โ Scribed by R.H.O.
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
One of the war's great costs to the United States is turning out to be in the basic materials that support the nation's strength according to a series of official reports bringing to light the real extent of cost in resources. Julius A. Krug, Secretary of Interior, is suggesting a $1,000,000 survey to determine exactly how much mineral wealth is left. The United States Forestry Service is recommending tighter rules on the use of timber resources.
Metal resources are depleted to a great extent because the best grade ores are gone and over five billion tons of United States minerals went into the war. Oil wells in the United States were tapped for about eight billion barrels of oil in the war period, and in the closing months of the war could not keep step with demand. Timber stocks in some of the essential categories are almost gone after three centuries of plenty. Soil resources suffered from being overcropped and certain areas are approaching status of wasteland.
However, substitute resources were improved by the pressure of war demand. A synthetic rubber industry was built to turn out one million tons of rubber a year. And by using sea water magnesium output was increased 75 times to a 375 million pounds per year output.
Iron ore is the most important of the mineral resources and the United States has an abundant supply for future needs, but the supply of high grade ores may last less than 17 years. Today the United States gets about half of its copper from abroad, mainly because its own deposits are progressively harder to mine. Lead and zinc deposits are reported to have only a few years to last at present rates of expenditure and the result already has been felt in a scarcity of storage batteries, paint, and good gasoline for automobiles.
Higher costs for raw materials are ahead. More goods are needed to provide for a larger population. More supplies must come from farther away because United States resources can be expanded now only by digging deeper, utilizing low-grade ores, and expanding synthetics. All these methods are being used and all are more expensive.
R. H.O.
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