The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-12-18
U. S. GROWTH
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Continued from Page One.)
tinent, the discovery of its resources and
their highest utilization. there is fascina
1t is indeed our life, and has called out the
most sterling qualities in our character.
Those foreigners who write of our country
comment upon our bombastic manner of
telling telling the story Of our growth and of the
unfortunately 20 see far enough into the
prEe for Of ouT no nave taken the
fair, or to have milled more ore in day
than any other mine, or to have built the
to US adventures, which make the game of
opening new country worth Willie.
foreign army had made unprecedented
number of miles in days march. or had
caliber, or built ship Of unequaled dis
placement or power, These. are the very
as revealing their capacity, ingenuity, and
responsibilities; They make for national
is with the American. His place in the
scheme of things is to reveal to the world
what can be done in the development of a
new country, and every crop raised, every
school house built, every rail laid, every
sent to do is being done. Instead of be
ing the petty boasting of parochial- minded
provincial this spirit is of the very es-
sence OF the highest creative quality.
Every American a Discoverer
1t is not a figure of speech to say that
every American has it IN his heart that
he is Joining in the revelation to the
world of something that it was not before
make use. Men work for what they
think worth while, and if they find their
JOY in proving that land has coal, will
raise wheat, that a refractory ore may
be reduced at a practicable cost, and
tell about 1t proudly, they may be serving
The clerk in the store or the mechanic in
enterprise which makes this appeal, but
when he learns that the government of
which he is a part has within the year
Pacific which now has nearly 5000 inhabi-
tants, and has driven n railroad nearly 40
its way to the coal fields of the Matanuska
and the gold fields of the Tanana he has
the making Of this new new World. One might
say that this was nothing more than SEN
more dignified word for this quality; 1t
is the expression of the American in
for going into the unknown, for answer
ing the puzzles that are put to us; Our
imagination is challenged by difficulty.
And the result has been a century of
growth, which in its magic and in its
largeness casts a spell upon the mind.
The Foundations of Power.
Some months since 1 sought to learn
what l could of the assets of this country
ment; where we were in point of develop
ment and what had with which to
meet the world which was teaching us That
war was no longer set contest between
more or less mobile armed forces but In
enduring contest between all the life forces
of the contrasting parties. their financial
strength, their industrial organization and
adaptibiiity, their crop yields, and their
mineral resources, and that it ultimately
comes to a test of the very genius of the
peoples involved.
Secretary Lane found in his inves-
tigation this:
The United States produces every min
eral that is needed in industry, and this
can be said of no other country. We pro-
duce GO per cent of the worlds output of
petroleum, 60 per cent of its copper, 40 per
cent of its coal and iron, and 32 per cent
of its lead and zinc. Tin in small quanti-
ties is produced in Alaska and platinum in
Ga6ese in Virginia, Georgia. Arkansas. and
California but of these latter minerals, /
as of nickel and some others of less i'm
quate for consumption. We can build |
a battleship, or an automobile excepting |
the tiDes), railroad or a factory entirely !
from the products of American mines and
forests
To replenish the soil we have phos- |
exist in the deposits of Searles Lake Cali
fornia which. however, is not vet com
mercially available, and in a1unite where it /
is combined with aluminium and deposits /
of which are found in several states; and (
nitrogen can be extracted from the air by /
cheap hydroelectric power. as is now done |
that We can feed the earth and keep it |
sustained.
Our soil and climate are so varied that |
we can produce all the grains. fruits veget- |
ables. and fibers known to the temperate /
zone, and some found in the semitropics.
Water Power.
And to crown all these we have water
power that be made to generate per-
haps much 6O,0O0.000 horsepower.
Public Lands.
The public domain is rapidly growing
less. which means that it is being occupied /