Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-09-02
STATE HOUSE,
Hopeful Outlook for Names
Slate and Lime.
instruction for Towns and Associations
Desiring Travelling Libraries.
lightning Loss in Maine Heaviest Tor Years
Capitol Chit Chat.

tics. He has been on tour of invest-
cation of the slate and lime industries
of the State. after which he took a two
weeks vacation in Lee. He had a de-
much
Major House made a very interest
ing report to the Journal of his trip. and
the results of his Investigations, which
he will later put into shape and make
it one of the features of the report of
the bureau. The Investigations into
the slate industry We're conducted
about the large quarries in Piscataquis
county and those of the lime industry
in Knox county.
In the four slate quarries at Monsoon
and the three at Brownville, which are
now in operation. there are a large
number of men at work. the quarries
all working full crews. The wages
are good and are being paid promptly.
which was not the case a few years
ago.
The wages paid are better than is
usually the case with laborers of that
class. They are doing dangerous
work, but not as dangerous as some
quarrymen and miners. still the aver
age pay is better there than for such
work elsewhere.
The sales are better than they have
been for several years, and the Maine
slate Quarries have a hopeful future.
the prospects never being better than
al the present time. The quarres in
Monson are branching out more and
not combining themselves to the manu-
facture of roofing slate as was the
case when the quarries We're first
opened
The Monsoon Maine Slate Company
has mill in Monsoon, and the Monson
Burmah Slate Company has a mill in
Portland. where numerous articles are
manufactured. such a floors, water
closets, tubs, baking boards and many
other things. At the mill in Portland
over 1000 different articles are manu-
featured from the slate.
The effort in quarrying the slate
seems to be toward mill stock In
some places where the vein runs in big
junks there are pieces of slate taken
which Nv.
There is no danger of the slate run
ming out, as the veins are several miles
long in many places and the depth to
which they run is not known, and will
probably never be reached. In Wales
it is said the slate quarries have
reached depth of 1000 feet and the
bottom has not been struck. At Mon
son the deepest quarry is only about
$50 feet, so it will readily be seen that
there is little danger of it's running
out.
In BrOwnville the slate is mostly
quarried for roofing slate, but little be
ing taken out for mill stock. The
prospects here are equally as good as
att Monsoon, all the quarries running
full crews and paying good wages.
The old Croker quarry is being en-
larged by the gravel being removed
for a distance of about 100 feet, the
same width as the present quarry.
Major House says the lime supply
of Knox county is inexhaustible
There is one quarry which has been
| worked for So years, and, comparative
| ly speaking. there is now nothing but
little hole in the ground. There are
over 100, 900 acres of lime in the county,
the most of which is being worked in
the vicinity of Rockland, although the
| supply near Rockport is being worked
! almost as extensively. The Rockland
lime goes to New York, while Rock
port sends it's output to Boston.
Several of the quarries are putting in
new machinery for hosting the lime
stone from the quarries, instead of
! IL up al DIS Dttii
done in the past. These machines are
very fine, the majority of them having
compressed air for motive power.
At one of the quarries a stone wharf
is being built out so feet from the old
wooden wharf near the kilns for easier
shipping facilities. This additional
wharf will give them 20 feet of water
at medium tide. The kilns are along
the water front and are very interest
ing places to visit.
The wages paid are very good on the
average They vary in different local.
ties. In one place there may be four
men in a kiln and they receive $3.50 d
} day while in another kiln there will
only be three men and they are paiG
S175 a day. The men who receive the
larger money of course have to work
harder and earn their extra pay.
There were LOO, 900 casks of lime
shipped from Knox county. last yeal
and there will be an increase, this year