The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-10-05
SOME DAY CINDERS
May TURN TO GOLD
Large Factories of East Refuse
to Permit Sale of Refuse
From Furnaces.
ARE MOUNTAINS OF II
Iron Companies Have Faith in invent.
i've Genius of Age, and Expect to
Eventually Make Fortunes from
Seemingly Useless Mass.
From the Philadelphia Record.

From the Philadelphia Record.
Via the culm banks are to
the coal regions the cinder tips
are to the iron regions Of
Lehigh valley. They are the dross
from the golden stream of wealth flow
ing from the bosom of the earth, ana
they are the visible monuments of the
genius and energy of men in robbing
The treasures of nature and refining her
gifts. They are impressive only to-
the strangers eye: to those who cons
trol the destinies of the great enter
prises of which they are part and par
Gel they have up to within a compare
lively recent period been a source OF
anxiety and great expense.
' And yet there is something striking
and impressive about these
ranges OF cinder, containing millions.
upon millions of tons, which up to-
within a few years ago were deemed
comparatively worthless, but which,.
through the genius of the chemist and
the alchemy Of nature, may yet ba
transformed into mountains Of wealth.
For miles and miles the passenger ON
the Lehign Valley railroad passes these,
''crags and cliffs washed by the wa
tiers of the Lehigh, picturesque in their
of enterprise and daring, of fortunes
won and fortunes lost in the realm OF
the Gre king.
Seemingly Useless Act.
One would think that these great
iron companies would be only too glad
to get rid Of those ~disfiguEing mon
strosities on the face of nature. Ssucb..
however, is not the case. There are
furnaces and iron companies that guard
their apparently worthless cinder tips.
with a jealous eye, and one of the.
most bitterly fought cases in the IA7
h1uh III c0no vyno ,, ,-~
ny the hauling away of a lot Of cinder
for roadmaking without go-
ing through the formality Of asking
permission. The hauler thought there
was no more real ownership In cinder
than there was in the weeds that grow,
along the roadside, and when he waa.
arrested his indignation knew no
bounds. The most eminent lawyers,
were engaged on both siles, and 1t was
then and there established thai cinder
tips had a vested ownership and n
monetary value.
Today many iron companies refuse to-
part with q ton Of cinder no natter
how pressing the problem becomes of.
Its proper disposal. They hav faith ins
the inventive genius of the age. and
they know that sooner or later. in the
laboratory of some chemist. the trans
mutation Of cinder into gold will take
place..
At present all eyes are turned toward.
SAPC1 lIIiGllGS dIc 1Is
progress which, If successful, will make
lhese mountains Veritable treasures. for
they will take the place of cement
minus the expense of mining and man
ufacturlng. The cinder is ground into,
powder; that much is known. What
'other ingredients are added, if my. is,
not Known. Cement from cinder is not
yet a commercial success; but those,
whose knowledge of the subject gives
'them the light to speak with authority
"A II mar fhn nVrNnri, 49,
right track, and that it will only be.
ID question of time when cinder will
serve the same specific purposes as ce-.
inert. When that day comes there viii
'pe paens of joy, for the hundreds OF
millions of tons which at present are,
a blot upon the surface of the coun-
try and mar the beauty of the Lehieh-
will disappear.
Cinder also has a certain value as n
uertll1zer, mixed with certain chemi-
1t to Germany, but commercially i'll
does not cut much OF a figure just yet,
Inc main uses to which cinder is put
az present are for railroad ballast and,
Q making purposes. For the latter
it is an ideal material. 1t packs easilv
and quickly and to go rolling over its
smooth hard surface in an automobile.
is a delight which fingers long in mem
DRY. III raises havoc, however, With
tires before it is thoroughly
NONIi III packed.
Little iron Is Wasted.
Many people think that a great dem
OF iron is mixed with the cinder. This
is incorrect. Even when blast
We're yet in the crudest stages of their.
development little iron became mixed
With cinder when the stacks were an
ped. Those people contound the cinder
IRON blast furnaces with that from.
rolling mills, which is something alto
gether different.
No prettier sight can be imagined
n to view a dummy engine hauling
out a lot of cinder cars with the moIten
lava making and splasf1ing over the
IRON sides of the cars and mounting the
huge tips. Arriving at the designated
spot, a hook attached to a windlass
lifts up the iron box in which the Gin
der is confined. The moving p[atforTn
Of the car is tipped over and with a
roar and a kissing and spluttering =
stream of molten cinder goes pouring.
and plungiag down the serried. torn
and riVen sides of the tip, lighting IN
he heavens and the landscane fcr
niles around. And the dream of me
owners of all this dross is that it nav
yet become gold!