The Washburn leader., 1900-12-08
COKE FROM LIGNlrE. /
L. z. Letter of Chicago Experiment
Ing With North Dakota Fuel.

ASA0 With NOEtu Oa1&Vt6 = UCAs
The development of the great Ignite
coal fields at Wilton, N. D., on the line
of the Bismarck, Washburn & Great
Falls railway, is being pushed as rap
idly as possible. In the new mine, just
equipped with:an electric mining plant,
the output at present exceeds 100 tons
per day, and this amount will be.
doubled during the present week. The
development is not to stop at 200 tons.
as the, company expects to increase the
capacity to 400 tons per day before
Jan. 1. ,s,S;, ).
The demands for the Ignite article in
North Dakota are far in excess of the
supply. Owing to inadequate facilities.
the company has made no attempt to
enlarge the demand created by natural
conditions; but with its improved
methods of operation it is hoped that
the local consumers will be taken care
of by Jan. 1. Just row the company
has orders for more than 100 car loads
on its books, which cannot be filled for
some time. y -.
Senator Washburn says that once the
local demand is satisfied, he will dc. his
best to secure favorable freight rates
tAGLS WILL C1At1OAC luS.rSOAlPaAy W SAAP
the coal to Minneapolis and st. Paul.
With reasonable rates, he is confident
that he can furnish coal to Twin City
consumers at a less price than coal
has ever been sold IN the Northwest.
A feature of the opening of the new
mines is the widespread interest ex-
cited by the reports of the quality Of
the Ignite found in such unlimited
quantities. L. 2. Letter, president OF
the Universal Fuel company of Chtca-
go. and one of the best known capital-
lists in the country, has become greatly
interested in the possibilities of an In.
dustrial revolution throughout the
West and Northwest by means OF the
cheap coal at the Wilton mines. Mr.
Letter wrote Senator Washburn some
time ago, informing him regarding
new method of coking coal, which shas
proved highly satisfactory. By this
process, coal of comparatively poor
quality has been coked satisfactorily,
the results obtained being revelation
to coal men. Mr.. Letter asked for
supply Of the North Dakota Ignite for
the purpose of making some expert
ments. A supply was sent, and the re-
suits achieved were very satisfactory
hut in order to satisfy himself fully.
Mr.. Letter requested that full car
load of average coal be sent to Chica-
20. Mr.. Washburn at once dispatchea
car to the coking works of the Uni
versal Fuel company, but the expert
ments have not yet been concluded.
From Mr.. Letters favorable observa-
tions however, he Is certain tnat inc
Ignite car be coked.
If the ccal can be coked SATISFACTORY
ly, 1t can he used extensively for pur-
poses of smelling, as well as for domes-
tic use. Said Mr.. Washburn:
"I have just returned from Wilton
where our new electric mining machin-
cry is in successful operation. The
company is gratif1ed at Mr.. Letters IN
teresl in our Ignite, which is. unques-
tionably, the finest article of its klnd
to be found in North Dakota. In fact,
it has no superior anywhere In the
country. With the new coking process
recommended by Mr.. Letter, we conf
IDENTIFY expect to accomplish wonders.
am doing everything possible to push
the DEVELOPMENT of the mines to meet
the local supply, and when that is done
we will turn our attention to st. Paul
and Minneapolis. We feel that the
problem Of cheap fuel for the Twin
Cities. as we'll as the entire Northwest.
is fast approaching solution. There Is
no doubt about the quality of our coal.
It has been thoroughly tested by ex-
perts, and the only thing we wish to
be assured Of now is that 1t can be
coked. If that can be done, there is q
oraa+ fold for ,ls among the SmelterS
Of Duluth, Great Falls and Butte"