Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-07-03
Biologists
and the War

III the world. and where can a. be found
in quantities. Tho United States
Geological Survey answered the question
by pointing out that certain kind ~
baaat which is found in The volcanic re-
gions Of New Mexico and Arizona il so
light that IL will almost float j. ns hard
as glass. and when ground up con
stitutcs Just the kind Of san coded
for building concrete shipe Government
geologisfs at once went into the desert
country and located the necessary de
posts
On the fighting front in France il
was necessary 10 build many miles of
road that would stand the heaviest trsf-
fc There were various materials which
might be used Which one would he
best7 Again the question WINS put up 10
the theological Survey. and again answered
by government geolopists attached 10 Tho
American forces IN France.
VITAL THING
Tho water supply at the training camps
IL a matter of vital Importance. both Is
10 it's quality and ltH quantity The
Geological Survey furnished the surgeon
generals office with analysis Of the water
at thirty-three cantonmentR and with
| estimates of the amount available IN
gallons per day.
These instances show how a scientific
branch Of the government, which has
been forty years laborousiy gathering
information. and building mp an organiza-
ton OF experts. IS able IN render services
of the noet vital importance in a crisis
like tho present one The Geological
Survey. without altering the form of lts
| organization. has been devotIng all, 81
ts energy n solving technical geological
questions connected with the war
Perhaps It's greatest service has been
~ the search for mineral supplies needed
20 carry on he war, and especially 'hoer
| minerals for which we formerly depended
upon imports but now must find within o'Ir
own borders
This is no task for the ordinary pros
pector, for many of these minerals arc
| little known and never before had an
economic value 10 this country II Is
essentially task for trained esxperts,
/ and also a task which must be executed
/ on national scale, It means ransacking
! the nited States systematically for the
needed ores Therefore the national
government has had to turn proepector
and IL fortunate in having bureau winch
has spent forty years getting ready for the
/ Job
The chief task of the Geological Survey
/ m peace time has leen to study and map
| the country IN such way ~ To show the
/ geoIogicalt formations and the mineral
/ deposits Tho information gathered was
merely placed on record where anyone
might obtain IL, the development being
| left to private enterprise Occasionally
| the survey BIOLOGISTS were able n gave a
| direct impetus u this development.
AN EXAMPLE
I al. AZ
Of survey in Colorado, found that Ger
: tain hot springs near Wagon Wheel Gap
contained great deposits Of Flurspar, which
/ is used as a lux In atee making The land
which contained these deposits had been
staked out by couple Of prospectors az
/ a gold mine Cold was not present in
| paying quantities, but the experts pointed
out 10 the prnspectnrs that they had the
! makingg of n fortune In the hot spring
| deposits, and development rapidly
| ensued
! Many other deposits Of minerals which
are nov needed for war work were located
! by the geologists, but owing to the fact
| that there was no demand for them, they
remained lndeveloped. Now that there
Is dire need Of such minerals AZ man
gnnese. Chromte, tungsten, quicksilver
and sulphur, the survey Is able to send
/ experts INTO the TlsiQ VINO nave quickly
| located. and estimated the amount and
/ quality Of our deposits When "A valuable
! deposit is located, the fact Is announced
| through the newspapers and the govern
ment demand Is depended upon to stlmu-
| late development.
One OF the greatest problems has been
to find q supply Of manganese ores. our
peace tame supplies OF this necessary ma
/ terial o. the steel industry came from
| Brazil, India and the Caucasus. All
| OF these sources are now cut of, except
/ Brazil, and the imports from that country
are greatly reduced because We cannot
/ spare the shipping During the past year
| the Geological Survey has investigated
every manganese mine, prospect or de-
| post OF which it has been able TO learn
| Cur present production Of the ore is i've
| times what il was IN 1916, We are nov
able to produce about one-thIrd of all we
need, and the production IS steadily
| growing.
NEW WORN FOR PROSPECTORS
During peace time the ores which are
| sought most assiduously are those Of the
! precious metals and especially Of gold and