The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-01-28
THE UNSEEN EMPIRE.

The American Mining Congress has recently S sued a booklet, The Unseen Empire, published 1T the interests of mining quarrying their allied indus tries and the rehabilitation of the United state Bureau of Mines. It is terse and clear statemen of facts
 First the committee says:
 l. Restore immediately, to it's former ex- tent the work of the Bureau of Mines in mine-safety research, and first-aid and mine safety training Millions of dollars are jus tifiaby being spent to provide for indi- gent youth in CCC. camps Let give thought to the welfare of the mine worker who stands at the foundation of our national welfare, together with his dependents.
 2. Technological efforts to promote of domestic deposits of essential minerals now imported in large quantities.
 3. Development of information and tech noogical methods to insure fullest benefits of the potentiaties for gold production in the United States.
 4. Logical and needed restoration of the Bureau of Mines, to it's prime position a clearing house of mining information.
 5. Provision of a national inventory of known reserves of essential minerals and extension of conservation and economic use of those minerals
 6. Aleviaton of concern held by the Governments defense agencies in connec- ton with availability of essential minerals
 2. All current statistics relating to the volume of the nations minerals; including mineral reserves, production imports, exports value etc, should be secured by the Bureau of Mines. Where special statistical informa- ton relating to minerals is required, the Department, Bureau Commission requiring such, should obtain same through the Bureau of Mines.
 Comparison of taxes on mining and agricutur with their respective appropriations for the five yea period from 1924 to 1928 shows:
 Taxes Appropriations Agriculture ....-..-. $151 251 ,404 $509, 1922 58O Mining ...-.--..-..-.-.-. 800O64o24 10,627 887 or in other words, mining taxed almost egh times as much as agriculture. and received bu one-fiftieth the appropriations given agriculture Information for those who do not realize wha the mineral industries mean the booklet gives furhe information:
 As the nation grew in numbers and wealth, our people, following in the foot steps of all previous peoples, turned to the stores of mineral wealth, almost universally located below that first surface foot" of soil.
 Such as the beginning with us of mineral production, expressed in the form of surface mining mining from depths at times ex- ceeding a mile, and in the case of oil and natural gas through the medium of wells sunk in the beginning few feet in depth this distance extended until today drilling tools penetrate the earth distance approxi- mating one and one-half miles. Such was the beginning of a new form of national wealth, without which we would yet be little more than an agricultural and pastoral peo- pie, paying tribute to other countries for each mineral item required.
 Our mineral industry as expressed by years is yet young, but tragcally much of the reserves of our most important minerals have been lost by the lack of technological knowledge and failure to apply that which existed. Waste, profligate waste has oc- cured. It is in order that further unneces- sary waste may be stopped that the mineral industry asks that Bureau of Mines work be restored and even amplfied to meet chang ing and more complex conditions
 The Federal Coordinator asks for an ade- quate Bureau of Research for the better ment of our railroads We of the mineral industry seek-not something new-but restoration of what we once had