Thereupon Governor Eberhart, for President Baker, declared a recess until 8 oclock p.m.
CLOSING SESSION
The Congress was called to order by President Baker in the Auditorium, Saint Paul, at 8 oclock p.m., September 8.
President Baker—Ladies and Gentlemen: The first business in order is action on the report of the Nominating Committee, to be followed by action on the report of the Resolutions Committee. While waiting for these reports we should be glad to hear from some of the States. Washington made a special request to be heard. Is the Gentleman from the State of Washington present?
[There was no response.]
W. S. Harvey—Mr President: In the absence of the representative of Washington, may the Delegation from the Keystone State, Pennsylvania, be heard at this time?
President Baker—Colonel Harvey has the floor, and will speak for his State.
Colonel Harvey—Mr President and Delegates: On behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which it is our honor to represent, we desire to say first of all that no other State in the whole galaxy constituting our Union of States possesses such great natural resources. In some, indeed, the resources may be more varied, but in none are they of such productive and wealth-creating capacity as in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania leads all other States in the production of coal, the value of our annual output reaching approximately $325,000,000 per annum. In the value of its petroleum, natural gas, clay products, and pig iron it has no close second. The annual value of our petroleum production is about $18,000,000, and of our natural gas about the same, while the value of our pig-iron production reaches about $235,000,000; of our clays it might be said we have scarcely begun to develop them, yet the value of our clay product is more than $20,000,000 yearly. We are among the leading States in the production of cement, roofing-slate, lime, and building stone. Among our other mineral products are graphite, glass sand, mineral waters, metallic paints, mortar colors, and ochre. It will doubtless surprise many to learn that in the year 1907 the total value of all of the mineral products of all of the States west of the Mississippi was more than $100,000,000 less than the value of the mineral products of Pennsylvania for the same year; and that the value of our mineral products in the same year was equal to almost one-third of the entire value of all of the mineral products of the United States, including Alaska. This also includes gold and silver.