The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-16
WOULD STOP
SHELTER FIGHT
Idaho Mans Scheme to Make
Smeltermen, Farmers and
Railroads Work Together.
REMOVES SMOKE NUISANCE
BY MAKING DEMAND FOR TROU-
BLESoME SULPHUR.
20 me salt Lake Herald:

To The Salt Lake Herald:
1 have read with deep interest your
articles on the fight of the farmers of
Utah against the shelters Of that state,
and the thought has occurred to me
that all this "scrapping'' might be OBJ
waited and at the same time protect
the farms and still allow the smelters
to continue in business if the rail-
ways, particularly the Short Line and
the rest of the Hartman system, could
be induced to help out with the fol-
lowing scheme:
Within 200 miles of Salt Lake is the
largest body of phosphate ever discov-
cred in any country on the globe. a
deposit more than 40 miles long and
of great thickness exists in the hills
of southeastern Idaho western Wyo-
ming and northern Utah. This deposit
is opened sufficiently now to permit
the shipping of many carloads daily.
and in six months time it could be de-
velOped to the point that not only one,
but manys trainlOads daily, could be
gotten out at minimum expense. This
deposit lies along the tracks of the
Short Line for more than seventy-five
miles, and can be easily reached by
short spurs from that railway, spurs
that would not be over six or seven
miles long, and in most places two or
three miles would be sufficient. AS 1
understand it, the preparation of phos-
phate as a fertilizer requires large
amount of sulphuric acid, and this the
smelters have in abundance; in fact,
if I am correctly informed, ii is this.
acid that is largely doing the damage
to the farms adjacent to the smelters.
Scheme Is Outlined.
Now for the scheme: Arrange with
the Short Line to make a low rate on
the shipping of the raw phosphate rock
to Salt Lake. Erect plant in or near
the Zion city for the handling of phOs-
phate in the preparation of it for ship
ping to the farmers. Get the acid nee
essaTy, and it will take an immense
lot of it, from the smelters instead of
having 1t go TO waste in the fumes.
Combine the two and thus start the
making of one of the greatest manu-
featuring propositions i'm the west, or,
for that matter, in the country. Such
plants would furnish work for hun
dreds in the mining of phosphate, and
other hundreds in the treatment of the
rock to make it merchantable. Let the
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific,
Rio Grande Western, San Pedro and
make a rate on this manufactured
product east and west, thus furnish
ing a large volume of extra business
that they do not now have, in direc-
tions that they now usually haul their
cars empty.
Get the fertilizer to the farmers all
over the country at a reasonable price,
and there will be plenty of market for
it, for every acre of land in the United
States that has been titled for any
number of years, needs this sort of
fertilizer. Already the Dakotas, Ne
braska. Kansas. Idaho, Washington.
California and oregon, to say nothing
of the older states in the east, are in
need Of and anxious to get the phOs-
phate Every year there would be a
constantly growing demand for it, and
in no time these three states, where
the deposit exists, would be supplying
not only America, but could be sending
untold numbers of tons to the old
world. where it is already extensively
used.
Railroads Can Make the Market.
The only reason there is not more
sale now for it in this country is be-
cause the railways to date have refused
to make any freight rate that would
allow the shipping of the product at
buy it. In Tennessee and Florida the
mining of phosphate is already an i'm
pOrtant and rapidly growing industry,
yet their deposits, as compared with
! those of Utah. Wyoming and Idaho,
are nothing, they having only small
beds from which to get the raw rock,
while here there are mountains Of it.
If this theme could be put through
there. would be little kick at the smell
! tiers. there would be hundreds and per-
haps thousands of men finding employ
ment at good wages, and the farmers
of Utah and elsewhere would be great
gamers.
| 1t seems to me the matter is worthy
of deep thought on the part of those
who are trying to build up the west,
and among those who have millions of
| dollars already invested in shelters,
| railroads and farms, to say nothing of
those who are indirectly interested in
/ the prosperity of all these branches of
| human industry. Don't the Salt Lake
| people think this matter is at least i'm
portant enough to investigate? I GER
/ tainly believe the plan can be made to
| be productive of the greatest good. Re
spectfully, CHARLES Z. HARRIS.
| Montpelier Ida, Feb. A.