The Republican journal., 1914-08-27
The European War.
Ifs Effect Upon the Resources and Indus
tries of this Country.


the European war will be its effect in
making the people of this country real
ize to greater extent the value OF it's
mineral resources" said Franklin X.
Lane. Secretary of the Interior, in All
interview today. ''It is entirely possible
to so utilize these resources and expand
our industries that the label Made in
America will become familiar in our own
foreign markets.
''Of an Importance second only to that
of the food supply" said Mr., Lane, lis
the supply of mineral products necessary
to meet the requirements of Twentieth
century civilization. One of the first eff
fects of the war has been to make us
realize the interdependence of nations in
the matter of food supply. Most of the
countries now at war are dependent up
on importation of foodstuffs, and we
have cause for self-congratulatio in the
United States that we are able to feed
ourselves. What we possibly have not
so fully realized is that we are nearly as
Independent in the possession of essential
mineral resources. and that the interfer-
ence with manufacturing caused by In
terruption of the flow of importatlons OF
many necessary raw materials, may be
overcome almost wholly by development
of neglected resources in our own coun l.
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 Secre-
tary. 1.-THE main difficulties to be over
come are in the Encouragement of the
distribution system necessary to estao-
fishing this independence. Business is
established along certain well-marked
channels, and usually follows the line of
least resistance. 1t has been easier and
perhaps cheaper, to import mineral prod
ucts and materials from other countries
than to go to the trouble and expense OF
developing our own resources OF the same
nature, Forced to the latter course by
suspension of commerce with other
countries, | believe that American en-
terprise and energy will almost at once
turn to the development of the native re-
sources, rather than permit production
to lag and supply to be diminished in any
industry,
''For the maintenance of agriculture,
for instance, we rely more and more
largely upon mineral fertilizers. The
three essential plant foods are potash,
nitrogen and phosphorus, the latter used
generally in the form of phosphates. We
have depended, with the rest of the
world, very largely upon the mines OF
Germany for our supply of potash salts,
and war has cut off this supply, but we
have large deposits of potash in Cali
fornia reserve which can be Immediately
opened and developed if bill now before
Congress to make these supplies avail
able is enacted. Chile holds practical
world monopoly of the most readily
available nitrogen in its great nitrate
beds, and not only the manufacturer OF
agricultural fertilizers but also of many
kinds of high explosives, have been made
dependent upon the Chilean supply OF
nitrates. If this supply should be cut
off, new supply would have to be found
or manufacturers and agriculture would
suffer, Fortunately this new supply is
at hand. We can draw nitrogen from
the air and fix it with lime by the use OF
large and cheap electrical development,
as is done, at Niagara Falls and in Nor
way, and all that is necessary to pave
the way to This electrical development is
the passage by Congress of the Ferris
bill now pending, which will make posi-
BILE the utilization of the great unused
water powers of the Western States.
"The Southern States have for years
largely supplied the world with phos-
pilates, but because of the distribution
system, large part of this supply has
gone to Europe, and much of the phos-
pilates used in the Western States have
been imported across the Pacific. We
have some 100000 acres of phosphate
lands in the West lying near the smelters
from which is produced the sulphurlc acid
necessary to convert these phosphates
into form available for plant food, and
still there is no law by which these phos-
phate deposits can be made commercially
available, although bill which would
allow of their immediate development
has been favorably reported by the Pub
lie Lands Committee of the House OF
Representatives, and is awaiting the APP
prevail of the House aad Senate"
"Will these resources be developed II
these laws are rassed?" the Secretary
was asked.
'.Of course they WILL" he replied.
"You can depend upon American enter
prise and ambition to make good when 1t
is given an opportunity. At present these
deposits and resources are locked up out
of use. To open them to use when the
supply from other countries is cut OH
means to make American industries using
these materials Independent of the rest
of the world, and business men will not
neglect the opportunity to make our In.
dustries safe from the Interruptions OF
war we are now experiencing.
"What other industries are there now
dependent upol the products of other
countries, which can be made independ-
ent?' Mr.. Lane was asked.
''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 necessary even
to go so far away as that. We have
great stores of manganese in this coun-
try which has been largely untouched
because it is somewhat inferior in quail
ty. To bring this home supply into use
means merely adoption of methods for
it's publication, which are known and can
be successfully used, and then we can
continue making manganese steel with
out regard to foreign wars or sources of
material. There are other international
contributions, though, in the steel indus
try. We have depended largely upon
the island of Ceylon 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 an