France as a
nation the reserves were worth more. They could afford to pay more for
them, and could afford to spend more money on conservational practice
than under ordinary commercial limitations, because of the larger
intangible and more or less sentimental interest.

The valuation of this larger interest, as a means of determining the
limit to which conservational investments may be made, lies in the
political field. It may be suggested, however, that a desirable first
step in 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 produ