376 



THE IKRIGATIONAGE. 



MINERAL WASTE. 



In the preface to Bulletin 47, Notes on Mineral 

 Waste, written by Charles L. Parsons, chief mineral 

 chemist of the Bureau of Mines, which has just been 

 issued, Dr. Joseph A. Holmes, the director, gives his 

 views upon what he terms real or true conservation. 



Dr. Holmes says: "During the past year, in pro- 

 ducing 500,000,000 tons of coal we wasted or left under- 

 ground, in such condition that it probably will not be 

 recovered in the future, 250.000,000 tons of coal; we 

 turned loose into the atmosphere a quantity of natural 

 gas larger than the total output of artificial gas during 

 the same period in all the towns and cities of the United 

 States; we also wasted or lost in the mining, prepara- 

 tion, and treatment of other important metalliferous and 

 non-metalliferous minerals from 10 to 15 per cent of the 

 year's production of such minerals. These losses serve 

 to indicate the importance of inquiries and investigations 

 by the Federal Government for the purpose of lessening 

 the waste of essential resources investigations on the 

 same general lines as those looking to a reduction in the 



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loss of life in the mining operations of the country and 

 the far more extensive investigations looking to tne more 

 efficient production and use of agricultural products, both 

 of which are being conducted by the Federal Govern- 

 ment. 



"In a consideration of the possible activities of the 

 individual, the State, and the Federal Government, in be- 

 half of a less wasteful use of our mineral resources, cer- 1 

 tain facts and principles should be kept clearly in mind, 

 namely: 



"That the present generation has the power, and it 

 will exercise the right, to use as much of the country's 

 resources as it actually needs; there can and there will 

 be no such thing an stinting the present generation by 

 bottling up resources for the use of the future. 



"That the Nation's needs are not likely to be cur- 

 tailed; these needs will increase with the extent and 

 diversity of the Nation's industries, and they will in- 

 crease more rapidly than population increases, for the 

 reason that the per capita consumption of mineral prod- 

 ucts is rapidly increasing; and 



"That the men of this generation will not mine, ex- 

 tract, or use these resources at con- 

 tinuous financial loss to themselves 

 in order that something may be left 

 for the use of future generations; 

 there can be no such thing as a 

 mineral industry without profits. 



"Furthermore, it should be clearly 

 understood that the mineral resources 

 of this country have required long 

 ages for their accumulation jind that 

 of these resources the Nation has but 

 the one supply. There are no known 

 substitutes available to meet the Na- 

 tion's further needs when that supply 

 will be exhausted and, to the best of 

 our present knowledge, this one sup- 

 ply must serve as a basis for both 

 the needs of the present and the far 

 greater needs of the future. 



"In a higher way our mineral re- 

 sources should be regarded as prop- 

 erty to be used and to be held in 

 trust with regard to both the present 

 and the future needs of the country. 

 It should be remembered that neither 

 human labor nor any human agency 

 has contributed to their origin or to their 

 intrinsic value, and that whatever rights 

 the individual may possess have been 

 derived from the General Government 

 and from the State as the original 

 owner. The State does not surrender 

 its right, and should not neglect its 

 duty, to safeguard the welfare of its 

 future citizens by preventing the 

 wasteful use of these resources. 

 Though the individual may claim the 

 right to use the resources in propor- 

 tion to his needs and the needs of the 

 community, he certainly has no right 

 to waste that which is not needed for 

 present use but is certain to be 

 needed hereafter. 



"Those in charge of the investi- 

 gations of the Bureau of Mines recog- 

 nize the rights and duties of the 

 Federal Government as being limited 

 to the carrying on of inquiries and in- 

 vestigations with a view to determin- 

 ing the nature and extent of this 

 waste of resources, the means by 

 which it may be diminished, and the 

 setting forth of the facts in the case. 

 "The present report embodies the 

 results of certain preliminary in- 

 quiries as to the nature and extent of 

 this waste. It will be followed by a 

 more detailed report on the subject 

 as soon as the necessary inquiries 

 and investigations have been con- 

 ducted and the results put in shape 

 for publication. 



