The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-08-07

Among the many Industries in which
the United States leads all other coun-
tries is the production Of salt The first
record Of salt making in this country was
at Onondaga Lake In l7SS when brine was
reduced In a kettle over an open fire.
Since then deposits have been discovered
in many States. and salt has been made
from sea water on the oceans and at salt
Lake, where the Mormon Church IS a
large producer. New York and Michigan
produce at present from two-thirds to
three-fourth Of the total product In
round numbers. this country produces
100000 tons annually. compared to Great
Britain's 100000. Russia's 100000. Ger
mauy's $4,000, Frances 10000, and In
dia's 100000
The largest salt producing State is
Michigan, Yet less than fifty years ago.
when the East Saginaw Salt Manufactur-
ing Company asked the Michigan legisla-
ture for q bounty Of 10 cents a barrel on
salt made IN the State. the enterprise
was regarded humOrously 4 member Of
the legislature moved the adoption of an
amendment making the bounty 10 cents
a bushel. and it was adopted. The bill
was changed to its original text. how
ever. before it was passed and the state
refused payment when a bounty on 1000
barrels was claimed at the end of the
first year The case went 10 the highest
court before settlement was secured.
Within the last forty years the product
IN Michigan has expanded from 1900 bar
rels year 10 +0e40a0.
New York is next to Michigan as a
salt producer, and has an interesting his
tory in the industry. When large beds
Of rock salt were found near Syracuse
the problem of how 10 work the mines
prohtably was presented. To the genius
Of ". B. Cogswell, a noted mining en-
gineer. was due the development of the
deposits. It was found that the beds
although deep in the earth. were upon a
higher level than Syracuse. Mr.. Cogs-
well hit upon the idea of siphoning the
brine to Syracuse for evaporation. He
drove a well to the salt bed, putting one
pipe inside Of another, and BY forcing
fresh water down the large pipe, and
creating suction through the smaller one,
he produced a stream of brine which has
since been supplying the salt works. This
Yankee trick made salt making practi-
cable in that locality, and since that time
Syracuse has been a great salt and soda
center
Until tic Colorado River overlooked the
Salton Sink in California. near the Mex
lean border, and destroyed the industry
there salt was made Ia a basin 26i feet
below sea level In a temperature So high
that none but japanese and CoahuiIa In
dams could ice persuaded 10 undertake the
labor The sink. 1900 acres in extent, was
covered with a crust of salt formed by
the crystallizatioa Of the waters Of salt
springs draining into it. The crust was
dazzling white and from ten 10 twenty
inches thick. 1t was plowed into ridges
visa a broad shallow steam pl0w. stacked
f. cones. washed. sacked and hauled 10
the mills BY moonlight the sink was a
Strangely beautiful picture. the effect be-
ing that Of a field OF snow in tropical
desert. IN daytime there were often
mirages in wEich Towering fields and
majestic cities could DE seen. The place
produced about zoo tons of salt a day.
In 1880 the legislative council of Florida
passed an act Incorporating the La Fay
cite Salt Works which had a capital
stock of S75,O)00l0, and it was predicted
that salt making by Cooperating water
from the shadows about the Florida keys
would be the most remunerative industry
IN the United States but very little came
OF it. in Massachusetts salt is made from
sea water by evaporation but the indus
try is not large one. New Yorks salt
IS made by diss0lyins tie rock salt hun
dreds Of feet below the surface and re-
crystallizing il. Pennsylvania, Ohio. and
West Virginia have salt wells. Virginia
produces rock salt al Saltyille, in the Hol-
ston Valley In Kansas rock salt is
mined directly as well as produced from
wells in the form Of brine. Louisiana
rock salt is mined, and great galleries ex-
tend under the earth. some Of them being
20 feet long, % feet wide, aGd 65 feet deep.
On jefferson Island behring's nearly 200
feet deep have not extended entirely
through the rock salt Oklahoma salt is
produced from the evaporation of brine
flowing from springs along the Cimarr0n
River Texas produces considerable
quantity of salt by evaporating the water
Of lagoons on the Gulf Coast. and from
wells located mostly In Van Zandt and
Anderson counties IN New Mexico,
Idaho, Utah and Nevada are many shall
low lake basins from which salt is made
by simple evaporation. Since the Salton
Sink has been flooded. CALIFORNIA; only
production Of this commodity in CONNER
cial quantities is from sea water evap-
GRATED under peculiarly favorable condi-
tons on the east side of San Francisco
Bay
A salt-trade fight that benefited the
consumer was one waged among Kan
sas. Ohio. and New York for the con-
troll of the sale of ground rock salt \
Cleveland business man who loved a
trade fight for its own sake determined
10 achieve supremacy in this market He
decided that hoUsekeepers were not in
terested in cut prices on a cOmmodity
SO cheap as salt had grown, and he set
out 10 improve the quality. To his efforts
and those of his competitors are due the
fact that America now has table salt
that does not clog in the cruet At the
Columbian Exposition he exhibited this
product in an immense hour glass
through which it ran ike dry sand.
The United States became the leading
sa1t-producing country in 1885,. outranking