Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-07
WASTE IN THE WEST
Neglect Of Valuable Material
in the Mines and Forest.
DAYS DEMONSTRATION
AN OBJECT LESSON AT THE
LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPOSITION.
Wealth of Rich Men of Classic Times
A Present That Failed to
Reach the President.
DAYS DEMONSTRATION
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record


Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
BY VIM. E. CURTIS.
Riches are so abundant in the western
states that those who seek them are very
wasteful and reckless The amount of
valuable material neglected or wasted in
the mines, forests fisheries and farming
communities west of the Mississippi river
would support nation like Germany or
France. The great majority of people who
have been and are engaged in the develop
ment of the natural resources of the west
utilize only the most profitable discoveries
and results of their labors, and throw away
the rest Occasionally Yankee, who has
not forgotten the lessons taught by the
struggles of his ancestors, and has not en-
tirely discarded the habits of thrift which
his mother taught him, is able to devise
methods by which a great deal of wastage
is prevented; but the cow-man still buys
oleomargarine and other substitutes;
the lumberman wastes one-third of his
timber, and the miner leaves on the ground
valuable tailings which he has no time to
work. This hab bit of wastefulness Is pecu-
liarly American. 1t cannot be found In any
other nation or on any other continent save
ours.
The geological survey has scheme to
teach gold miners lessons in economy by
which 1t is hoped to increase the mineral
value of the output of the western states by
utilizing valuable ores and earths which
are now wasted or neglected, and ii is pro-
posed to offer an object lesson in this re-
spect at the Lewis and Clarke exposition at
Portland this summer.
There are about 1900 placer mines now
being worked in the mountain regions of
the west, (which no care is taken to pre-
serve the by-products. 1t is proposed to
begin the reform with them. In placer
mining, after the gold has been washed out
of the clay or dirt there always remains 4
quantity of heavy metallic sand and other
material of more or less value. The most
prevalent mineral is magnetite-a magnetic
oxide of iron, which is worth about $40 a
ton. And almost always traces of platinum
can be found, which is worth $50 an ounce
one of the most valuable of minerals.
ChroInite is another common mineral that
is ignored by miners, although 1t is worth
from SO to $40 ton, and various others
offer permanent and profitable industry
to miners who now throw them the
dumps.
In order to bring about a reform, pi-
rector Walcott of the geological survey has
issued circular to placer miners through
out the United States asking them to send
In to the office at Washington packa ges OF
not less than four pounds of the black sand
and heavy residue material from their
washings. Each package will be analysed
and classified. and experts will be sent to
make personal and thorough examinations
of all the localities where preliminary tests
give promise of finding platinum or other
metals in profitable quantities. DR.. David
7. Day will carry on concentration expert
ments with such materials in the mining
building at Portland all this summer. He
proposes to show by daily public expert
ments what there is of value in the sands
which now wasted, and how to get 1t
out Already several samples have been
examined. and not only have valuable min
erals been found. but also several diamonds
of commercial value, a quantity of small
rubies. which may be used as jewels by
watchmaxers, and occasionally a topaz
other jewel. One sample of black sand sent
in from mine was about - per cent bird
shot which indicates that there was
great deeal of poor shootieng in the neigh
borhood from which it came