The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-17
MAKE COUNTRY
INDUSTRIALLY
INDEPENDENT
Object of Bill Favorably
Reported in House to En-
courage Production.
ORES, METALS, AND
MINERALS NECESSARY
Government to Control the
Supply and Distribution
and Fix Prices,

washington, April Ito make
Tue United States Independent of the
"orBu during war time by encourage
ing the production of ores, metals
and minerals necessary for the Sc
lcurNy and defense of the country
largely imported in the past. is the
purpose of: a bill favorably reported
today to. the House. The measure is
intended also to enable the govern
ment to conserve the supply, control
the distribution and, if necessary, to
TX the price of those materials.
Approved by the Secretaries of War,
Navy and the Interior, the bill was
introduced by Representative Foster,
of Illinois, and was reported by the
House Mines committee which has
conducted hearings on the subject,
Mr.. Foster is chairman of that COM
mittee.
Practically every man who am
peared before the committee endorsed
the bill,'' the committee reported.
Your committee believes that, if
proper encouragement is given the
producers OF these products, most of
them cam be developed in our own
country for our needs for the Army
and Navy and for necessities in civil
| life
I've know that our country is now
| short on pyrites which is so necessary
for making sulphuric acid. Pyrites
have been imported from Spain and
ships have been necessary to carry
this important ore. They must now
be relieved We can develop our own
supply of pyrites and we should do
so. 1t will require about nine million
tons of suFphuric acid annually to
meet our needs in the manufacture OF
munitions.
manganese is another very i'm
lportant mineral necessity in the max
ling of steel. We now export this
from Brazil and, by the proper de-
velopment of our own mines, we be-
lieve a sufficient amount may be OBJ
tanned at home for our own use. We
use in this country about ten thou.
sand tons of arsenic and produce
about six thousand SO that we are Al
per cent. short of normal use. Mucf
of this article is now being wasted
which should and we believe could bt
saved if looked after and a stabilized
price fixed.
There are large importations O
chromium at present. By proper de
velopment we can secure all that il
necessary for the needs of our owl
country.
Tungsten is necessary in makins
hardened steel and it is believed tina
a sufficient quantity can he secured
} in this country. Colorado has a con
siderable quantity and it's full devel
opment should be encouraged. Texa
and Louisiana have large amounts o
sulphur and probably the purest il
the world.
!, "All these minerals are necessary il
war and the government ought t
have the right to control them if it /
, deemed best for the prosecution of tn
war and our industries at home. Thi
bill provides that the government ma,
: guarantee a fixed price for two year
SO that the operator and produce
may be assured of a profit affordinl
: a reasonable price for a fixed time
l lit is believed that we cannot get
} full production of some of these min
erals and metals without this guaran
: tee.
= Pope Yeatman of the War Indus
D tries Board says consumers are al