Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1916-08-19
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
Iected, and in the forefront of these
neglected resources are our water pow
ers.
Such development will open to the
west an industrial era of such possibil-
tiles as have been almost undreamed
of. The fuels available include natural
gas, oil, Ignite and coal The coal, re-
e.9ced 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 will furnish the lime required to
form calcium carbide used in the fxa
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 1t
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-chemf-
cal production of soaps, bleaching pow
der, ETC., In time of peace and for the
making in wartime of the deadly chic
r1ne gas now devastating the trenches
Of European battle fields
Abundant Iron Deposits.
Iron deposits are here in abundance.
which, with sfiuxing 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 steefs. Also at hand are
the materials for the manufacture of
such steel alloys as ferromanganese.
ferrochrome. ferrosilfcon, ferrotung-
stem, ferromolybdenum and others
Here are rare metals-barium In the
form of sulphate and carbonate, zinc
and copper. gold and siIver-all await
ing the magical touch of the cheap
electrical potentiality TN our wasted
stream flow to make their utilization
the basis OF new settlement, new
towns and cities, new centers of civil
zation and new sources of activity and
wealth.
AS a 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
tho 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
probably 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-
1 terprfses. The door must be securely
locked agafss6t exploitation of the pub
lie need and speculation in future val
ues of these power sites, but there
! must be no improper barriers or handf
caps to enterprise and development
Production of cheap power depend:
as largely upon the securing OF invest
ment at low rates of interest as upoI
j economy of physical operation If tn
4 legislative conditions are such as fore
capital to earn large returns 1t neces
sarily means higher priced power AM
eliminates many of the desirable use
to which cheap power could be put I
1t is economical to combine more thai
one water power under single operat
ing control or with one Distributing
system which will increase the pei
centage of generating capacity utiliz
ed and so reduce the unit cost, neithe
mere prejudice nor political timidit
should be allowed to prevent such ecc
nomical operation
The big things which should not b
lost to sight are that use constitute
the highest form OF conservation Q
water power, that power not used Il
day is wasted. and that power used t.
day does not diminish the potentif
value of the same power for use in tn
future. while every kilowatt of ele<
trical energy produced by water cor
serves human labor or adds to II
productivity and Is the equivalent Of
incl saving which closely affects nc