Evening star., 1901-09-14

then bored to the bottom of the salt bed.
heavy iron pipe is then sunk In this hole
10 the top of the salt. Inside of this pipe
Is placed another 2h inches in diameter
eAtendin9 to within ten or fifteen feet OF
the bottom of the salt bed. The small pipe
ana the larger one incasing it are then
connected at the top in such a way that
thefe shall be no leakage. Water is then
pipe. The pressure forces the brine 70 the
surface in the larger pipe. This brine car
ries about % per cent of its weight I'm salt
II Is conducted into tanks and allowed to
setue. From these pans the brine is run
on into eyaporating pans Some of the
evaporating plants are run by artificial heat
ana and others utilize the power of the sun.
Inc Inc processes vary slightly in detail. but
tne principle underlying them all is the
same The solar process Is as old as the
history of man.
Views Of GeoIosists.
The biologists tell US that when the earth
was half cool and the water of the seas
Heated in clouds around the earth that
Chloride of sodium salt was deposited
in enormous quantities upon the land, and
that when the water in the clouds was
precipitated such salt as was still upon
the surface was washed into the sea- One
thirteenth of the weight of sea water is
salt, and II the water of all the oceans
was evaporated 1t would leave enough salt
to cover the land of the six continents 200
feet deep with the snowy product We are
told that In the Permian age the Gulf Of
Mexico extended far to the northwest Of
Its present confines. Volcanic disturbances
raised the land somewhere to the south OF
Kansas and left a great inland sea of salt
wat water: This evaporated and deposited the
salt In the lowest places. Overlooking
again and again, 1t established anew each
time muddy bottom, and then as the
water dried another layer Of salt. This
accounts for the beds Of shale which di-
O1-fp in
of varying thickness. Then the floods
ceased and the continent became high and
dry. The delta earth filled the low places,
and by the time the globe was ready for
ished sea was covered by 400 feet Of soil
upon which now stand the homes of thou
sands OF prosperous farmers.
This same process has been gone through
in many other parts of the world. and de-
posits of salt in Europe have been even
greater than those in this country. In the
city of Wflliczka, in Polish Austria, the
salt mines are so old, having been worked
for over 500 years. that the people almost
live underground. There are houses,
churches and other accessories of towns
hundreds of feet under the ground sculp-
tured out of the glistening salt In Eng
land the great mines at Ashton have been
operated for years by the evaporating
plants; in fact, they have been worked SO
long that curious condition has resulted.
When the water goes down into the earth
on It's mission of absorption 1t goes first
to the bottom of the salt vein. When this
is exhausted 1t works up until 1t strikes
a layer of Shale When enough of the
salt underneath has melted away this shale
breaks down. exposing a new salt bed
above. The same process is repeated until
an enormous cavern results. In Ashton
this cavern became OF such dimensions that
the entire town caved into sea of brine.
Tariff on the Article.
The United States imposes tariff OF s
do oil
brought into this country in bulk and II
cents per hundred pounds on salt in pack
ages. There is very little foreign salt used,
and this only at the seacoast. at the fishing
villages and other places where 1t can be
brought in ballast by ships coming from
abroad and seeking a cargo. The tarin
benefits no one but the railroads. for the
railroads would reduce their freights from
the interior to the seaboard points to such
an extent as to make foreign competition
almost impossible even if there was free
trade in salt. The salt producer gets no
benefit from the tariff, nor does it have the
slightest effect upon the price made to the
consumer. The imposition or removal Of
the tariff, therefore, is a matter of indiffer-
ence to the salt industry.
An interesting feature of the salt busi-
ness Is the fact that the lumbermen Of
Michigan are controlling factor in maxi
ing the price of salt to a very large propor-
ton of the people Of the United States.
and their slabs for making barrels: hence
they can produce salt from the Michigan
beds at an incredibly low cost for they use
in its manufacture only the refuse from
their lumber business These lumbermen
make complaint when the price of salt is
high. for they sell all they make to the salt
trust, and they want 1t taken away as fast
as they manufacture It. These lumber
mills in Michigan, state which produces
100000 barrels of salt every year, really
determine the price of salt upon the Chi
cago market, which absorbs 1900. 900 bar
rels every twelve months.
Salt lands have no value whatever except
as the surface of the country may be de-
sirable for other purpose than the produce
tion Of the salt which lies beneath. When
1t was announced not long ago that Joe
Jefferson had discovered valuable salt de-
posits under his land in Louisiana salt men
laughed, for the same could be said of the
land belonging to people in thirty
states. II salt is found valuable in medi-
cine for the purpose of prolonging life. and
thereby becomes a drug. there can be no
corner engineered by the drug trust, and
there will be eternal life for millions under
their very feet. ]. D. WHELPLEY.