But even the vast metals deposits of the United

 States were not limitless, and by the 1950s the United

 States had begun to import substantial quantities of

 iron and copper ores. Iron ore imports, which in 1900

 had amounted to only 898 thousand long tons, reached 34.5

 million long tons in 1960, an amount greater than total

 domestic production had been in 1900, and whereas the

 United States had been a net exporter of copper in 1900,

 by 1959 apparent consumption of copper exceeded domestic

 production by 258 thousand short tons,3 only 45 thousand

 short tons less than total domestic copper production

 had been in 1900. The metals position of the United

 States had changed substantially over the years, from

 one of abundance to one of scarcity. We will now deal

 with that change and its implications.

 In 1860 demands for metals relative to the

amounts of ore available were slight. The country was

so large, the produce so bountiful, that almost every

resource seemed inexhaustible. A typical comment of

the age is to be found in the Census of Manufactures of

1860.

 This whole country C range extending from North
 Carolina into Alabamaj possesses an incalculable,
 inexhaustible abundance of the richest ores, while
 its production of iron still remains at a minimum. (5)


 3Ibid.

 Figures comparing domestic production of iron
and copper to domestic consumption for 1900-1960 are pre-
sented in Appendix B.2, Table 20.

 Manufactures of the U.S. in 1860, p. clxxvi.