Smyrna times., 1904-08-10
WANTS TO EXPLORE BELOW
THE SURFACE OF DELAWARE
CASHIER WALTER MORRIS OF FARMERS
BANK, DOVER, OFFERS SUGGESTIONS.
Thinks There is aPrObabiIityOf Making Some
Interesting Discoveries and Invites Aid Of
State and GOvernme ut Authorities.

One summer evening several sea-
sons ago l was sitting under the trees
ia front of the Capitol Hotel, Dover,
conversing with a stranger from Alli-
ance. Ohio. He was asking about
Dover and the surrounding country.
told him our town was a pleasant
place in which to live but its growth
was very slow. Our county was pure
ly agricultural and we thought our
State was destitute of minerals, and
we did not believe there was any coal,
gas, oil or anything of value beneath
the surface. "How do you know"
he asked. "We don't know re-
piled, ''but our state is an alluvial
formation" eyes, for a hundred
feet" he SAID, "but what is under
that?" He then told me when he
went to live in Alliance some years
ago the people there had told him
there was nothing under the surface
He said he was gong to bore and see.
The State geOlogist of Ohio told him
he would waste his money. However
he went ahead and bored and struck
gas in a little while and to-day his
town is quite manufacturing centre
and he Is running a large factory and
using natural gas as fuel.
He then remarked, 81 could not
live in Dover year without trying to
find out whether there is anything
under this town"
Mineral Discoveries Have Been Accidental.
have often repeated this conversa-
tion and added a little theory of my
own. 1t is that the General Govern
ment and the State Government should
aid the people in searching for de-
posits under the surface. Most of the
great mineral discoveries have been
accidental. Why not make a system
attic search for our hidden wealth all
over the country? There are about
$500 counties in the United States. If
the General Government would offer
to contribute $1,000 to each county if
the State would offer them a like sum
and upon condition that the citizens
would subscribe $4,000 for their coun-
ty, this would raise fund of $4,000 for
each county and $4,000, 900 for the
whole country.
This would only cost the Govern
ment $4,000, 600, supposing every coun-
- az accepted the offer. If the Govern
ment would make this offer good for
only three years, what an incentive il
would be to boring and prospecting.
When we think the General Govern
ment has expended several hundred
millions of dollars in the past few
years in the Philippines this does not
seem large amount to expend in In
vestigating the mineral wealth of our
country.
We protect our manufacturers with
our tariff laws; why not do something
to develop our mineral wealth? An
agricultural department was estab-
lished few years ago, with good re-
suits, why not mining department?
Our agricultural interests have the
first place, but our mineral wealth is 6
close second.
Might Be Money Well Invested for Delaware
Would not money invested in pros
pecting and boring in an Intelligent
manner bear a harvest of a hundred
fold? Would not every farmer in the
land approve of this outlay? WoulC
not many of them be willing to Civ,
something to have the resources of his
own county investigated provided they
were sure the money was honestly
expended? Take our own State fol
instance. Has any one ever boreC
down through the rock that lies un
der the soil? We always must e
through the rock to reach oil or gas
oil is always found below sea level; i
there is any under Delaware it ma,
not be so deep. A few years ago tn
only extensive oil producing region
were the fields of Pennsylvania an,
Western New York in this countr,
and of Baku on tongue of land Oh
the shores of the Caspian Sea. Th
oil wells there are often on the edge O
the water and indeed some of the Dor
ing has been done in the shalIo,
water. In ten years our little pocke
Of oil il Pennsylvania and New Yor
has extended northward into Canada
and southwark through West Virginia
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ken
tucky, Tennessee, Texas and Cali
fornia. The oil belt is now over
thousand miles long and four hundre
miles wide. How do we know it ma
not be longer and wider in ten years
Ii it increases In width it may take /
Delaware. 1 know the oils of th
United States are chiefly found i
rocks of the Devonian age, but th
oils of the Baku fields, which are in
nnAnRa rroducara ooour - A. n