1908 



THE G0\ KKX< >KS' O >M<ERENCE 



321 



product previously mined in this country. 

 For the year 1906 the output was 414,000,- 

 OOO tons, ati increase of 46 per cent on the 

 average annual yield of the 10 years pre- 

 ceeding. In 1907 our production reached 

 470,000,000 tons. Fifty years ago the an- 

 nual per capita production was a little more 

 than one-quarter of a ton. It is now about 

 five tons. It is but eight years since we 

 took the place of Great Britain as the lead- 

 ing coal producing nation of the world, and 

 already our product exceeds hers by over 

 43 per cent, and is 37 per cent of the known 

 production of the world. Estimates of coal 

 deposits still remaining must necessarily be 

 somewhat vague, but they are approxi- 

 mately near the mark. The best authorities 

 do not rate them at much over 2,000,000,- 

 000,000 tons. If coal production continues 



doubles about once in < It 



was less than iJ.ijOO.OOO tons in 

 -4,000,000 tons in 1899, 47,740,000 tons in 

 1906 and over 52,000,000 tons in 1007. The 

 rising place of iron in the world's 

 the most impressive phenomenon "f the 

 last century. In iS'^o the pig iron produc- 

 tion of the Uniii'i amounted to ~< 

 757 tons, or about 50 pounds per capita. 

 Our production now i- over 600 pounds per 

 capita. \Ye do not work a mine, build a 

 house, weave a fabric, prepare a meal or 

 cultivate an acre of ground under modern 

 methods without the aid of iron. \\ e turn 

 out over 25,000,000 tons of pig iron every 

 year, and the production for the first half 

 of 1907 was at the rate of 27,000,000 

 This is two and one-half times the product 

 of Great Britain. It is nearly half the ] 



Photo Copyright by Harris & Ewing, Washington 



"THE HOUSE OF GOVERNORS" 



Group of State Executives who took Initial Steps toward forming a Permanent 



Organization of Governors 



to increase as it has in the last ninety years, 

 the available supply will be greatly re- 

 duced by the close of the century. Before 

 that time arrives however, resort to lower 

 grades and sinking of mines to greater 

 depths will become necessary; making the 

 product inferior in quality and higher in 

 price. Already Great Britain's industries 

 have felt the check from a similar cause, 

 as shown in her higher cost of production. 

 Our turn will begin probably within a gen- 

 eration or two from tin's time. Yet we still 

 think nothing of consuming this priceless 

 resource with the great e-t possible speed. 

 Our methods of mining are often wasteful; 

 and we not only prohibit our industries from 

 having recon: the coal supplies of 



other countries, hut actually pride ourselves 

 upon becoming exp> r a prime ice. 



sity of life and an essential of civilization. 



The iron industry tells a similar srorv. 

 The total of iron ore mined in the L T nit'- 1 



duct of the whole world. And the Mipply 

 of this must pncious ,.f all the nu-t.ds 

 far from inexhaustible that it seems as if 

 iron and coal might be united in their dis- 

 appearance from common life. 



The large deport-, ,,f iron ore in this 

 country an- in w located. For cheap i r i n 

 we depend upon the Lake Superior district, 

 becaiis,- of Us higl. e of ex- 



tracting the ore from the mines .-m,' us 



rtati< n. At the 



of over 50,000,000 tons per yi ar, our 

 !inpti< n. it would require over 

 2,000,000.000 tons to supply the demand 

 for the next main 



stationary. This would ap| end 



of all the liigl 



now il 'ther 



working- would ' inferior quality 



and high -.d reir. -:n mar- 



I'.i:' ' 

 even pidly than in the past A few 



