The Alaska daily empire., 1915-09-04

' IA AN .NNA NAAAN|HNN"NN "N| H|H''iNN' 'N | During tho year 1913, 1ooo,00o ton. of fertilizers, valued at %l7o00000t were sold in Che United Stato8 FoI ] use in manufacturing this fertilizer more than sl0.OOO.0o0 worth of nitro genous and other materials, were im ported. although lhe bulk Of such im porlations could have been produced in this country had we O sufficient quantity of cheap electric power
 "At the present timo moro thar ! l.200. .0O0 horsepower is being used ir European countries in Che ilxation oi atmospheric nitrogen for the manu facture of fertilizers and explosives while not single horsepower is be- ing used in tho United States for this ! purpose Almost ali Of our supply comes from Chili. Statistics show ua that the Chilean supply will be prac. tically exhausted in twenty years
 "The greater use of fertilizers would bring about more intensive farming and larger financial returns, as, well as production returns. from our farms. The average amount Of fertilizer used in the United States is about twenty-eight pounds per acre Of cul- tivated lands, while in European countries 1t amounts to about 200 pounds Go the acre.
 Companion Of Yieldo.
 "As a result of its use, the averag- es of Che yield of wheat in Europe is thirty-two bushels to the acre, as against twelve bushels to the acre in the United States. It is true that in the state of Washington the wheat field is far in excess of this general average. yet it is equally true that to maintain it we ought to begin the use of fertilizers now and not walt the coming of the time when our yield. through depleted soils. shall have fallen far below what it Is at the present.
 "In the development of water pow CT, the investment Of large sums Of money Is necessary. In order that investors may be interesting in talk ing part in such development, they must be interested in taking part in such development, they must be as- sured that they will receive Q req sonable return on their investments. Under the present federal law, such assurances cannot be given them, and as Q rule there has been but little development compared with the de- velopment that could take place"
 Gov. Lister cited figures illustrat- ing the growth of the state and its agricultural and horticultural indus tries.
 He then spoke of conservation as ap- piled to the fishing industry, citing the fact that the state operated thir- ty fish hatcheries. which last year turned out more than 11O,OO0,OOO young salmon and more than 7,000,- 100000 young trout and quoting sta tistics showing the importance of the industry.
 Potomac Fish Unprotected
 He drew attention to the fact that while the state of Washington has modern and effective laws for the protection Of food fishes, fish in the Potomac river. under the dome of the national capitol, are absolutely with out protection and by reason of un- restrained operation of traps, fish in that stream never reach the spawn. ing grounds.
 we of the state of Washington. '" he said. believe that the trap con servation policy is being worked out in connection with our fishing indus try We are not only making use of the fish today, but are also laying foundations deep and strong, looking to a stnl greater development Of the fisheries industry for the benefit of those who will follow us."
 Governor Lister also cites figures showing what had been done by the state in handling its school and oth- CT granted lands, saying that only 3O7929 acres out of 2,578,679, or O lit- tie more than n per cent, had been disposed of to private owners and there is now more than S12.00O.OO0 in permanent funds. resulting from the disposition of such lands.
 In conclusion he said:
 or hope l have been able to show, in the time I have taken, that the people of the West have a keen ap- preciation of the true meaning of conservation; that theirs is not the desire to ruthlessly and wantonly de- stroy. but rather to do that which will make possible the use of our na- tural resources to the fullest degree by the present generation, ever keep ing in mand that 1t is our duty to not only conserve those resources, but al- SO to develop them in a manner that will make it possible for us to turn them over to future generations ca- pablo of better service as a result of the development in a manner that will make 1t possible for us to turn them over to future generations ca- pablo of the development brought about during our day and generation" l . . .. . . - ., -. - .