essary handicaps to the best use of the world
mineral resources, and result in a lessening of causes of international
discord.

A brief survey of the mineral conditions preceding, during, and
following the war may serve as a convenient means of approach to a study
of the present international aspects of the mineral problem.

MOVEMENT OF MINERALS UNDER PRE-WAR CONDITIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE

If the world pre-war movement of minerals is considered broadly, it may
be regarded as conforming essentially to normal trade conditions of
supply and demand. There have been barriers to overcome, such as tariffs
and trade controls and monopolies of various kinds, but these barriers
have not prevented the major movements between the best sources of
supply and the principal consuming centers. These movements may be
regarded as a more or less spontaneous internationalization of mineral
resources by private enterprise. The aim of free trade or unrestricted
commerce was equality of trade opportunities; but such conditions of
unrestricted competition tended to concentrate trade in the hands of the
strongest interests and to prevent equality of opportunity.

The efforts made to promote or hinder international mineral movements by
tariffs, bonuses, embargoes, subsidies, transport control, patents,
government management, financial pressure, and other means have been
incited mainly by national or imperial self-interest, and have thus been
to some extent inimical to an internationalization based on the
principle of the greatest good to the greatest number. It may be
supposed that, in any effort to attain supernational or international
control, motives and measures based on national self-interest of the
sort here mentioned will continue to play an important part.

CHANGES DURING THE WAR

The war wrought fundamental changes in the world movement of minerals.
The character and distribution of the demands changed. Customary sources
of supply were cut off. Financial disturbances and ship shortage
profoundly modified the nature, distribution, and extent of the world
movement. Our domestic mineral industry was abruptly brought to a
realization of its vital relations with international trade. To
illustrate, the large movement of manganese from India and Russia to the
United States was abruptly stopped, and we had to develop a source of
supply in Brazil. The stoppage of pyrite importations from Spain as a
means of saving ships required the