1908 



THE GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE 



305 



bodies of ore can hardly be estimated at 

 less than 10 per cent; this is already felt, 

 and must increase as field after field is ex- 

 hausted. 



Next to iron our most useful metal is 

 copper. It was the only metal used ef- 

 fectively by the natives of North America 

 before Columbus landed ; and for over 

 three centuries native copper was mined 

 and wrought by white men cheifly in In- 

 dian mines and by Indian methods. The 

 mining and reduction of copper ores has 

 grown up within 50 years ; and within a 

 dozen years the copper industry has been 

 revolutionized through electrical applica- 

 tion. Although production is enormous and 

 increasing apace, it fails to keep up with 

 the demand, which more than in any other 

 commodity is limited by price. If the cur- 

 rent price could be reduced 35 per cent the 

 demand would be doubled or tripled ; if it 

 could be reduced 50 per cent copper would 

 replace iron for roofing, cornices, piping, 

 and other constructional purposes so as to 

 raise the demand ten-fold, if not more. 

 While the stock of copper in the ground 

 has not been estimated (miners and oper- 

 ators deeming the supply unlimited, just as 

 a generation ago they thought iron inex- 

 haustible), unless the quantity exceeds the 

 indications, it clearly cannot long withstand 

 the demands which would follow any great 

 reduction in price. Unless it does so, the 

 use of copper cannot seriously check the 

 drain upon our iron resources. 



Zinc, lead, silver and other ores abound 

 in our rocks, and their production is stead- 

 ily increasing. Neither the original sup- 

 plies nor the time they will last have been 

 estimated ; it is known only that one mine 

 or district after another has been worked 

 out, or the depths of the workings so in- 

 creased as to raise the cost to a prohibitive 

 figure and compel abandonment. The cur- 

 rent and avoidable waste in mining and re- 

 ducing these and the copper ores is esti- 

 mated by experts to average 30 per cent. 



As iron and coal are the basis of indus- 

 trial values, so gold is the basis of commer- 

 cial values. Tho there is enough gold-bear- 

 ing mineral in the United States to give us 

 a powerful influence in maintaining 

 parity of gold, the aggregate supply has not 

 been estimated — indeed it cannot be, since 

 nearly all rocks and earths and even the 

 waters contain gold in various quantities, 

 so that production is controlled wholly by 

 the market price. Our production is large 

 and steadily increasing; tho the increase 

 does not quite keep pace with that of such 

 staples as corn, cotton, wheat, sugar, iron, 

 coal, copper, silver, lead, and zinc. Doubt- 

 less the duration of the supply will depend 

 solely upon commercial conditions. The 

 waste in mining and reduction has always 

 been large, ranging from 25 per cent to 50 

 per cent — indeed it is not uncommon for 

 later miners to get their best returns frotn 

 working the taihngs left by their predeces- 

 sors. 



In view of the sobering facts presented, 

 the thoughtful man is forced to realize, 

 first, that our production and consumption 

 of minerals are increasing much more rap- 

 idly than our population ; and, second, that 

 our methods are so faulty and extravagant 

 that the average waste is very great, and in 

 coal almost as great as the amount con- 

 sumed. The serious loss of life in the 

 mines is a feature that can no lonj-^er be 

 overlooked. Nor can we fail to realiice that 

 the most useful minerals will shorlly be- 

 come scarce, and may soon reach prohib- 

 itive cost unless steps to lessen waste ure 

 taken in the interest of the future. 



I have for many years been impressed 

 with the steady depletion of our iron 01 e- 

 supply. It is staggering to learn that our 

 once supposed ample supply of rich ores can 

 hardly outlast the generation now appear- 

 ing, leaving only the leaner ores for the 

 later years of the century. It is my judij- 

 ment, as a practical man accustomed to 

 dealing with those material factors on 

 which our national prosperity is based, that 

 it is time to take thought for the morrow. 

 1 fully concur in the opinion of the Presi- 

 dent that the state of our resources raises 

 one of the most serious issues now bofoic 

 the American people, and hope that this Na- 

 tional meeting will lead to wise action. 



VVe are nationally in the position of a 

 large family receiving a rich patrimony 

 from thrifty parents deceased intestate; tiie 

 President may be likened to the elde.-^t son 

 and the Governors to younger brothers, 

 jointly responsible for the minors; the ex- 

 perts assembled may be likened to the family 

 solicitors. Now, the first duty of such a 

 family is to take stock of its patrimony; 

 the next to manage the assets in such man- 

 ner that none shall be wasted, that all be 

 put to the greatest good of the livin-]; and 

 their descendants. Now, we have just be- 

 gun to take stock of our national patri- 

 mony; and it is with the deepest sense of 

 responsibility imposed upon me by the iji- 

 vitation to this meeting, to the Nation and 

 to coming generations of all time, thai I 

 speak as one of the junior solicitors. ^'^ jny 

 opinion we should watch closely all the as- 

 sets and begin both to save and to use them 

 more wisely. 



Let us begin with iron : We must in all 

 possible ways lessen the demands upon it, 

 for it is with iron ore we are least ade- 

 quately provided. One of the chief uses of 

 this metal is connected with transportation, 

 mainly by rail. Moving 1,000 tons of heavy 

 freight by rail requires an 80-ton locomo- 

 tive and twenty-five 20-ton steel cars (each 

 of 40-ton capacity), or 580 tons of iron and 

 steel, with an average of, say, ten miles of 

 double track (with 90-pound rails), or 317 

 tons additional ; so that, including switches, 

 frogs, fish-plates, spikes, and other inci • 

 dentals, the carrier requires the use of an 

 equal weight of metal. The same freight 

 may be moved by water by means of 100 to 

 250 tons of metal, so that the substitution 



