The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-04-18

Thomas A. Edison had invented secret
process by which tie sands of the desert
could be relieved of the gold which lies
in them.
But TIE scheme while very commend
able, seemed too ambitious for success,
Lately, it mas developed that the Wizard
has not only completed his invention, but
is getting ready to put it to work
The Importance of this invention may
be gathered from the fact that such
process working successfully, would null
tiply many times the production OF gold
in this country. There are thousands of
square miles of gold-bearing lands in the
United States that cannot be worked on
account of lack of water. In the great
deserts of the south and southwest there
are vast expanses of rich sands that might
be made to give UP millions OF dollars
worth of gold il the necessary water could
be obtained. A friend of Edison's, sclen-
list of no mean repute, says:
ITO mining men this has been one OF
the greatest problems and the fact that
man like Edison was engaged IN Trying
to solve it has been a matter of the
greatest interest to them. In fact, they
have had raf5ounded faith in the ability
of the wizard of electricity to make good
mis- promises, and there are few people
now WHO will dare to assert that the
secret process will not prove success.
GREAT SECRECY.
''While ore concentrators are not new
thing, Mr.. Edison's machine is UNIQUE IN
every respect. The only man. however.
who knows the secret of Its construction
is the inventor himself, and even when 1t
is put in operation no other persons Will
snare the secret, with the exception OF a
trusted employee who will be taken from
his New Jersey laboratory to assist Mr.
Edison in its operation. The only tn'nS
that the outsiders or even the workers
at the mines will see of its workings VIII
be the gravel being dumped in the mop
per at one end and coming out at the
other end, separated from its precious
burden of gold, which will be delivered
at arcther part of the machine ready for
the work of the refiner. Those who con-
struct the machine will have no idea of
how it is operated. They will be given
certain parts of the machine to make ac-
cordiIig to designs furnished them. and
they will have no knowledge as to the
purposes for which the parts are intended.
Some idea of the secrecy with which the
concentration has been built may be gath
cred from the fact that although 1t mas
been in process of construction TOR more
tian a year the fact that the strange ma
chine was to be used for that purpose
laboratory until a few weeks ago.
LAS soon as the inventor was persuaded
that he had accomplished his object he.
proceeded to organize company to ope-
ate the machine. Mr.. Edison then pur-
chased the abandoned OrteZ Grant, in
New. Mexico, paying about 100000 for
the $4,000 acres, and it is there that the
machinery is now being installed. The
first plant is to be located at Dolores, and
others will be set up at different parts
of the territory.
Dolores lies in The very heart of the
OrteZ Grant but no one would imagine,
to look at the surrounding country, that
millions of dollars worth of gold was
concealed in the sun-baked sand. Metal
lurgists have estimated that there is be-
tween S5OO.OG9 900 and sS00010,000 in gold
buried in the rocks and gravel of those
$4,000 acres of barren New Mexican
ground.
while the history of the Ortez Grant
g1as always been regarded as somewhat
roman tic 1t Is particularly interesting
at this time when the eye of the entire
financial world is turned upon this New
Mexican waste. The original grant was
made to Antonio Artez by the Mexican
Government in 1888. but at that time it
contained more than $1,000 acres. This
grant was patented by act of Congress in
1861 ana was confirmed in 1876. A num-
Der of years ago 1900 acres of this land
was sold to the Cerrillos Coal and Iron
Company
HISTORY OR ORTEZ.
about this time the grantswas acquired
by the New Mexican Mining Company,
but in 1896 the corporation passed into the
hands of Samuel II. Ellsins, as receiver
In sDite of the fact that the property con-
tained millions of dollars in gold no one
had ever been able to make TIE property
pay The expenses of mining and transport
iation. Under the management of Mr..
Elkins, however, the property was made
TO pay SO well that all claims against
the company were settled in full and the
grant was in many ways improved. Squat
ters were driven from the land, prospects
were leased for large sums. and finally
the entie property was sold to Mr.. Ed
son.
The Ortez mine, which is the largest
and oldest Of the cre-prcdueing properties
on tic grant was located in 1882 1t was
soon III q condition to be worked quite
successfully, mule-poWer being used for
the work 1t was to obtain proper pas
turaSe for these mules that the vast
amount Of land was secured. and 1t Is
this pasturage that now constitutes the
great placer fields in which Mr.. Edison
proposes to work.
'.The first plant of the new company is
to be located in what is known as Cum
ningialn Gulcf. During the past year
many shipments of the placer ground from
the Clutch and other points In the grant
have been made from. Cerrilios. which Is
the nearest shipping point to the grant.
and all have been addressed to East
Orange, m. j. There they have undoubt-
etily been treated by the inventors new
process at his laborat tory and only Mr..
Edison and his confidants know the result
or this work That the Inventor has been
successful however, is quite evident from
the fact that such a large amount of capt
tai was seucred so easily, as well as from
the manner in which the work OF prepar-
Ing for the great final test is being pushed
in New Mexico.
From reliable sources It is learned
that the company's GIst plant win have