MINERAL INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES FERTILIZERS. 21 
eventually the fertilizer industry must face squarely the necessity 
of working actively toward the manufacture of more concentrated 
products. 
The responsibilities of the Government in regard to fertilizers have 
not yet been fully realized. Those activities which lend themselves 
to material and disassociated prosecution, such as the manifold 
activities of the Agricultural Department and corresponding State 
bureaus and the studies of the Geological Survey on the domestic 
mineral products, have accomplished results of the highest value along 
lines of scientific research, practical application, and agricultural 
education. Such work will continue in increasing amount. But 
other less material and more subtle problems bring up issues in eco- 
nomic policy which must be met. Their happy solution depends 
upon a full comprehension of the complexity of the situation, of its 
intricate ramifications, of the many fields of knowledge involved. 
Their successful solution will grow out of a policy of anticipation, 
scarcely out of one of lagging accommodation to passing conditions. 
For the best results, the problems must be solved before they become 
acute ; some of them before they become at all obvious. 
The problems now awaiting governmental solution can be only 
suggested here. One of the more pressing is to adjust the war and 
peace demands affecting the raw materials of the fertilizer industry 
so as to avoid the cross-purposes at which those demands are now 
working. Another is to gradually and normally stimulate the de- 
velopment of domestic sources of supply, not only that a repetition 
of the present situation will be impossible, but also that a more 
extensive peace-time production will be the outgrowth. These, of 
course, depend fundamentally upon the development of a definite 
governmental policy, clearly expressed, based upon the scientific 
principles involved, not upon tradition. Such a policy will involve 
the proper adjustment between industry and government, and will 
take into consideration the fact that the interests of the Government 
include those of industry, but, conversely, that it is not the function 
of industry to look after the interests of the Government. Such a 
policy, if applied to the fertilizer situation, will solve the current 
problems as best they may be solved; and will gradually build up 
an industrial situation that will insure our independence in this 
respect and prepare us to meet the future exhaustion of the richer 
sources of our fertilizer supply. 
The American public have an interest in this matter. It is their 
duty to inform themselves in this and other regards, and to increase 
their perspective so as to press and shape effective action. While 
the solution of these problems will require the most specialized 
knowledge obtainable, the comprehension of the situation demands 
no specialized training. It is the hope of this paper to interpret the 
