The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-05

IOWA men BACK IT
Project to Briquette North Dakota
Ignite at the Mines at
New Salem.
Low Cost Fuel for Western People
What the Experts in Ger
many Say.
Special to The Journal.

Special to Tbs Journal.
Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 5.-Northern
Iowa capitalists are planning to enter ON
an important movement for the develop
ment Of the Ignite fields OF North Dakota
It is proposed to install briquetting ma
chlnery and turn out briquettes at New
Salem. N. D. The company that is under
taking the project is the North Dakota
Ignite Coal company. The men inter-
ested are A. D. Clarke of Algona, Mayor
Eugene Schaffter of Eagle Grove and
other capitalists who were a ssociated with
Clarke in the purchase two or three years
ago of 434,000 acres of land in the region
of Bismarck. The speculation turned. out
to be enormously profitable. The syndi-
cate sold out about three -fourths of its
land and plans to sell the rest, but it
will retain about 10000 acres near New
Salem for coal lands.
Mayor Schaffter of Eagle Grove has
taken q deep interest in the possibilities
Of briquetting the Ignite of North Da-
kota and has been making extensive in
vestigatimls. He has carried on cor.
respQndence for some time with the
America II consul general at Berlin and
with the German manufacturers of bri-
quoting presses. Samples of the Ignite
have been sent to Germany. The experts
in Germany who have seen these samples
say that the experiments show the Da-
hold llSH1Lt: ctIi US Lldue IlllO CledH duO
excellent briquettes. that are practically
smokeless and dustless and without the
use Of any binder or matriX to hold the
material together. Encouraged on every
hand, che North Dakota Lignite Coal COM
pany will install a plant at New Salem
that will turn out about $50 tons a day.
AS a result of his Investigations, Mayor
Schaffter estimates that aside from the
actual cost of the Ignite it will not cost
tn r. Il
quettes. A ton of this product would be
twice as efficient from a fuel standpoint
as soft coal. The process Of brfquettine
consists in ,pulverizing it through ma
chine which presses it into small bricks OF
blocks of coal. The briquettes are much
more highly carbonized than the Ignite
and in fact the briGuetted Ignite is a
dangerous rival for anthracite.
The new company is confident it will be
able to supply Minneapolis. st. Paul, Sioux
City and other large cities within an easy
| radius Of the Dakotas with an excellent
fuel and at a low figure and that 1t vii
be able to do this in spite OF the com
| petition of Illinois and eastern coal anc
in spite of the gross determinations ir
! freight rates that the Northern Pacific
and Great NORTHERN are said to be guilty
Of. The Northern Securities merger tend:
to hurt the prospects Of the company ane
its officers indicate pretty plainly tina
they would like to see the merger dis
solved. It is a common practice for Goa
coming to the system from the burlington
to be allowed to go through for an ex.
| tremely low freight rate.
| Governor Cumnins has written the
Louisiana Purchase exposition manage
ment to the effect Iowa will send regi
| ment of troops to the st. Louis dedication
| April 80. 1t is not yet decided what regi
ment will be taken.