Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-06-12

Of Old Scrap Iron.
A powerfully built. redheadcd English
alto a dozen raw oysters ut o
In London, .-nshcd down with . bottle OF
stout, and wRs at once takon III. Then
he drank two or thrco glnssos OF strong
brandy, fell over into the arms OF his son
and died. TIC Englishiman was tho ccle-
brated Colonel John Thomas North, better
known as the Nitrate King, q nj who
was supposed to DO worth 500, 600, 600,
and his death created y big sensation. He
was probably the most noted Englishman
In private life, and his biography reads
ike that Of an American Jay Gould or
Andrew Carnegie. In u country where
the poor man ~ supposed to have no chance
all, where inherited wealth and position
occupy tho field and frown upon the at
tempts Of u rurycnu to rise In tho world,
this man within u quarter Of n century,
and entirely by his efforts. amused u
fabulous fortune and rose to n high POSI-
ton In business and social circles. There
IL certainly much of Interest III lis career,
and a young man cnn learn something by
a review OF Colonel North's life.
Ho was born at Leeds about 1885. His
father was q coal merchant, and young
North was npprenticed to "a boiler maker.
At tho ngo Of 20 10 was sent out TO tho west
coast Of south America with some ina
chinery which he was commissioned TO set
up and put In order. When he had finished
his lob, for which no received So. 80 per
dny. he began to look about him, and ne
then manifested some Of tho traits which
afterward brought him fame, prominence
and wealth. s
Passing % foundry and machine shop In
lquiquo one day, no noticed That the cstab
lishmcnt was bankrupt and about 10 be
sold ut auction. There WIS o pile OF scrap
iron and old machinery heaped up In u
corner Of tho grounds which was TO be
closed out with the rest. North'a quick
eye took IL all In and he made an offer Of
- for tho lot. The assignee accepted 1t.
North at once hired Nh assistant with II
team, sorted out the good stuff from the
worthless, found. N he suspected, q large
amount Of steel among this iron, n US
tho result OF three or four days work he
pocketed $500 by the deal. One OF the
Chilean towns where he was ut work had
no waterworks. All the water for drink
ing purposes was brought into town oil
the backs Of donkeys, and water WAS very
scarce. North proposed 10 thc municipal
ity to furnish IA complete system OF water
works for a given price. After much deiib-
Grafton his offer was accepted, the material
was ordered from England and North
cleared $500. 900 in a year. He built piers
for steamships, railroads, bridges. and
everything he undertook was immensely
profitable.
But his biggest enterprise u the one
with which his name will always he asso-
cia,ed was In the development Of the
nitrate Industry. What Is nitrates Let ME
explain u little. Halt a century ago money
was pouring into Peru at the rate of &c.,
600. 600 or Sl2, 900, 900 n year for its guano.
Immense deposits Of guano had been made
along tho Peruvian coast by the sea birds.
For countless ages, in n climate where
rain never falls, these deposits had l'een
accommodating until, IN 1887, whcn the
value of guano rs u fertilizer had been dis
covered, the gunno beds were often 100
feet thick. Ships from every part OF Europe
and the United States came to Peru for the
new fertilizer, and wealth poured in like
magic. But by 1876 the guano was ex-
hausicd and the money spent.
Suddenly 1t was discovered that In tho
province OF Tarnpaca, in southern Peru,
there was something far more valuable
than guano. By volcanic eruptions In
bygune ages tho whole country had been
covered with n coating Of white and colored
stuff to tho depth Of 8 to - inches. 1t
was n kind OF crust, which was sometimes
found on the surface, but oftener covered
with n foot or two Of sand. This crust
had been examined by chemists and found
to be worth as much as gold quartz.
Properly treated, this crust, which WAS
sometimes white and sometimes yellow,
brown and red, would produce 10 or II
chemicals which were In constant demand
all over the world. Saltpeter, borax, nj
trate of soda. iodine and many other thing
could be produced from this volcanic debris
with but little treatment. Every part Ct
it was valuable, and much Of 1t sold at $40
a pound. while the refuse was marketable
as a fertilizer. iodine. which for ages has
been made from the ashes Of seaweed, nov
comes entirely from these nitrate fields.
1t can readily be seen that the discovery
OF such u valuable substance would pro-
duce u big change in the current Of affairs.
The Peruvian government Immediately
put on All export tax on shipments Of nj
trates, and this brought on the war with
Chile. At the end OF the wal Chile had
tiO GitiatC AANAuSg ohA v 50 as tSpAAhO VI
e25, 600, 900 n year that Chile gets from the
nitratcs that makes her independent today.
And it was the nitrates that made Colonel
North fa~bulously wealthy. As Carnegie
found bis opportunity in the Pennsylvania
oil wells, so North made his stake In the
sand Of Tarapaca. He was naturally n
money maker. "North's luck" it was
called, for everything he touched turned to
moncy. He was shrewd enough to SEQ the
possibilities Of the nitrate business, and
he "eobbled everything in sight" Stu
ated in a dry and rainless country, the
''diggings" were useless without railroads,
SO North secured all the land possible,
built railroads and controlled the whole
business, but, like gold mining. more
money was Ilade in selling stocks than In
prosecuting tho work, and so the rage for
tpcculating in "nitrates' began, and in
this North raked in IN immense pile of
money. The English spectators went
wild over North's stocks. and North be-
came the hero Of the age. He went to
England, and his bluff, ~outspoken, de-
cisivo and We. warm hearted and generous
manner mado him hosts Of friends.-Ex-
Dipiomat In Cshkosh Northwestern.