The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-15
IRON ORES OF EAST ALABAMA FOUND
 RICH IN POTASH Catlett Calls Attention to Valuable Saving in Manu-
 facture of Iron TO AID IN MAKING
 U. s. INDEPENDENT Nation Has Heretofore Depended AL most Entirely on Germany for
 Enormous Quantities
 of Potash
Rv HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 New York, May 4.-(Special )-One fac tor in the great problem of industrial preparedness was represented by some of those who took part in the spectacular parade of Saturday. For it is not only preparedness for defense in case wa! comes to us. but also preparedness for the worldwide industrial and commercial struggle which will begin speedily after the European war is ended which is now [ occupying in part the attention of those , who are agitating in favor of nation wide preparedness. Some of those who took part in this parade are studying how best to utilize and maintain some of the natural resources which in the | past the United States has neglected. Even Edison and some of the great chemists admit that Germany has taught the United States a lesson in the conser- vation of resources and how to attain industrial perfection in the utilizing through systematic organization of these | resources. This lesson should be in i part learned by the time the war is ended and there were a good many men who took part in the parade who be- | lieve that it will show the United States I how the American people can become in- dependent so far as certain raw. material which enters largely into American in dustries is concerned.
 l A few days ago, Dr. Pierre Ricketts formerly professor of analytical chem 1 istry at Columbia university, stated that ! it was not improbable that the emergen- cies which American manufacturers have been compelled to accept because certain imports from Germany are not | in any amount available are likely here after to disappear because science ane capital in combination will show how l to utilize the natural resources of thu United States so that we may become I Independent, for instance, with respect tt potash. In the United States, Dr. Rick ettS said there are abundant deposits O ] potash although it is not free as is th' German product. Chemistry and physics l together with capital, should be able tt | utilize these resources-five in all. On, l is the seaweed called kelp. of which ther. 1 is an abundant and never ceaSing suppl. upon the Pacific coast; another the wate of the volcanic lakes of the far west | another the sands of which were for merly the bottom of the volcanic lakes still another the mineral known alun ite. and feldspar. l Edison, whose attention has been calle, ! to our natural resources whereby potasl l can be obtained, seems to be fearful tha ] the cost entailed in getting potash iron 1 these various sources would make it i'm possible to compete with Germany unles l a protective tariff against the German potash were laid. If the situation wer' 1 reversed, Germany would undoubtedl, protect and encourage her men of scienc, of her manufacturers who were seeking to obtain potash from natural resources 1 Since pr. Ricketts made this statement
 another scientist, Charles Catlett, who i. | of national reputation as a chemist anC I as a geologist, has ventured the pre- diction that potash in commercially prac ] ticabe quantities can be obtained as | by-product in iron making This would | be beneficial in two ways; first, it would | add to the revenues of the iron makers
 or decrease the cost of iron production l and it would make available a suppl, | of potash which in few years would meet all the requirements of the UnteS 1 States.
 1 MT. Catlett's statement is regarded al
 the most important of the suggestion 1 which have in view that feature O preparation which will industrially mak | us independent of the world so far al
 potash is concerned. MT. Catlett's in 1 vestigations justify him in saying tha l II the potash that is in certain iron ore l be secured as by-product cyanide O potassium could be obtained of an az ! gregate value, which would be in ex cess of the total value of the pig irol | produced. MT. Catlett speaks merely al an expert, having no pecuniary interes | in this suggestion or any other interes than that of an American citizen wh, hopes that the United States within few years may be equipped as we'll in dustrially as was Germany when tn, European war began. He makes the ex I traordinary statement that out of 100 ton, | or potash bearing iron ores at least si, tons of cyanide of potassium can b, l saved as a by-product.
 1 He goes so far as to say that on tn, i general run of iron ores there is a DOS | sibe saving of from $1 to S2 a ton i the potash be extracted as a by-produc or an aggregate saving on our total iror l production of anywhere from $40, 900, GOO tt | $S0, 900 a year. MT. Catlett's statemen