The Washington herald., 1914-08-17
WAR TO BENEFIT
Mines in i. S.
Secretary Lane Sees Great
Future if Resources Are
Developed.
TEST YANKEE ENTERPRISE
With Europe Throttled. Official Ex.
poets to See Labels. Made in
America" in All Markets.

"a direct beneht to the United States
from the European war win be its effect
in making the people, of this country re-
| aliZe to greater extent the value of its
mineral resources" said Franklin K
Lane, Secretary of the Interior, In an in
terview yesterday. 1T is entirely possi-
bic to SO utilize these resources and ex-
/ pand our industries that the label, Made
IN America will become familiar In our
own and>foreign markets.
"of an Importance second only to that
OF the food supply" said Mr.. Lane, ''is
the supply of mineral products necessary
i TO meet the requirements OF twentieth
/ century civilization. One of the first ef-
fects Of the war has been to make VI re-
alize the interdependence OF nations In the
matter OF food supply. Most OF the coun-
tries now at war are dependent upon i'm
portation OF foodstuffs, and we have
cause for self-congratulation in the Unit
/ ed States that We are able to feed our
selves.
What We possibly have not SO fully
realized is that we, are nearly as inde-
! pendent In the possession OF essential
mineral resources. and that the interfer-
ence with manufacturing caused by in
terruption OF the flow of importations Of
many necessary raw materials may be
overcome almost wholly by development
Of neglected resources in our own coun-
! try"
do you mean" Mr.. Lane was asked,
that the United States can make itself
Independent OF the rest Of the world in
its manufactured"
Very largely" asserted the Secretary
The main difficulties to be overcome
are in the rearrangement OF the distri-
button system necessary to establishing
this independence. Business Is establish
ed along certain well-marked channels,
and usually follows the line Of. least re-
sistance. 1t has been easier. vand per-
haps cheaper, to import mineral products
and materials from other countries than
to 60 to the trouble and expense Of de-
veloping our own resources OF the same
nature. Forced to the latter course by
suspension of commerce with other
countries, 1 believe that American enter
prise and energy will almost at once
turn to the development Of the native
resources, rather than permit production
to lag and supply to be diminished in
any industry.
eral industries may be expected from
the war;" Mr.. Lane was asked.
ALREADY the copper industry has felt
the injurious effect of war" he eaid,
"and production has been curtailed.
While considerable copper is con-
sumed in the munitions of war. the
constructive arts of peace furnish q
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 Instance. practically
all the zinc smelters lie along the line
Of attack chosen by the German armies,
while in Rhenish Prussia, Austria-H Hun
gary, and Russian Poland the smelters
are likewise located where military
operations promise to be most active.
1T is within the limits of probability
to expect loss Of a half million tons in
the foreign production Of zinc, or nearly
half the worlds output, with beneficial ef-
feet upon the recent overproduction in the
United States, especially as affording the
opportunity to export zinc and galvanized
iron' products TO South American coun-
tries, which marwket has hitherto been
only in part utilized by our exporters
Fuel oil has a large use in naval war
fore 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 country,
who depend 30 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