MINERAL SUPPLIES BLISS. 267 



the ferro- vanadium business and to relegate her manufactures requir- 

 ing vanadium steel to an unimportant position. Since the United 

 States is the principal producer of uranium ores it would seem possi- 

 ble to combine the management of the vanadium and uranium output 

 so as to place the uranium business on a self-supporting basis, not 

 dependent upon state assistance, which is an artificial way of sus- 

 taining an industry. On account of the possibility that German 

 reserves of uranium may be increased by further exploitation the 

 French writers urge upon the Allies the necessity for vigorously 

 pursuing their efforts to keep the monopoly of these ores in their 

 own hands. 



Antimony. — Although it might seem at first sight that the con- 

 trol of the antimony market would lie in the hands of the Allies 

 on account of the fact that most of China's production is treated in 

 the smelters of England, France, and Belgium, yet the fact that 

 in January, 1917, the Central Powers no longer showed evidences 

 of the antimony shortage from which they suffered at the beginning 

 of the war would indicate that they had succeeded in increasing 

 their resources to a considerable extent, doubtless by exploitation 

 of the Turkish deposits. It is, therefore, probable that after the 

 war they would be self-sufficient for the small peace-time require- 

 ments of antimony. 



Tin. — In regard to the tin industry, which has hitherto remained 

 almost exclusively under the domination of the Metallgesellschaft 

 and the Dutch market which handles one-sixth of the world's pro- 

 duction, French writers indicate the necessity of organizing the 

 interests of the Allies and of those neutrals who are outside of the 

 sphere of German interests. The British Empire is the principal 

 producer of tin and her enterprises are becoming gradually more 

 coherent while she is ridding herself of the dominant Anglo-Holland 

 interests. It is easy for her to increase her production, to extend 

 her smelters in the British East Indies, and also to establish in 

 Australia a hold which should stamp out growing German influence 

 in that country. She would in time be able to dominate the mines 

 of Siam by extension of her interest in the Malay Peninsula. 

 Bolivian mines should be carefully protected from German influ- 

 ences. The French industry should be stimulated. Belgium might 

 readily enter the field of the smelting, and the United States occu- 

 pies a position of growing importance on account of her de-tinning 

 industry. The Allies could easily recover from tinplate scrap in 

 English, French, and Italian works enough to supply all their 

 needs in tin chloride, and in addition have forty to fifty thousand 

 tons of steel available for use by re-fusion. 



Phosphates. — As far as phosphates are concerned the Allies have 

 a virtual monopoly of the situation on account of the large produc- 



