The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-08-11
James A. Davis, Industrial
Commissioner Of the
Santa Fe Tells of
GREAT THINGS FOR lola.
He Is Disintcrested Observer and
Speaks Only of the Things
He Knows.

a conversation regarding the mar
vicious railroad, agricultural and inJ
dustrial development of the South
west, he said:
81 ana not prophet. the son or the
grandson of prophet, but | viii
venture to predict that the state of
Kansas and the marvellous Southwest
will make Kansas City one of the
largest and most prosperous cities IN
the United states. The advantages
and the richness of resources of Kan.
sas have never been realized, even by
her own people. | telieve she has
great variety of resources, more OPP.
portunities for the employment OF
capital, more channels to substantial
wealth for the floating of permanent
and great industries, than any other
state in the Union.
ON her gas and coal fields alone,
she has basis on which to build "a
great manufacturing center. Any
factory locating there can, on account
of the favorable situation with refer
ence to rates and low fuel cost, he
perfectly indifferent TO competition
from any point east of the Missi--
sippi river. This district located
within close proximity to her gas and
coal fields is growing with tremen-
dous strides. The gas zine smelling
/ fpAnatrx. at InI ha1
already assumed large proportions,
and is still increasing A large sui.
phuric acid plant is also to be built
at lola, in fact work has already
been begun on ii. A rolling mill is
/ also assured.
AT the same point work has be-
gun on one OF the largest and most
complete Portland cement plants in
the world. Its output will be from
$500 to 5000 barrels of cement per
day, and will represent an invested
capital of over 81 ,0O0,O 900. The loca-
ton of this plant illustrates one of
the many instances in which Kansas
evidences her trend toward the phe-
nomenal. The manufacture of Port.
land cement is becoming one OF the
most important industries in the
United States. The production in
this country has never kept pace with
the demand.
1.-The opportunities open for the
location OF a plant are limited for the
reason that the material necessary
for the manufacture of high grade
OF this material is rarely found where
favorable manufacturing conditions
obtain. | discovered at lola eighteen
months ago deposit of this material
IN immense quantities and containing
the chemical element necessary i'm al
most perfect proportions, A find OF
such material where natural gas is
obtainable free, the fuel cost i'm the
manufacture of Portland cement be-
ing about 66 per cent of the total,
made an extraordinary opening for a
factory.
"The West will become in the near
future, the section for the greatest
consumption of this material. one
party whose construction work is
principally in the West told me only
day or two ago that he was trying
to get 30 900 barrels to complete some
work and couldn't get it at any price.
So it looked as if nature had intended
the establishment OF cement plant
at lola when it deposited this ma.
terial there and then generated the
gas with which to burn it. Strange
to say, have never been able to find
this material anywhere else in the
State or in this vicinity.
Another recent discovery in Kan
sas is deposit of high grade kaolin,
which promises considerable extent;
if it proves so, it is not improba ole
that Kansas town in the gas belt
will be formidable rivB to the pot
teries of Trenton and the Kansan will
set his table with china made in his
own state.
81 am also at work laying my plans
or the establishment o { several large
industries which. the production Of
of sulphuric acid at lola will make
possible. These plans have not ma
tured far enough yet for me to say
much about them, but they are pos
sible of success" While Mr.. Davis
does not go into details it can be as
serted with some degree of truth that
one OF the industries referred to con-
templates the manufacture of ferti-
lizer. The Santa Fe road has an al.
most inexhaustible deposit of phos.
phorous rock on its line in Arizona
which can be hauled to lola at a min.
imum cost, ground and reduced with
sulphuric acid manufactured on the
spot and fertilizer supplied to the
country at q cost that will enable the