davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21
~S@ZT ~ OF N7TCI1T CIV z.

running from north to south at a depth Of
from 400 to 800 feet and abou fifty miles
wide. This has been tapped at a number
OF places. Hutchinson now claims the
largest salt plant in the world, and Anthony
claims the purest product.
Salt was discovered in Hutchinson dur
ing the great Kansas boom OF the latter
sos, Willis l.. Moore, one Of the leading
salt men Of the State told me, by a man
named Ben Blanchard. Blanchard saw the
possibilities Of the business and vent East
TO get money. He started bach from Terre
Haute, Ind, with a full train Of Pullman
sleepers loaded with capitalists. He had
not a cent to his name, end when he got to
Chicago tho railroad people held up his train
and sidetraoked it out by the stock yards,
whore It stood two days while Blanchard
went down among the bankers to get 1t
started. He succeeded, and landed his
moneyed men in Hutchinson and got them
Interested in his schemes.
The vaiue Of the salt deposits OF Utah
and Nevada cannot be estimated. they are
90 great in extent and are az yet so slightly
developed. To one OF The salt lakes OF
Nevada farmers 20 once or twice a year, and
raking b bed for the settling from a sum-
u1cr y Evaporation ger al the salt That they
can haul away in a few hour work. On
the desert Of southern California salt In
turned up in burrows by disc ploushs and
slowed in great ricks like hay. Along the
Pacific coast salt 10 obtained by apora-
ton Of sea water. This spring 10000 tons
Of this glistening white harvest was gathered
at San Pedro. near Los Angeles.
The manner Of extracting the salt from
the shallow lagoons along the Mexican
coast 10 simple and curious. A layer about
a quarter Of an inch in thickness OF earth
that has been exposed to sea water 10
scraped up. carried on the workmen's heads
and dumped on a hut with a FIAT roof OF
straw. The water seeping through this
primitive filter is caught in an earthen Jar
and then exposed for evaporation in the.
sun. "
In North Africa salt Ia so abundant that
in sections where rain seldom falls blocks
OF 1t are used as stone for building houses.
On the Sahara I ave seen precipitations
from the salt winds Of the Mediterranean
blown against the hot desert air that
covered the ground for miles. giving every
appearance Of a snowstorm. The lap
landers have no salt and the bark OF the fir
tree Ia used az a substitute. They gather
this in the spring. dry 1t, place it in boxes.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

again, saturated with salt. After tho brine
has been secured it Is ev~aporated by srti-
fetal heat in large iron watts. Fuel thus
becomes an important consideration. A
New York salt man old ME that il took
a ton Of coal to nine barrels OF salt. The
improved machinery Of larger plants now
gives better results.
Michigan developed FER salt supply
early because in that State the lumber
business N salt refining went hand in
hand. In the northern part Of the State
in connection with many OF the lumber
camps salt wells were sunk and the refuse
and scraps from the sawmills were used
as fuel to keep the salt water pumps going.
But with the depletion OF the forests this
cheap fuel has disappeared and as a re-
suit many of the wells have been put out Of
business.
The effect Of the loss OF a, local supply
OF fuel is especially noticeable in southern
and southeastern Ohio. Without the wood
from neighboring forests II didn't pay 20
operate the wells and hundreds OF pumps
that in early days we're active are now In
runis.
while the industry has fallen into :he
hands of big operators and immense plants,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

the system is not in the units OF raw. Il is
in the multiplication of unnecessary salaries.
Some OF the departments are especially
overrun. On the Department Of Commerce
the bureaus are manned for the most part
by a chief. a deputy chief, a chief clerk and
a copying clerk; that is all. Yet in the State
savings bank administration one chief,
mnaided, directs a force of ic6 employees.
nahSing the central administration as a
whole the average is one chief and one
deputy Tor nine employees. In the Ministry
OF the Interior sixty-four superior EMPLOYEES
manage 2,s subalterns.
Strange stories are told Of the results
OF thus overmanning the service. Many
a public servant earns his pay and his
pension holding down o chair in a boulevard
Gaze Lately IL was discovered that there
we're three governors for the Islands Of 81.
Plerre and Miguelon. whose pay absorbed
mlnistrator Of another colony, drawing
from 81. 400 to 81 800 in fees. il was found.
had never been in the colony.
lhe Ministry Of the Colonies is. in fact.
notned OF scandals. The present Minister,
spasm Just after taking Office. He dis
suissd himself as a colonial and made
VISITS TO several bureaus, which were
nTto.iousiy lax. In every one he vas
were out. In some cases he found no one
put the orioe boy-it is true they were
bureaus with duties worse than vague.
n, Minister lacked up the whole staff
lhsn hs waited a week and repeated his
visit. DE found exactly the same condi-
ton prevailing, The oficisl mind had
inquired II out that no timc was 80 safe 20
commit an offence as Just after a warning,
because nobody would expect you 10 COM
init. IL then.
There is only one day in the year when
every one Is sure TO show up that ia The
DAY known in Partisan slang as the festival
OF SAINT Touche, a term which does nv
need translation.
IN a Few Of this bureaus wh.re a chef
WIN old fashioned ideas of disciplins in
sisss on a full daily attendance Of his subor-
olnates they have invented an excitinc
way OF passing the time, They hold snail
races; Each member OF tbs sian bring a
healthy; lusty. live snsil. in e little cardboard
oox; Alternately .thsy supply a leaf Of
cabbsge. The leaf 10 placed at one end Of a
vsrnished table and tbs snails, each properly
marked Tor identification, about four feet
on. II costs a couPls Of sous 70 enter
your snail, and ths man whose Representa-
tive first reaches this csbbas sc leaf takes
ths purse. Besides. naturally. side bey
are iaid on the detsils Of the race.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

A ~sunburnt. travel tired man remarked to
a friend at an uptown club hast evening that
he had Just returned from central Asia,
where on the great upland plains north Of
India he had madea an examination Of a new
find of salt for a European Government
and a syndicate of manufacturers do
governments and salt men keep that close
a tab on a substance SO abundant n
cheap" his friend asked.
The Consuls and financial agents Of every
country keep a close lookout for new fields
and for new processes Of production. and
IL the reports indicate any important dis
c~overies you may feel certain that in a very
short time a mysterious visitor will be nosing
around the property" replied the %sunburnt
man, who had been introduced a Paul
Morris, who had made the salt industry the
study OF his life. and who had seen every
salt field OF any magnitude in the world.
-In some countries Of Europe and in most
OF Asia salt is a monopoly that the Govern
ment does not want broken, and in others
there are some secrets OF production worth
guarding. 1t is a Government monopoly
in Austria Hungary and Turkey. and even
the statistics Of production of the later
country are not available for publication.
1T is not unreasonable, either, when you
think of the vast amount used, that nations
and producers should want to know all that
they could about salt. 1t is considered an
essential food and a component part Of the
blood. The last report sent out by the Gov
eminent places the consumption in the
United States at 27,ll7,225 barrels annually,
or about q barrel for every three persons" :
Salt is such a common substance that few
persons take the trouble to find out any
thing about Il. yet there is much romance
and history about salt. The Jews offered
10 to Jehovah in covenants. Homer called
1t divine and it figured in the ~banquets OF
the heroes. Tacitus tells US that the most
bitter warfares that the ancient Germans
waged with the Romans were in protection
Of their saline springs. Since then many
other nations have fought for salt supplies.
The most cruel cxactions ever made were
in the name OF the salt taxes in France and
other parts OF Europe. To many Of the
Orientals the substance is sacred; TO tho
Sudanese 1t is the most valuable thing
he could possess: he will give you anything
that he has for a lump Of salt, even gold.
How the word is preserved In our language
you know when we speak OF a man as "the
salt Of the EARTH or as mot worth his
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

bury it in the earth and build a fire over il.
The resultant ashes is then ground into q
coarse powder and used the same as we US,
salt.
"Eu. no process of salt production equals
in interest that of mining "a carmel
on in Austria and Rurnania. IN the great
Austrian sal: country around Ischl the
mines are show places and tourists are
carried through them in cars for a fec.
In the valley Of the Vistula in Austrian
Poland is an underground city hewn from
rock salt. II was started a thousand or
more years g and has to-day win1ing
streets. railway stations. churches and
restaurants.
-Rutnania has four gIea: salt mines.
Three Ct Q are worked by convict labor.
The White He'll they have been callei.
One Of the most Vonderful sights l ever
saw was when a guide lifted n trap door
above this wonderful mine and showed me
a great g~listening field of white hundreds
OF feet below, about which men moved,
scarcely more han dots Of black. There
were strange natural ~frescoes upon the
walls that assumed all sorts Of mysterious
shapes, beautiful decorative patterns, i'm
possible heraldic animals or wild sea SER
pents. The salt is hewn out from the floor
snd sides in blocks by the convicts, then
crushed by hammers aud sent on cars 70
s~torehouses above
There Is no capital punishment in Ru-
mania and in these mines worked some Of
the most desperate men Of southern Europe,
thieves, murd@rers and ~brignnds. The fate
OF n guard among them |. often uncertain.
for they have a habit OF closing around
q man who has got their i'll will ami
through strength and numbers ~literslly
smotherinE him to death.
The free workers acquire such a per.
petual thirst that few Of them ran resist
the temptation to become hahitual topcrs
Men working in this salt atmosphere COR
surne wonderful quantities of water. The
convicts have for their use trot CHS nrA
buckets ut convenient intervals throughout
the works. Strict tcetotalism is enforced
upon the free men who work with them,
but the minute that they get ABOVE ground
they make a stampede for the saloons, AMI
there they spend most of their time and
the greater part Of their earnings. Thrifty
dispensers Of alcoholic drinks have taken
advantage Of this weakness of salt workers
and have almost enclosed the mouth Of the
mine with drinking places. Fut apparpntly
the man whose place can be the soones.
reached does the most business"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21
PLAGUE OF FRENCH OFFICIALS
ONE PERSON ~ EVERY 20 ADULTS
HAS 4. PUBLIC JOB.

Mania for state Employment CndermininE
Industry and Morals Burden OF NiII.
Ions on the Treasury Pat More Men
Than Work 70 Do-snaiI Races.
There are $780, 900 paid and about 4s3. 900
unpaid officials In France. About one
person In twenty-six OF the adult popuia-
ton holds a public Office. There is a plague
of ofices and oficeholding throughout tho
country
The people have an o~ficeholding craze
Public employment appeals to French
vanity and the pension appeals to French
thrift A man h once gets his toes In
a public Office will never die OF starvation.
So the young people are deserving the
productive occupations to look for small
jobs under the Government The boys
want to he clerks or even ushers In place
OF taking up trades and the girls are de-
sorting dressmaking and millinery TO become
teachers OF telephone girls or typewriters
in public offices
State schools are turning out regiments
OF young people annually especially
crammed TO pass the civil service examina-
tons The Senators and Deputies are
besisged by hordes Of applicants hourishins
their "brevets' or certificates OF qualifca-
ton All sorts OF wires, social and political,
are pulled The pressure Is so great that
now Offices are constantly invented %
make places and su~pernumsrsry clerks
and typewriters and 80 on are daily added
10 offices already overcrowded.
In some departments, IL Is said, the force
is so large that some Of the employees
the ones who have the strongest pull only
come in once a week to brush the dust OF
the hat and overcoat hat they keep hanging
In the Offices. II a chief by any accident
comes in n asks for them the other clerks
tho ones who do the work -suavely reply
that Mr.. So and So is somewhere In the
building: there are his hat and coat" Nine
times out OF ten this ends ends the incident:
but II the chief shows q real desire TO see the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

salt That very good word salary is de-
rived from the Romans requiring their
soldiers to take part Of their pay in sal
Salt.
Most Of the great discoveries OF the
substance we're mere accidents. Take the
case OF the central Asian find Of which l
spoke. A missionary trying to drive a
tent peg struck something so hard that IL
turned the ron-the natives had thought
it was a layer of stone. He brushed away
the crust of dust and found salt. 1t was a
speck in the bed Of a dried up salt lake
hundreds Of miles in extent and. il de-
veloped, in a quantity sufficient to break
the salt monopoly Of any Asiatic country.
Two boys fishing along the Kanawha
River in West Virginia filed a bottle with
sparkling water that dubbed up in a spring
near the river bank. When they drank IL
they were surprised to findi il was salt water.
The news of the discovery spread an Il
boring disclosed a brine well that resulted
in the establishment Of the fret and most
prosperous salt works Of the State. The
great discovery Of rock salt near the village
of Warsaw. Wyoming county, was made
by workmen drilling for oil. At the depth
OF about $500 feet the drill passed through
a bed 10 feet thick. In the same way a
similar discovery was made six miles away,
and the $50 feet thick bed OF rock salt near
Ithaca was found when sinking a we'll for
natural gas. One Of the largest of the rock
salt beds in Oklahoma was struck last year
by a ranchman who was driving a well for
his cattle on the prairie.
In blasting a unnel on the west side
Of the Utah desert not far from Nevada on
the line Of a new railroad from Denver to
the Pacific Coast the workmen were sur
prised to find that their dynamite had
uncovered an enormous deposit Of pure salt.
An investigation showed that this singular
find was Is miles long and 10 miles wide.
and IL the sides are Of SUFFICIENT strength
to support the roof trains will pass through
glittering walls of Wilderness for almost
the entire length Of the tunnel.
"A hunter tramping over what he SUD-
posed was a barran tract along the Salt
Fork River, thirty-five miles west of Enid.
Oklahoma. kicked up a lump OF salt. He
found out that wherever he disturbed the
thin crust of the earth over this waste land
that he turned up more Of the stuff. The
area was uninhabited and unused and he
made up his mind that he would enter
the tract as a claim. Before he could
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21
TO WIPE OUT MINING SWINDLES
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALONE
HAS THE NEEDED POWER.

Views OF an Old Time GOvernme nt Detective
poi once Authorities. However, Are
Handicapped by Lack Of Men 20 DO the
work safer Than Green Goods Game.
The green goods game and the wiretap-
ping game have become a little bit worn out, y
said an old detective TO a SUN reporter.
Just now it's the mining game that the
authorities are up against. and you can take
II from me hat they are up against it good
and hard"
The detective has made a reputation for
himself working for the United States Gov
eminent and did more to stamp out the
green goods game than almost any one
else in the business. What he said about
the mining game is echoed by almost every
one whose business it is TO protect the pub
lie from the man with the misleading pros
pectus and a supply Of nicely Autographed
stock certificates.
To people who have put their money
into the hands Of the man with the pretty
prospectus only to hear no more from it
OF the mine II may seem a little strange
that. the authorities. Federal and local,
have not stepped in and tried TO stop the
stream Of cash that has flowed from the
pockets of the people of this country into
'he hands Of some of these interruptions
aiming promoters.
there are several reasons why they
haven't. In the first place. according
TO those who ought to know. there is no
investigation more expensive than that Of
running down a fake mining concern selling
In one corner OF the continent stock in a
mine supposed TO be In another corner
5000 miles away. II takes thousands of
dollars. months Of time and a man specially
equipped for this kind Of work. a man with
brains and ingenuity possessed by few
Detectives even among those employed by
the Government.
Another reason is that the laws of the
States are at fault in not putting ~restric-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

According to the authorities. there prob
ably never was a time when there was 80
many schemes afoat which would bear
Government investigation. This is due to
the new discoveries Of ore in many sections
OF this country. Canada and Mexico. One
reason why more are not investigated, they
say. 10 because there aren't enough inspec-
tors to do the work. All told there are $50
Post Office inspectors scattered over the
country. Their work includes running
down mail thieves as we'll as swindlers.
In fact the protection of the mails from
thieves Is their first duty ordinarily. Pro-
tecting them from fraudulent use comes
next.
In the large cities there are from ak 20
ten INSPECTORS. but OF these not moro than
two can be assigned to the detection Of
swindles.
Give US twenty good men," said an in
spector recently, and | will ntee
that we will keep some of these stock swim
dlers on the run. As it ia We haven't got
enough men, and until the force Of insrec-
tors 10 considerably increased a lot Of
people who haven't GOT tho sense to in
vestigate a thing thoroughly before they
give up their money are bound to get stuck.
iuot -, uIiicbo tHty no WCrc tnpn tney 90 ~
present to Protect themselves"
In a great many cases when complaints
are made to the local authorities Of swings
lost In mining swindles the authorities are
forced to turn the matter over 10 the Gov
ernmen inspectors. While the stock, rer-
haps, has been sold here and the Offices Of
the promoters arc here. the mins or the oil
we'll may he in Mexico.
As a general thing district attorneys and
police officials haven't any special funds 10
draw from with which 10 pay an investigator
for such a journey az that. II can be done
a little more readily. they say. by the Post
once officials, becaus, they cover the
entire country and by means Of TOE; stsrs
and the local ins-ectors in rlaces they can
reach out much further.
Its just that which rlatcs the game
50 gooi and 30 much letter than the old
green goods game" explained the old de-
tective, Compared to the fake mining
game the green goods game was COM
paratively easy to run down. Il rarely
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

lions around the companies they create.
In a few cases where such swindlers have
been exposed and the swindlers convicted
the punishment has been light as COM
pared with the outlay necessary to secure
conviction.
Some years ago. before the discoveries in
Nevada and elsewhere that have given such
an impetus to The promotion of mining
companies. legitimate and illegitimate, the
Government did get after one man who
had launched a mining company up in the
Northwest and was selling stock to the
public by the barrel. The company was
not only advertising by pages in the news
papers Of the country. but it was sending
all sorts Of literature through the mails.
One Of the best post office inspectors in
the employ of the Government was at that
time stationed in Chicago. He was put ON
the case Inc told to find out whether the
Government had any right to issue a fraud
order and arrest the promoters. The mine
was in a region almost inaccessible. IL took
this detective almost one whole year before
he had discovered enough evidence upon
which to make an arrest. In that time
he had travelled hundreds Of miles on
horseback and on foot. had engaged ex-
PcIbS duu iOohou up miners, he nually
found that the company had been organized
and had sold stock before it had any mine
or mining claim and that a few hundred
dollars of the proceeds of the sale Of stock
had afterward gone to secure an option on
a claim pronounced 10 be worthless. That
was all there was to the 81. 200. 900 mining
company whose stock had boon distributed
broadcast. The investigation cost the Gov
ernment 81. 700 ard the chief promoter got
just two years in jail.
Now and then the post Office inspectors
do step in and a mining company goes I'D
the spout. In nine cases out Of ten the in
vestigation preceding this action by the
post Office authorities has taken many
months and by the time the proper evidence
is secured much stock has been sold. Not
until they hear of the action taken by the
inspectors in stopping the mail and arrest
ing the promoters do the people who have
bought his stock and parted with their
savings wake up to the fact tina, they have
been deceived.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-21

meant a trip Of more than a hundred miles
and the average detective, once he got a
come on was generally bright enough to
run the swindlers down and get the goods
on them II was the same with the wire
taprers. What's been the result3 They're
now selling mining took. Now who's
going to tell whether the mine ia a fake or
whether il isn't? The only one TO tell that,
unless you. get an insider to squeal on his
pals. is them man who has actually made a
visit to the place where the mine is sup
posed TO be.
But that isn't all. There are so many
technical things about mining that a man
has got to study it pretty thoroughly before
he's able to tell just what's up when he gets
20 the place that is mentioned in the pros
pcctus. If he isn't bright he can be fooled
as easily there as he can be right here in
New York. The thing may be just as much
OF a swindle as II l got out a prospectus and
sold stock in a company that was going to
make salt into gold. but IL it's a thousand
deal harder to prove a swindle than the
other, isn't itP
"Of course. the crooks are on TO this.
Some Of the old wire tappers in consequence
are behind security companies whose
offices would make your eyes swim. It's
more of a gentleman's game, you see, than
tho old one. and about the only persons
these fellows are afraid OF are the Post
OfnCa inspectors but suppose they We
got y claim Of some kind out In the noun
tsins in Nevada and suppose they haven't.
You can bet they've got somebody out
where they say the mine is located keeping
watch for any enc ncsing around. They
will ave plenty of time TO close up shop.
count ell the cash and make a good splitup.
Ia II any wonder that they prefer mining to
the other thing'"
As a general thing the man who is ieeced
the mining game doesn't get as much SYM
pathy az the man who gets tapped by the
wire tappers He will. find that the authori-
ties will first want to know why he didn't
investi gate the scheme and it's hackers
more One OF the chief reasons why the
mining swindler enjoys such immunity from
arrest lies In the fact that the average in
vestment Is not more than 500. The ma
iority Of the victims live in small places
some distances from the man who is selling
the stock and nave not enough at stake 10
make them feel like spending much more.
money to get II back. All this the mining
swindler takes into account.
II 10 likely that an increase in the number
OF Post ONCE inspectors will he asked for at
the next session Of Congress TO meet this
emergency.