The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-12
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director,
SHIPPING ECONOMY.
Washington, d. c,

ashington, ID. c., March 9.--Much
energy and excitement have been de-
voted to the problem of increasing our
| ocean tonnage. but little has been said
about the possibilities of economiZing
slipping by producing at home sup
| Plies which We now import
For this reason, the request of Sec
| rotary of the Interior Lale for a spe-
cal appropriation to develop Ameri-
| Can mines, so that we may produce in
the United States d number of min
erals for which We are now depend
| ent upon other countries, IS of special
| Interest. He wants metallurgists to
V, D.. out methods of utilizing low
grade ores. and a field force of engi
| neerS and biologists to locate and
study deposits.
The list of minerals which the sec
| rotary states We are now importing
I but might produce at home include
nitrates. which we now need in large
quantities for the manufacture of high
| explosives and for use as a fertilizer;
pyrites and other sulphur-bearing
ores, from which the sulphuric acid
SO necessary in our manufactures may
be made: manganese. the most essen
| tial alloy for high grade steel used in
| munition making; flake graphite, used
for crucibles in making brass and
| crucible steel; tin to make the food
| containers of which we already face a
/ Sl-OILd IltTCuTy winch is the
rate used for exploding cartridges and
shells; potash for fertilizer; tungsten
as an alloy for tool steel; antimony
for hardening lead and bullets; chro-
mite as an alloy for armor-plate steel;
and mica, widely used as an insuiat-
ing material.
All of these minerals we import
and all of them could be produced
IN the, United States, probably in
| large enough quantities to meet our
/ AZ fav- 7
100000 tons of shipping are now
| engaged in keeping supplied with
| these minerals. This amount of ship
ping could be released for carrying
foodstuffs if American mines and
smelters were developed to produce
the necessary minerals. The gain, of
| course, would be greater than the
mere economy of shipping; terminals
would be relieved of congestion; in
dustries of permanent value would be
developed and the United States
would be for all time a more self
sufficient nation.
That we should have allowed such
| important resources as deposits of
these valua bic minerals to go entire
ly undeveloped is a surprise to the
| layman. They have remained I'M
developed for the simple reason that
| heretofore it has never paid to work
them; ali Of these minerals could be
| more cheaply imported. Our deposits
of them are generally CO lower grade
than the foreign deposits upon which
we have drawn. Hence the develop
| ment of our own mines would have
involved the study and installation of
elaborate concentration plants, and
other technical processes. Such in
vestment does not tempt private cap
| ital when it has many easier and
safer ventures open to it. Hence our
graphite and mica have come thru
the Suez canal from southern Asia;
our chromite from Africa; man
sanese, tungsten and nitrate from
South America; zinc and nickel from
Australia, and so on; while large de-
posts of these minerals in our own
country have remained wholly or
partly undeveloped.
1 Take for example manganese. The
ores bearing this important mineral
are widely distributed in the United
States occurring in the Appalachians,
the Mississippi valley and on the Pa
c. fic coast. Some manganese is mined
in the James river valley and in the
Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, in
the Cave Springs and Gainesville dis
tricts of Georgia, near Batesville, Ark,
ar d in the Livermore-Tesla district of
TCalifornia. But most of the manga
nese ores in the United States are of
relatively low grade and require wash
ing and sorting to make them mar
Fetable, while many of the deposits
are not near lines of transportation.
Therefore American industry has gone
for it's manganese to India, Brazil.
Cuba and the East Indies, where high
grade ores are found.
A mineral of which we now have
pr essing need is chromite. and we are
importing nearly our whole supply de-
Spite the fact that the chronic ores
occur in commercial quantities in sew
eral parts of the United States. Chro-
mite was for a time mined in Chester
and Delaware counties. Pennsylvania,
and in Baltimore county. Maryland.
These deposits were practically ex-
hausted. and the industry changed its
use to California. where mines were
opened in San Luis Obispo county.
Then the Importation of chromite be-
gan. coming first from Turkey and
| Russia, and later from Canada and
Newfoundland also. This imported
ere could be placed on the American
rarket cheaply. especially the
Turkish ore. that there was little
formulation for capital to develop the
!. is that we now find carefully directed
) ell development for many years with
a view to producing a self-sufficient
ration.
ali ldy made a beginning in the work
of developing our neglected mineral
resources by making thru the bureau
of mines a survey of the pyrite mines
of the country and of the principal
sulphur deposits. 1t has also made a
II eliminary study of the concentrated
aciu plants with a viewto increasing
: their output. and has examined the
manganese deposits of the United
States, and made a study of the use
| OF the lower grade ores. All of the
| preliminary work of study and ex-
pertinent which will make the task of
development an easy and safe one for
J capital has been mapped out by the
scientists, but cannot be carried on
Unless congress grants more funds.
Questions on the above or any sub
ject upon which the reader desires in
formation, should be addressed the
Topeka State Journal Information
Bureau. Frederic ]. Haskin, Director.
Washington, D. c.. with scent
| STAMP, enclosed for reply.