Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-11-27
THE VIEWS OF
AN EXPERT

Lying at its very doors Danyille
has all the material that is required
for the building up of a great and pro-
titabIe industry that would enrich its
citizens an give the town a prominence
that would extend far and wide. All
that is needed is for the local capital
lists to awake to "a full realization of
their opportunity and to proceed at
once to the development of the enter
prise !"
Such in effect were the words of
George Francis, an expert in the man
ufacture of vitrifed brick who is at
present i'll DanviIle.
Mr. Francis, who is foreman of Man
ufacturing under the Vitrifed Brick
and Tile Company of COffeyyille,
Kansas, conducted the experiments
last winter with the shalo sent ont
from this city, which resulted in the
discovery that the deposit here in
quality is simply unsurpassed for the
IlItllul tClulf VI NltllilNNl VI II ~ liz W lN
born in DanvilIe and spent many yeaIs
of his life here. He sees a great Op-
portunity for his native town and the
object of his present visit is to assist
in the organization of Il company to
manufacture vitriied brick.
The gentleman was interviewed
Monday afternoon by Il representative
of the Morning News. Mr. Francis left
Danville sixteen years ago. When he
became identified with the manufac-
ture OF vitrified brick at Coffeyville the
business was in its infancy. He has
seen the industry grow from a hum
BILE beginning, when some forty men
were employed, until it reached its
present dimensions embracing four
large plants and employing many
hundred men. He is a good authority,
therefore, on the methods of manu-
facture and the relative value of the
shale used as we'll as the demand for
and supply of vitrifed bricks and the
profit that lie, in rhe business.
As to the quality of the DanvilIe
shale which as is generally known,
lies along the p. &. r. railway just
north of the borough, Mr.. Francis
states, it is far more valuable than the
big deposits near Cotfeyville, which up
to last winter had always been con
sidered the best in the United States.
The superiority of the Danvillo
shale lies in the larger percentage Of
iron, which in the process Of burning,
meIts and gives the finished brick the
hardness and durability of granite
itself Mr.. Francis showed the News
man a Danville brick manufactured at
the Coffeyville plant, which is twice as
heavy as an ordinary brick. Accord
ing TO the expert it surpasses in value
anything manufactured in the United
States.
In regard to the demand for vitriti-
ed brick Mr.. Francis is of the opin-
ion that that may be relied upon to
take care of itself. In many localities
of the west shale brick have crowded
the ordinary mud brick nearly out of
the market and are used instead Of the
latter for sidewalks and in building,
even for foundation purposes. The
general demand is always greater than
the supply.
Mr. Francis thinks that a plant
could he operated here with maxim
um Of profit. The ground has been Sc
deposit, which seems unlimited in eX-
tent, is remarkably easy o1 access.
While at Coffeyville the shale has to
be blasted loose and at places raised
from a considerable depth all that
would be required here would be to
shovel it down from the mountain
side where in the form of gravel it
lies in a loose deposit.
1t is very much to be hoped that
Mr.. Francis may be able to interest
some of our practical business men, as
according to the facts set forth there
would seem to be a rare opportunity
to build up a new and fourIShing in
dustry in DanvIile.