Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1916-08-03
BY FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary
of the Interior

trial nations life. Today we produce
| most OF the commodities which make
for this preparedness. To produce the
| others Is very largely a matter Of de-
veloping those resources we have neg
lected, and In the forefront of these
neglected resources are our water DOW
ers.
Such development will open to the
West an Industrial era of such POSSIBLE
tiles as have been almost undreamed
of. The fuels available include natural
| gas, oil, ignite and coal. The coal. re.
duced to coke, offers raw material for
the production, by electric smelling
processes, Of the carbide extensively
used for Illuminating purposes. Here
at hand are great deposits Of limestone
that VIII furnish the lime required to
form calcium carbide used in the fixa-
ton Of nitrogen and the production Of
ammonia. At hand, Also are noun
tains Of phosphate rock awaiting the in
stallation Of appliances to free its con-
tent Of phosphoric acid and combine it
with ammonia as a fertilizing agency
at less cost than any now known.
Sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate
and sodium chloride are here, the lat
ter offering material for electro-chemi-
cal production of soaps, bleaching pow.
der, ETC., In time Of peace and for the
making in wartime of the deadly chic
rine gas now devastating the trenches
Of European battle fields.
Abundant Iron Deposits.
| tc f,,
which, with fiuxing and reducing mate
rails at hand and cheap hydro-electric
power as the agency for reduction, may
make the Pacific Coast a competitor
with the Ohio Valley in the production
Of special grades Of pig iron and the
manufacture in electrical furnaces Of
high grade steels. Also at hand are
the materials for the manufacture Of
such steel alloys as ferromanganese,
ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, ferrotung-
stem, ferromolybdenum and others.
Here are rare metals-barium in the
form of sulphate and carbonate, zinc
and copper, gold and silver-all await
ing the magical touch of the cheap
electrical Potentially in our wasted
stream flow to make their utilization
the basis Of new settlement, new
towns and cities, new centers of civili-
zation and new sources of activity and
wealth.
As by-product, and not an unim-
portant one, of the atmospheric nitro
gen plants, we can produce cyanide,
giving new life and impetus to the
mining and production Of precious
metals from low grade ores. In fact,
this material either as by-product or
from metallic sodium produced with
the cheap power available, should
make the Pacific Coast the logical dis
tributing center for cyanide used In
gold extraction. Our Alaskan copper,
now shipped as far away as New Jer-
sey for smelling, may be cheaply and
profitably reduced and manufactured
by electrical processes on the Pacific
Coast, and the same hydro electric
power which will bring these indus
tries into existence will afford the en-.
ergy for cheapened transportation OF
their products over electrified railways
Security Of Investment Needed.
We must depend upon private enter
prise and capital to secure this develop
ment. To enlist private enterprise and
money In the work, our Legislation
must offer to investors, to promoters
and builders, the security of invest
, ment and hope of reasonable reward OF
return which will induce them to put
their money and brains into these en-
terprises. The door must be securely
locked against exploitation Of the pub
, lic need and speculation in future val
ues of these power sites, but there
must be no improper barriers or hanoi
CAPS to enterprise and development.
Production of cheap power depend
as largely upon the securing OF inves'
ment at low rates Of interest as upol
economy Of physical operation. II tn
legislative conditions are such as fore
capital to earn large returns 1t neces
sarily means higher priced power an
eliminates many Of the desirable use
: to which cheap power could be put. ]
Il is economical to combine more tina
I one water power under single opera'
: ing control or with one distribuun
system which will increase the PEI
centage Of generating capacity udlli
ed and so reduce the unit cost, neithe
mere prejudice nor political timidit
should be allowed to prevent such ec'
. nomical operation.
The big things which should not l
) lost to sight are that use constitute
J the highest form of conservation
. water power, that power not used {
. day is wasted, and that power used t
L day does not diminish the potenu'
e value of the same power for use in II
!. future, while every kilowatt of ele
i trical energy produced by water CO.
y serves human labor or adds to
productivity and is the equivalent OF
fuel saving which closely affects n