OUTLOOK FOR IRON— KEMP. 291 



haustion of the World's Supply of Metals." ^ Prof. Shaler, in gen- 

 eral terms, considers the supply of ores of all sorts remaining to us 

 as, roughly, twenty times the amount already mined. He thinks 

 another century will exhaust the European supplies of iron ore. 

 The best place for the iron industry is in the Mississippi Valley, 

 and the ores tributary to it are passed in revicAv without definite 

 figures, except for Alabama, to whose Clinton red hematites a life of 

 50 years is assigned. 



Other papers preceded, accompanied or followed the four specially 

 cited and of these a list is given at the close of this contribution. 

 They can not all be mentioned now, and the ones briefly reviewed 

 will suffice to show the apprehensive state of the public mind, here 

 and elsewhere, from 10 to 15 years ago. 



As a symptom of the widespread interest and as a natural step to 

 prevent waste and to maintain as long as possible the material sup- 

 ports of industries, the conservation movement sprang up in this 

 country. It has taken form in annual conventions and discussions, 

 and has been influential in matters of legislation. Outside the 

 American boundaries, similar steps have been taken. Reports of the 

 Canadian Conservation Commission regularly reach us. 



In connection with conservation in general, iron ore has been one 

 of the chief subjects to be considered, and we are not surprised 

 to find our Swedish colleagues, as soon as they were assured at the 

 International Geological Congress held in Mexico City, in 1906, 

 that their invitation for the meeting of 1910 would be accepted, 

 began to plan a great work on the " Iron Ore Resources of the 

 AVorld." Iron mining is one of the chief, if not the chief, single 

 industry in Sweden. The subject, therefore, possessed great local 

 as well as international importance. The associated authors in all 

 lands began to busy themselves at once with data and estimates of 

 reserves. A year after the movement had been started by the 

 Swedish committee and b}^ its representative in this country, a 

 special investigation of American iron ore reserves was also initiated 

 under the United States Geological Survey with Dr. C. W. Hayes in 

 charge of the collection of data. The result of these endeavors led 

 to the preparation of as complete estimates as were practically pos- 

 sible.^ They will be mentioned and utilized later on. 



Before we can actually undertake a discussion of the future, 

 we must have clearly before us several matters of vital import. We 

 must know the large features of production in the United States as a 

 whole and in the more important individual districts. We need to 



1 International Quarterly, vol. 2, 230-247, 1905. 

 » C. W. Hayes, Bull. 394, U. S. G. S., 70-114, 1909. 



