The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1891-08-20
Treasures Of Earth,s Interior.


A scientific scheme of much Importance
has been agitated in Washington recently.
During the last two Congresses there have
been number of representatives and two
or three senators who have used their intiu-
ence in favor of an appropriation for boring
hole in the earth several miles in depth
1t has long been recognized that an incon-
ceivable amount of value in the shape OF
stances is locked up out of reach beneath
the crust of this planet. All the riches dug
out of it represent merely the most super
fetal and ineffective scratching of the sur
face. Once render accessible the internal
recesses of the sphere, and it is plain that
every human being might be thousand
times Monte Cristo.
Biologists are agreed that the interior of
the earth is largely composed of metals.
Whereas the surface matter of the planet
weighs only about two and one half times
as much as water. it is known as a 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
the heavier particles sought the middle.
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
pOrtantly gold. GeOlOgist Gilbert. of the
Geological Survey, said the other day that
he would rather expect to find vast accu.
mutation of gold at that point than any
where else, his notion being that such of
the yellow metal that is found on the sur.
face of the earth is only an accidental de.
tritus. However, there are two or three
substances known even more weighty than
gold. and one of them is platinum, which
has doubled in market value within the last
year or two. owing to the Increased cost of
production.
So it is not unreasonable that certain
members of Congress and other persons of
keen judgement should consider the advis-
ability of boring hole in the earth for the
purpose of extracting some of its metallic
contents. For scientific purposes pit has
recently been sunk at Spelling. in Germany,
to the depth of mile. Unfortunately, water
has been struck, and no results which add
materially to human knowledge have thus
ldl OCCu OUGdIucU. AIOtIltI we'll HAS Uc6u
driven at Wheeling, West Va. as far down
as three quarters of mile. It is dry, and
the boring process is proceeding at the rate
of about ten feet day. The management
will be disguised if oil or something is not
struck before the hole comes out at the an.
tipodes and somebody tumbles into it at the
other end.
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, rock. and all-becomes fus-
ed and liquid. Once let this point be reach
ed. and naturally whatever is below must
spout up of it's own accord. without expense
of mining. Immediately the price of met.
ais 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 an open prairie. Washington
Star.