The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-08-02
TO THE EARTH'S CENTER.
The Curiosity to Discover What There Is
Twenty Miles Below the Crust.

scientific scheme of much Importance
has been agitated in Washington recently,
so Star reporter learned. During the last
two Congresses there have been @ number
OF Representatives and two or three Sena-
tors who have used their influence in favor
OF an appropriation for boring hole in the
earth several miles IN depth. 1t has long
been recognized that an incOnceivable
amount of value in the shape of precious
metlls and other mineral substances is
locked up out Of reach beneath the crust of
this planet All the riches dug out of it
represent merely the most superficial and
Ineffective scratching of the surface. Once
render accessible the internal recesseS Of
the sphere and it is plain that every human
being might be thousand times Monte
Cristo. Surely the problem presents no in
superable obstacle to that most ingenious Of
animals, man, who may be said already TO
have all but reduced nature herself to SUBJ
lection.
Biologists are agreeing that the interior
of the earth is largely composed of metals.
Whereas the surface matter OF the planet
weighs only about two and one-haIf times
as much as water, it is known as fact that
toward the center the average weight of
things is eleven times that of water. This
IS due to the circumstance that while this
sublunary orb was cooling and condenSing
therefore it is probable that the great mass
of the sphere is iron. But there are other
metals more heavy than iron, and these
would naturally form an accumulation i'm
mediately about the center of the globe.
Among them may be mentioned most i'm
portant gold. Geoiogist Gilbert of the
Geological Survey said the other day that
he would rather expect to find a vast ac-
emulation of gold at that point than any,
where else, his notion being that such of the
VallONy Dptal a : il f0un1 nj tbQ enrfnpn n
the earth is only an accidental detritus.
However. there are two or three substances
known ever more weighty than gold, and
one of them is platinum, which has doubled
in market value within the lasty year or two,
owing to the increased cost of production.
So 1t is not unreasonable that certain men,
berS of Congress and other persons of keen
judgment should consider the a1visability of
boring hole in the earth for the purpose of
extracting some of its metallic contents.
For scientific purposes pit has recently been
sunk III Spelling, in Germany, to the depth
of mile. Unfortunately, water has been
struck, and no results which add very
materially to human knowledge have thus
far been obtained. Another we'll has been
driven at Wheeling, w. Va, as far down
as three-quarters Of mile. 1t is dry, and
the boring process is proceeding at the rate
of about 10 feet day. The management
will he disgusted if oil or something is not
struck before the hole comes out at the
the other end. All that has beeu0earned
from these works up to date is that the
heat Of the globe increases 10 for every so
feet in depth.
No really scientific person has been so
foolish as to imagine that possible results,
commercially speaking, could be secured
without digging much further than this.
Estimate is made that at twenty miles from
the surface of the earth every known sub
stance-metals, rocks and alI-becomes fused
and liquid. Once let this point be reached,
and naturally whatever is below must spout
up of its own accord, without expense of
mining. Immediately the price of metals
in the market would be reduced to little or
nothing, and new age would dawn upon
civilization. 1t has been suggested that such
an artificial conduit would be, to all intents
and purposes, volcano; but any dangers
which it would otherwise threaten might be
obviated easily by establishing the works on
open prairie. The cost of boring for twenty
miles would certainly be very small COM
pared with the results 10 be anticipated, and
Congress could easily afford the money
necessary, which might appropriately be
placed in the hands of the Department of
the ashington Star.