The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-05-10
AMERICAN GENIUS
IS TO Be TESTED
Must Provide Substitutes for
Many Imported Metals Now
Used as Alloys.
new DEMANDS MADE BY WAR
United States Has Vast Mineral Re-
sources But Alone They are USE
less in the Making Of NUM-.
tions.

When a declaration by congress that
"state of war exists" was thought to
be imminent, Uncle Sam, through his
bureau Of mines, prepared for the in
formation of the Council of National
Defense report on the natural min
eral resources of the United States.
comprising twO-fifths of the worlds
annual production of coal, One-half
the worlds output of copper and near
ly twO-thirds of the worlds annual
supply of petroleum, no raw material,
except coal, can serve q useful pur-
pose In war until combined with, or
refined by, other metals or chemicals.
In statement on the mineral stu
alton, Secretary of the Interior Lane
said:
In war time new point of view
must be had in order to grasp the
situation. The great production of
gold and silver in the United States
except from the financial point of
view, is unimportant. But the 5000
ounces of platinum now reclaimed at
the government pints will make, by
the contact process, hundreds of
thousands of pounds of concentrated
sulphuric acid, which can all 60 into
high combustlble explosives.
suIphuric Acid Necessary.
LET us begin with explosives.
Speaking broadly, concentrated sui
phuric acid, the famous H.SO, of col
lege memory, and nitric acid, are the
two chief and vital elements neces-
sary in explosive manufacture. We
shall need about 100000 tons of sui
phuric acid this year. The acid is not.
pleasant thing to transport, so in
peace times it is generally used close
to its point of production. It's use Is
two-fold: The lOw-grade acid goes
largely into the production of phos-
pilates for agricultural fertilizer be-
cause it will burn the phosphate out
OF phosphate rock. We have two
great natural beds of sulphur, but they
are in the extreme southern part of
the United States, with the result that
In peace times we ordinarily import
about 100000 tons of iron pyrites con-
taining about 45 per cent Of sulphur
and roast it out. In time of need we
could secure sufficient from our own
beds, but with concentrated sulphuric
acid the case is different. This acid
is obtained from the fumes of lead
and zinc smelters by the contact
process, which requires platinum in
orders to OXidize the gases. The ma
chinery is expensive and takes time to
install, but an ample supply can be as
sured if sufficient platinum is avail
able.
Nitric acid, made from nitrates, is
the other necessary basic material
from which high explosives are made.
The United States contains practically
no nitrates, nor does any other country
except Chile. From Chile we import
in peace times about 100000 tons d
year, of which about so per cent Is
used for fertilizer and 40 per cent for
explosives. But the atmosphere around
us contains nitrogen in limitless uuan-
titles, and congress has voted $20,0OO,-
600 for the construction of a nlant for
Its tiXatiOn. The location and charac-
ter of this plant is now being deter
mined so that in n comparatively
short time we shall be equipped in this
respect for the enemy in time Of war
md for added agricultural production
In time of peace.
Most of Manganese Imported.
"With regard to the metals. the
United States has ample quantities of |
iron ores from which to make steel
guns and shells for the army and the
navy, but soft ores do not make hard
steel without the addition Of various
alloys and OxidiZerS. For example, the |
IRON ores from the Great Lakes dis |
trict, and from Alabama as we'll. con-
tain so much sulphur that if the sui |
0hur were pot removed the steel would |
be flaky, brittle and unserviceable. |
Therefore the open hearth method of !
was invented but this
method requires the use of great quan-
titles of manganese. We have large
deposits of manganese, but the quality
S so low that in peace times we Ordi-
1arily import nearly 90 per cent of the
which we use.
"What would happen if oar imports
of manganese were shut off? After
our reserve supplies were exhausted.
We should have to find a substitute
md there is no question about orr
being able to do so.
"The situation as regards man.
Sanese, though extreme is generally
similar to that of the other principal
Alloys, including those of tungsten.
nickel, cobalt, molybdenum.
and uranium. OF some of
hese we have more than others, but
and experiment all tend to
how that various combinations can be
made as substitutes for any one Of
hem. Although we should be serious.
y handicapped If all importatlons of
hese alloys were completely cut off,
'et, domestic exploration under this
impetus would undoubtedly develop
lew deposits"
while these deposits are being
ought by expert biologists, the more
ruitful field of chemical research can
'e, developing new processes and per-
Getting new methods of extracting the
ital elements from low-grade ores and
rom dumps at the furnaces and smell
prS