The Washington herald., 1917-07-06
HOLLAND LETTER
The Biggest Daily
Financial News Feature Of
the Counhy's Best Newspapers.

II was a strange coincidence that
when it became known a few days
ago that the supply of potash. held
by the American importers since the
beginning OF the war with Germany,
is practically exh- usted, there should
also have come authoritative news
from France that in Alsace there is a
large deposit OF potash. not yet de-
veloped, but equal in quality and prob
ably amount to the deposit from which
Germany. for nifty years. drew her
own and the worlds supply. II France
| recovers Alsace her government will
at once undertake such development
as may make the world independent
of Germany. after the war for sup
plies Of potash.
Germany, of course, has long known
OF these rich deposits of potash IN Al
SAGE, but her own potash resources
have been so great, and the cost
of development and the manufacture
of 1t for commercial use so slight, that
the German government has never at
tempted to exploit the potash deposits
in Alsace. To the rest of the world,
especially ito the United States and
England, this report comes as a graft
flying, although unexpected. statement.
To many of the growers of garden
truck, especially in the large areas
devoted to that purpose on Long
Island and also in the vicinity of New
York, Philadelphia and Norfolk, the
announcement that the stock of potash
which was on hand when the war
with Germany began. is now the prac-
tically exhausted will cause not little
oil nyf
ton planters and the tobacco growers,
and also those who cultivate potatoes,
will be greatly embarrassed unless
some way is found whereby fertilizers
can be secured which will, in a meas
ure at least, make good the exhaustion
of our supply Of potash.
As soon as the war with Germany
began the American importers OF
potash, who happened to have large
supplies on hand, realized that prob
ably no more could be obtained from
Germany until after the close of the
war. Nowhere else In the world was
there an available supply of potash.
and in the United States hardly any
was produced. Therefore, the i'm
porters of potash decided that it was
the wiser part for them to limit the
sales, reducing gradually the amount
SOAN ~ any OhC ptLSOLp lIldl lnt
supply could be maintained as long
as possible. They doled out the potash
little by little. not needing the earnest
appeals of the manufacturers of fertil-
izers, except by granting their request
IN as limited way as possible. By
methods of this kind. they have been
able to keep on hand potash until the
present time when the announcement
is made that there is practically no
German potash to be secured in the
United States.
Business men who are looking into
the future, and especially those in
Great Britain who are contemplating
world trade conditions after the war
is ended, have been persuaded for a
long time that Germany was relying
upon her potash supplies to pry open
the doors of markets closed agains,
her, believing that the world must
have German potash, or else industry
and agriculture would be much inn
paired. 1t is this view that has i'm
PEELED so many men of research and
so many manufacturers to study
American sources of supplies Of pot
ash, which has resulted already in de-
Veloplng the manufacture of potash
as a by-product from various ma
terials found in the United States. TIL,
amount, however, is not very large,
and, If great harvests are to be
maintained. either more potash must
be secured or something else must be
found to take its place.
In the Connecticut Valley. where very
great harvests of Connecticut seed
leaf tobacco are harvested each year.
the planters have relied upon fertiliz-
ers, which for the past two or three
years have contained less and less
percentage of potash. They must have
adequate fertilizers. If they are tUI
maintain their great harvests of
tobacco. This is also true of the cot
ton planters of the South. Reports
that have been told of amazingly
large yields OF potatoes upon Long
Island were explained by saying that
the farmers literally used fertilizers,
in which was contained a considerable
percentage of potash.
II Germany possesses potash enough
to meet the needs of the world, the
empire does not possess another
mineral, which is of important use in
manufacturing fertilizers in associa.
tion with potash. That is phosphate
rock, of which the United States has
an abundance. Therefore. IL we cam
NOT get herman potash, on the other
hand we may be able to prevent Ger
many from getting American phos-
phate, so that there will be either
deadlock. or else a compromise en-
tailed.
The American manufacturers of fer
tlllzers, a product which is of vital i'm
portance in securing great American
harvests were two or three years ago
accustomed to use from 10 to 10 per
cent of potash in association with
phosphates. but as the price of potash
rose to phenomenal figures. these
manufacturers found it necessary to
reduce the amount, until now they
have been using only about l per
Of potash in the phosphates and other
ingredients that make up the whole
amount of fertilizers. Now that the
German supply is exhausted they must
small amount of potash secured by