Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1900-12-27

Chicago Record Correspondent Tells
What Has Been Done Along
the Washburn Road.
Bismarck Correspo dence in Chicago
Record Lignite coal, chemically
treated and comp ressed into conde densed
fuel, promises to he one Of the.sub-
stantial prod icts Of N orth Dakota, and
at least locally may repoluti ionize the,
fuel problem.
Brique uettes' manufactured from
coal at Wilton have been tested by the
No1lthern Pacific railway, and the pro
duct has been ships ito many east
ern manllfactl ctllring centers 10 be-
tested. Former Senator w. d. Wash
burn of Minnesota is at the head Of
the enterprise and the company mines
are running ait full capacity with all
Of the modern machinery and appli-
ances.
Mr.. WashlbuTm began a little over a
year ago to lay out a railroad from
Bismarck to Great Falls, passing along.
the Missouri river and through the
great judith basin in Montana The
project was largely a matter OF pride.
with Washburn, as lying forty miles
north OF Bismarck lis a little town,
the county seat Of Mclean county,
manned Washburm after the Minnesota
statesman Years ago the town was
laid out and named by John Satter-
lulnd, receiver of bhe United States
land Office at Bismarck J, and General
WashbuIm promised him that at some
time he would build a railroad there
to. The town Lies in the center of a
fertile farming country, of millions OF
broad acres, undulating gently for
hundreds OF miles from the center and
furnishing wheat for many mills and
cattle for many slaughter pens. The
possibilities of development of this
region aroused the old railroad build
ing spirit in WashbuTn and he bought
115,O0O acres of the land the most
fertile in the great valley, from the
Northern Pacific railway company, Of
whose land grant it was a part. This
land was mapped off in tracts and a
value per acre set on each tract "a
right off way was secured and the
building of the road begun.
For thirty miles the road was built
and General Washburn built a town
as a terminal At Wilton, the present
terminal of the road, Washburn
bought two sections OF land at q small
value per acre. Land in the vicinity
was in many cases hardly deemed
worth paying taxes on Thousands
upon thousands Of acres Of land were
to be had for So am acre and sli ghtly
higher. Hardly had the town estab-
Hshed by Washburn begun to grow
when a discovery was made that reYo-
lutionized the railroad building enter.
prise, and, instead OF a hopeless and
,dreary business prospect, 1t became a
flattering one This discovery was
slignite coal. Underlying the land
were millions OF tons of the best lig-
mite coal in the west It approached
bituminous in hardness and percent
age Of carbon and General Washburn
set about Immediately toward the de-
velopment Of this important dis
covery. Fss s5
Eastern capita lists and coaa experts
were interested. r. w. Hazelton, who
had for many years been coal expert
in Chic, came out and looked over the
mime. He pronounced the coal good
and the discovery promising The
mines were opened with d shaft and
electrical machinery ordered. Orders
began to polll, in for housands of tons
OF the fuel for local consunSpt ption be-
fore it was possible to supply fric-
tion Of the demand The capacity of
sthe machinery was increased until an
output of eral hundred tons a day
was possible and profitable freight
traffic was created for 5uhe new roa q.
yith the interest Of eastern capitalists
came another interesting discovery.
This was that q process was possible
whereby the Ignite coal could be
treated with heat the waiter and gases
driven on and the remainder treated
with d chemical compound OF which
sorghum was am element and bound
into briquettes, of about the size Of
anthracite GOALS. being composed Of
nearly pure carbon, and burning with
b fierce heat The cost Of the process
was SLIGHT and the results, when
tested satisfactory. Up to the pres