The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-12-14
Deal is the Most important in the His
tory Of the Phosphate Industry in
the state-Messrs. J. n. Car
- penter and J. W. Howard
n Largely Interested.

The big phosphate deal, which has
been pending for the past two months
IL at last reality, the Anal papers
necessary to the deal having been re
Geived Sunday. The deal Is the iarg'
est and most important In the history
Of the phosphate industry OF the State
hsnot OF the entire South. The Ten
uessee Fertilizer Company, Of Co
mmbia, of which Messrss J. H. Car
penter and J. w. Howard. OF this
place, are the controlling stockhold.
ers, made the sale. The Independent
Phosphate Company, new organiza'
ton, Is the purchaser The lndepen'
dent Phosphate Company Is compos-
ed of twenty independent fertilizer
companies located in many States in
the Union and scattered from New
York to Florida The Tennessee
Fertilizer Company rs interested In
the holding company, while a Nash
tiIle company is another of the inter
ested parties AS to the price-well,
you'll have to guess at that, and you'd
best put your figures pretty high Mr..
Carpenter, when seen by the Herald
man, said they were not prepared to
give out the price. Rumor has placed
It at a million dollars, but whatever
it is, it is large, for the property trans
1erred is most valuable.
II This property consists of the Solita
! mines. near Mt. Pleasant, of 100 acres,
the Satterfield mines near Carriers
Greek of 140 acres, the Estes Bend
property, west of Columbia, of 425
acres, and the Leatherwood property,
located in Maury and Hickman coun-
ties of 1900 acres. The first three
tracts named hold large bodies OF
high grade brown rock The Leather
wood tract has an immense body Of
high grade blue rock The total ton
mage included in the deal is variously
estimated at from four to eight mil
lion tons. While the Leatherwood tract
contains more rock than the other
three combined, this track is not so
valuable as the other three on account
Of it's inaccessability, as it is located
some sixteen miles from railroad
The Independent Phosphate Com
pany has taken charge of the property
and mining on the Maury county
tracts will continue without let up
Offices will be opened at an early date
in Columbia with Mr.. Frederic Hardy,
formerly with Carpenter & Co., at
Mt Pleasant, in change 1t is proba-
BILE that railroad will be constructed
to the Leatherwood property within
year and mining will then be opened
up on that land. The route this road
will take has not been determined up
on. There are two possible routes,
one leaving the N, F. & S. between
Columbia and Mt. Pleasant, and the
other leaving the N, G. & st. L. near
Lyles Station.
The deal is the result of the fiuctu-
ations in the phosphate markets.
Many of the Independent companies
found it difficult to get all the high
grade rock needed without the incon-
venience of delay. They we're also un.
able to figure accurately on future con-
tracts for the delivery of fertilizer on
account of the fluCtuation in prices
of phosphate rock. Under the present
plan they will have at all times a plen-
tiful supply of high grade rock at an
even price 1t Is not thought the sale
will have any influence on the phos-
plate rock market, as the amount Of
rock removed from the market over
balances the number or purchasers
interested in the deal
The deal in no way affects the large
fertilizer business controlled by
Messrs. Carpenter and Howard, in fact,
these gentlemen. will have more time,
to devote to this feature of their
large business. They control large
fertilizer factory at Montgomery, an
other at Albany. Ca, and smaller fac
tories at Columbus, Ca, and Talladega,
Ala They also own one Of the most |
productive pyrites mines in the Union,
located near Talladega.