnished much of the
worlds supply of anthony. which is
used in the manufacture of type metal,
and also incidentally. War has para
lyzed the production of anthony in
England (at NeWcastle). and prices
have gone up. Anthony, however is
} easily extracted from many low grade
ores which we have in great quanti-
ties in at least seven states. and there
) is no reason why we should not make
; this extraction and be independent of
} other countries, both as to supply and
! prices Similar conditions hold in the
case of arsenic.
"A large tonnage of ferromanganese
= alloys comes from Germany and Eng
land. It is only in the last 10 years
, that We have freed ourselves from Sic
ily's monopolistic control OF the sui
phur supply Flint pebbles are com
mon and the supply large enough in
the United States, but for such an APP
parently unimportant product as these
used in the fine grinding of cement and
ores, we have been depending upon
? the chalk cliffs of England, Denmark
and France. Ores and mineral freight
3 depend almost wholly upon the tramp
steamer, a carrier OF foreign parent
age Now the tramp steamer has
taken to cover and all kinds of ocean
freight, especially low grade freight
will be held up and its carriage al
most entirely suspended during the
war"
: interruption Of Industries.
Twill this suspension mean disaster
to our industries? ?"
Not disaster, but inevitable inter
Q ruption to some extent replied Mr.
Lane. 1T means that suddenly ma.
terials upon which great industries de
{, pend, must be obtained from othel
y sources. Importers, consumers ant
manufacturers are making anxious in
Il quiries as to where they may find il
a the United States supplies of crude
materials to replace the foreign sup
, plies now shut off. This is the oppor
=, tunity of the United States TO free ii
), self from dependence of its industries
n upon other countries and business meI
: are awakening to this fact. They lool
II to the government for aid in findin'
=, new sources of material with which t.
keep the factories open and in opera
=, ton. When they have found the do
. nestle supply and begin us use, the,
- will not return to dependence upol
the foreign supply and thereafter goo
or bad times in the United states S
60 far as the maintenance of industries
! concerned, will be more Independent
of foreign complications"
:. what is the government doing I
"a aid industry in these Matters
&c "All it can do under present laws,
O replied the secretary. The nation
= greatest natural resources are par
le of the public domain, and under tn
lie charge of theinterior department. TIL
TT sources of the United States publish
lie ed by the United States Geologic
W Survey for the last thirty years, con
m tain not only statistics of yearly pro
J. duction of all commercial minerals bu
Of also useful facts regarding the occur
IN renee. exploitation and application
is the arts and sciences of the minerS
a wealth of the country. The geologici
or survey has been instructed to furnis
upon request the addresses of produc
I'd ers from whom buyers can supply the
E. wants if the mineral is produced {
all in this country or information re
O. garding the localities where reporte
n deposits are undeveloped. In SON
,u instances large deposits remain undo
AZ veloped simply because of the fact thu
es distance from market has given to III
81 f0rafUr n material wit
m ~ 49,. oooar, fraigt+s or odyor+ae
to -. .o..,.4tr - .,,t,e,,,,,a. :
90 rail"
- The Mineral Industries.
what immediate effects upon mir
eral industries may be expected fro
1 the war;" Mr.. Lane was asked