No. 123.] REPORT OF COMMISSIONER. 13 



the expenses of the State and National governments, and they 

 have a right to be heard as to how that money shall be spent. 

 They should decline to allow tax money to be used to ruin 

 their own business. 



The Fertilizer Situation. 



The close of hostilities cannot but have a favorable effect on 

 the fertilizer situation from the standpoint of the farmer. 

 Large quantities of nitrate and potash which have been used 

 in the manufacture of munitions will be released for farm fer- 

 tilizers; more ocean tonnage can be used for transportation of 

 nitrates from South America and pyrites from Spain; and 

 labor for the manufacture of fertilizer will be more abundant. 

 These factors cannot be expected to have an immediate effect 

 in the way of materially lowering prices, but it is safe to say 

 that prices will not go higher than those quoted for 1919, that 

 shipments will be more prompt and regular, and that more 

 high-grade materials will be available. The cession of Alsace, 

 where the German potash mines are located, to France, will 

 undoubtedly result in prompt resumption of exports of potash 

 to this country. This is always provided that the Germans 

 have not put the mine permanently or temporarily out of 

 business. In 1912 and 1913 the United States imported ap- 

 proximately 250,000 tons of potash to this country. This 

 figure fell to zero in 1916, 1917 and 1918, so that for the last 

 three years this country has been dependent on domestic 

 sources of potash. These sources have not been suflBcient, 

 however, to supply the normal demands of our agriculture for 

 potash. 



The high prices of potash have of course stimulated domestic 

 production, which jumped from 9,700 tons in 1916, to 32,000 

 tons in 1917, the last year for which figures are available. The 

 principal sources are kelp, certain salt lakes in the far west, 

 and the dust from cement mills. This latter source seems to 

 promise an economical supply of potash even at pre-war prices. 

 It is evident, however, that we must still rely on foreign 

 sources for a considerable part of our potash supply. The 

 continued high price of fertilizers has had the effect of throw- 

 ing upon the market large quantities of very low-grade and 



