any governmental program of conservation is to ascertain the cost and the possibility of an adequate return of capital and interest. These determinations at least afford a definite point of departure, and a means for measuring the cost to the people of measures which are not directly self-supporting.
ANTI-CONSERVATIONAL EFFECTS OF WAR
Experience during the recent past indicates that the exploitation of mineral resources for war purposes is on the whole anti-conservational. It is true that the vast amount of war-time exploration and development, as well as the thoroughgoing investigations of the utilization of various minerals, have led to better knowledge of the mineral resources and their possibilities. It is also true that the war required a much more exhaustive census of mineral possibilities than ever before attempted. The immediate and direct effect of the war, however, was the intensive use of mineral resources without careful regard to cost, grade, or many other factors which determine their use in peace times.
For instance, in ordinary times considerable quantities of high-phosphorus iron ores are mined; but, because of the fact that such ores require more time for conversion into steel, war-time practice concentrated on the higher-grade, low-phosphorus ores, resulting in an unbalanced production which in some cases amounted almost to robbing of ore deposits. In the case of coal, quantity was almost the only consideration; it was impossible to grade and distribute the coal to meet the specialized demands of industry. The results were a general lowering of the standards of metallurgical and other industrial practices, and increased cost. High-grade coals were used where lower-grade coals were desirable for the best results. In the making of steel, it is the custom to select the coal and coke with great care in regard to their content of phosphorus, sulphur, ash, and other constituents which affect the composition of the steel product; but during the war it became necessary to accept almost any kind of coal, with a resulting net loss in quantity and in grade of output.