The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-31
TIE SALT LAKE HERALD: SUNDAY OCTOBER al 1897

With his magnetic needle, or, as he
calls it, his magnetic eye" he tested
every large body OF gneisS rock extend
ing along the eastern coast of the
United States, from lower Canada TO
the great Smoky Mountains of North
Carolina. He found immense deposits
OF iron. For instance. in the 9.0G0 acres
Immediately surrounding the village of
Edison, there are over 200,000000 tons
of Low grade ore. In the entire district
I there are 1900 acres in which the de-
post is Droportionately as large. The
| worlds annual output of iron ore does
! not, at the present time, reach 100000
toss; so that IL the paltry two miles
surrounding the village of Edison there
is enough iron ore in the rocks to keep
! the whole world supplied for one year,
or the United States for three years,
even with the natural increase in de-
mand. Sixteen thousand acres. or %
square miles of land contain enough
iron ore to keep the whole world sup
pied for Il years. allowing. of course,
for all natural increase Of demand due
10 the needs of 4 growing population
These acres would more than supply
the United States With iron. including
necessary exports. for the next 20 years,
and they contain more than has been
! mined in this country since its discov-
! cry
( 4'lS ~ el1 q LCIltolI kdbIC
! smelling works shutting down for want
! OF iron ore at low prices, when billions
of tons of it lay idle i'll q strip of land
I which, IL most cases. was within Is
/ miles of the great iron mills OF the At
! lantic coast Here was an opportunity
of which the inventor Immediately took
| advantage. He set to work to plan out
d great industry. 1t has taken him
! eight years to do it, but the result has
/ justified all the trouble and money
which he has expended upon it. En-
( slneerS used to large enterprises of
! the kind. have smiled incredulously.
/ Some of them have spoken of it as Edi-
sons hobby, and others as his folly.
| Some have shown him on paper that
no machine could be constructed pow
! erful enough to crush five, six and
| seven-ton rocks, or, if such a machine
We're constructed, it would never stand
! the jar and strain eNerted upon it.
| This particular difficulty, it may be
said in passing, Mr.. Edison surmounted
| so completely that less than 100 horse
power is required to reduce rocks Weig-
ing six and seven tons to dust in three
| seconds from the time they are thrown
into the crushing machine. Other diff
! ticuities were overcome as completely,
! none proving too much for Mr.. Edison's
| indomitable viii and rare concentra-
ton of mind and energy.
HOW EDISON LEVELS NOUN
FAINS.
Yet. after ALL he has accomplished
! very simple thing. He is crushing rocks
and dropping the resulting powder past
powerful electromagnetic. The sand is
not attracted by the magnetism and
passes straight on, the iron ore is at
traeted TO one side and falls in a heap
of its own. This is the whole principle.
! yet in the actual working out, it be-
comes one of the most tremendous pro-
| cesses in the world. 1t is, after all,
no small matter to crush the very vitals
! out of a mountain and then extract all
I of the ore from the millions of tons
| of sand. Perhaps the best way to thor
| ougihly realize the enormity of the plant
! is to visit it
The village of Edison stands on the
| summit Of Mount MusconetsOng, in
northern New Jersey The spot is 1900
! feet above the level of the sea, and is
! the center of a dense wilderness ones
| first view Of the place is apt to be tenn
| pered by the disagreeabie white dust
which flies through the air and over
| lies everything The activity round
about is in strong contrast to the placid
country district through which one
must travel in order to reach the place.
On all sides the roar and Whistle of
the general noise and hustle. proclaim
this to be some quite extraordinary en-
! terprise The Worl1Inen look like mil
! Iers, so coated do their clothes become
with the flying white particles, and
everyone wears a patent nluzzle in or
/ der to circurnvent the bad-etfects which
4 the dust would otherwise have upon the
| lungs.
Some of the buildings are as tail and
narrow as city sky scrapers;" others
! are fat and squatty, covering consid-
cradle areas. Big wheels reyolye in the
engine house and big dynamos trans
nit heavy currents through overhead
wires to the various points of the plant.
Little narrow gauge locomotives move
about to the various parts Of tn works.
A line of freight cars run slowly
81 troup of noisy children come romping
down from Summerville. a hamlet
/ where the miners live. Over to the
right of the village lumbermen are cut
ting down trees and making the land
ready for the steam shovel. which is
tearing away at the rocks half a mile