El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-02-18
IRON ORE PLAYS
OUT QUITEFA5T
Radical Changes in Ameri-
can Industrial Life Due
in Fifty Years.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

Washington, d. C, February IL
The accessible mines Of the world
are.au being worked to the limit OF
their producing capacity. Through
ont our western mining regions,
camps that have long been dull or
deserted are booming with business
Millions Of tons Of steel are being
hurled away On the battle 'front.' and
they are destroying millions OF other
tons in structures and carriers thal
must be replaced after the war IL ID
a double waste
Has the world such resources OF
metals that it can afford 10 throw
them away2 For while men anu
crops and herds Will spring up 70
take the place OF those destroyed
the metals that we take OUT OF IN IN
earth. and also the ccal and the OIL
are limited in amount and do not re-
produce themselves
So long ago as 1902 Andrew Car
negie prOphesied that America Woul1
exhaust its store II iron in 90 or ~
years. and a great Swedish seientist
visiting this country made Iorec1,s
little more hopeful Since then the
geological survey has made care
full study OF American resources IN
iron. and has shown that in reality
the supply viii last much longer
than Mr. Carnegie thought Never
theless great changes are due IN the
comparatively near future
How viii rner. work without steel
And how will they fight2 VIII the
new age change characters and oc-
cupatious and the face Of the earth
as much as did the coming % TINS
steel age? -
The most striking tendency IN iron
production has been toward the use
of poorer and poorer grades OF ore.
In colonial days when iron was maze
with trip hammers and charcoal
I FORCES. they used ores that were o.
per cent iron, or more NOW mos
of the ore used is only 50 o9o Pc.
cent iron. and the supply OF Jnal
grade viii be exhausted in rev
J more decades. This is the fact lnal
alarmed Mr.. Carnegie But Ins
world is learning how 10 use lower
and lower grades Of ore II II uses
/ ore that is only 55 per cent iron tins
supply viii last several centuries a
The estimate OF the geological sur
vey in 1903 placed the availabl L
| American supply OF ore, such as Is
now being used. at $500 millions Q,
/ tons Using this at the rate OF O.
millions Of tons year-an amour
/ nearly reached before the war brok'
| OUTFITS supply would last aDou
/ 50 years. But the war is undoubtedll
I causing a much larger use OF iron
/ OF the poorer ores, on the othe
I hand, there is an immense supply
| The geological survey estimates
at $1,000 millions OF tons. OF course
more of this ore would have to b
used to keep up the iron supply
| probably at least 100 millions ton
/ a year. At that rate. a supply o
very low grade ores (dOwn to s.
per cent iron) would last about 90
/ years. OF grades lower than mi
I the supply is described by seien
/ lists as fnexhaustible-
/ The comparative imminence o.
great changes in the steel industr.
Is shown BY the fact thct the Mes
/ abb range in Minnesota, which va
| producing more than half OF IN
! United States iron ore before tn
I war, had a supply OF good grade or
| that was estimated TO be enough 10
so years at the rate OF production
| then obtaining. The other Lax