The Washington herald., 1918-10-05
SEEK SOURCES
OF BIG TAXES
United States Resources
Being Developed by War,
Says Holland.

l iAsS'e NAN"s ~ III Vic lOt III VI tdACe "
| whatever offerings the government
may also make to the American peo-
! pie for subscriptions to bonds.S al
| though 1t Is evident that we shall GER
tainly require as much as twenty-four
billions of dollars. and II the war be
continued another year considerably
more than that In order to meet the
/ expenses of the war. The undeveloped
4 resources of the United States are
| stupendous. Much of them. however,
must remain undeveloped until after
the close of the war because 80 much
of the man power of the country Is
now serving TIE United States either
| In the army or navy or else In pro-
ducing needed supplies and munitions
! of war. There are many million
acres of good land not yet developed
which will be ready for that consid-
| cradle number of soldiers who will
take advantage of the governments
aid In securing land which they will
speedily convert to profitable agricul-
| ture.
| The agricultural possibilities in the
United States, vast as they are, have
by no means been reached and these,
! the authorities say. constitute one Of
our greatest as well as most available
resources with which to meet the
yearly payments of interest and part
| payment of principal now represented
and hereafter to be represented by
government bonds.
| A few days ago Charles H Herty,
who is one of the leading authorities
upon the great chemical industries of
| the United States. stated that the
chemists of this country and. the raw
1 .f,I sat, l. IAA he
searches of the chemists and their
| inventions are to be made available
for American industry. already
demonstrate the magnitude of the
growth of our resources and these
are represented by the chemical in
dustry. Since January 1, of this year
nearly 100000 of fresh capital have
been added to the earlier investment
of capital in chemical industries. To-
day, Mr.. Herty says, nearly $751;
100000 are invested in the chemical
| industry of the United States and
this investment represents one of the
great resources which the United
States now Possesses resource
which is to be vastly increased after
the war is ended!
! A few years ago investment in the
| chemical industry in the United States
was represented by comparatively few
! millions of capital. Mr.. Herty does
not include in his estimate the vast
| investments made by the Federal gov
ernment in chemical plants which pro-
| duce material needed solely for war
| purposes. He does say that the total
! production OF these plants identifies
! the CniteC states as the largest man
ufacturer of chemicals in the world.
! After the war is ended the chemical
| industry is bound to increase and as
il will utilize a vast amount of raw
material. much of which heretofore
was regarded as of no value, the re-
suit will be to provide an additional
J resource which will enable the people
{ to furnish the government with needed
funds with which to meet after the
war financial requirements.
Boone Big Exporter.
We are already becoming. even in
these days of war. an important eX-
I porter of commodities which repre-
| sent chemical industry. and these
exports considerably increase our ma
tional resources. In 1913 the United
States exported 100000 pounds OF
sulphuric acid In the fiscal yeaI
which ended last June we exported
s.. 900 0c0 pounds of sulphuTic acid. In
the year before the war began We
sold to other nations scarcely any
caustic soda or soda ash. In the
fiscal year that ended June 30 We
exported 33o,0C1OOo pounds of this
! commodity. We sent across the sea
no benzol prior to 1914 Last yeaI
We sold 25.OOonoo pounds in foreign
markets. OF dyes and dyestuffs and
dye goods we exported scarcely any
prior to 1914. but last year we eX-
ported commodities of this kind which
Mr.. Herty says were of the money
value of s170O0.oo0 Large as these
figures are, and impressively as they
show the growth of one industry
which is to contribute greatly to our
natural resources, nevertheless Mr.
Herty is convinced that the statistics
will appear small in comparison with
those which will be reported in the
year following the close of the war
Another natural resource, practically
unknown before the war begans Is to
be highly developed through the ac-
tivities of the American chemists and
the willingness of American capital
highly to develop it. Mr.. Herty says
that as soon as Great Britain began
to blockode the German ports there
followed an almost complete shortage
of coal-tar chemicals and also of pot
ash. Before the war began the Unit
ed States depended upon Germany
chiefly for these products. There was
an abundance of raw material in the
United States which could be utilized
in~securing large amounts of thest
products. These constituted a part oi
sah la
developed. Now American chemist.
have been demonstrating that we dc
possess natural resources that can bt
made available for coal-tar chemicals
and for potash, as, for instance, tht
brines Of Nebraska which are nov
yielding 90 per cent Of our present pro
duction of potash. The Serless Lake
In California, which the experts esti
mate contains probably 10000 toni
of potash, the giant kelps of the Pa
cific Coast, the alunnide of Utah, ce
ment dust from which IL is possible
to obtain 5000 tons of potash eacl
year and the blast furnaces who's
dust hitherto has gone to waste. bu
which, In the aggregate, may be mad'
to produce 100000 tons a year.
We thought In the beginning Of tn
war that our natural resource from
which potash could be secured was
negligible quantity. 1t now looks a!
though science and industry com
bined with abundant capital ar
highly TO develop these natural re
sources. so that hereafter we may b.
independent of Germany or any othe
nation for potash and possibly be abb
to export some. as within a few year
we found ourselves able to expor
sulphur. The chemical industry I
only one of many American industrie
which are beginning to utilize natura
resources for which great market
| NAV be obtained fharaby making 4