The National tribune., 1908-04-09
LOUISIANA BIRTHSTONE.
American Sulfur Now leads the World in
Cheapness and Purity.

Cheapness and Purity.
In the commercial conquest of the
world by the United States no achieve
ment is more astonishing than the swift
victory obtained in the Sulfur market.
For all the centuries of modern history
Italy has had a monopoly of the sulfur
production of the world. In that coun-
try sulfur is produced in the crudest
and most uneconomic ways from host
of small sulfur deposits found in the
volcanic regions and worked by methods
which have not undergone any change
in centuries. So numerous are these
deposits and so many men have derived
then, living from them that the sulfur
business has been semi-official enter
prise of the Government. When Italy
became a unified Nation in 1870 one
of the first duties of the new. Govern
ment was to look for the interests of
the sulfur producers, and it has done
so with a paternalism only possible in a
Latin country. In the past the King
of the two Sicilies, in which country
most of the sulfur deposits were, got
the idea at times that he had monopo-
ly, and could make any price he pleased,
with the world being compelled to pay
it. Acts of this kind led to seeking
other sources of supply for sulfur, and
in England, Spain, the United States
and Germany an extensive business was
developed in extracting sulfur from iron
pyrites, which are iron combined with
sulfur. As late as 1903 the United
States, which on account of the petro-
leum industry had grown to be one of
the greatest sulfur-consuming countries
of the world, imported the enormous
quantity of 115,000 tons of Sicilian SUI
fur annually. This took $4,000,000 out
of the country. Mexico sent consider
able sulfur into the market, largely OBJ
tanned from the extinct volcano of Po-
pocatapetl.- The crater of this volcano
is giant hole in the ground, about five
miles in circumference and 1000 feet
in depth. The sulfur is obtained in the
most primitive way by a peon going
down into the crater, loading with all
the ,sulfur he can carry, climbing up
ladders on the inside, and then descend
ing the steep declivities on the outside.
T Sulfur in Louisiana.
The discovery of the immense sulfur
deposits in Louisiana was almost an
accident. 1t was known that the Gulf
Coast country of Louisiana and Texas
contained oil in immense quantities, and
the discovery of the first great gusher
at Spindletop, near Beaumont, Tex, led
to a general exploration of the country
for oil. All the likely country was at
once prospected, but near Lake Charles,
was struck underneath bed of zoo feet
of quicksand. This was in 1868. Fur
ther examination of the locality devel-
oped that the sulfur lies in the cone of
q vast extinct geyser, which went out
of business ages ago. The sulfur Is
embedded in limestone and mixed with
the stone in the proportion of 20 per
cent sulfur to 80 per cent limestone
The mouth of the cone is from one
third to one mile across, and extends
to a depth of LOO feet. For years
after this subterranean wealth men
were eagerly attempting to reach it, and
spent fortunes in various futile devices.
Fhe one which was finally adopted and
led TO brilliant success was that of Mr..
Herman F'rasch, a chemist in the en-
ploy of the Standard Oil Company
Briefly, the Frasch process consists OF
sinking well, like an oil wei, to the
bottom Of the sulfur bed Into this
veil four pipes, one within the other, are
driven. The outer pipe is 10 inches in
diameter, the next one six, inside of this
three-inch, and finally a one-inch Al
the bottom of the pipe there are holes
thru which superheated water having q
temperature of 335 degrees is forced
rhis water passes down between the sis
Ind 10-inch pipes; the water melts the
Tulfur, and holds it in solution as long
Is the heat is sufficient. The melted
TuIlS TO lIlc DOllcfn VI the Htlt
md is pumped up in the space between
he six and three-inch pipe. AS soor
Is it reaches the surface it flows int
arge open bins from $50 to 800 fee
ong, with a depth of from 40 to 81
!eet. AS it cools the sulfur solidifies
1hen the boards of the bin are knocked
,ff and the great mass is broken up int
chunks suitable to loading on the car
hat run alongside of it. So effective il
his operation that it is claimed tina
lhe Union Sulfur Company can deliver
birthstone at two cents a pound ant
make a handsome profit. In 1907 i
produced all the sulfur that the United
States needed and exported 1900 tons
In this work it has found it good pol
ycy to take the best care of its em
ployes, OF whom il has from 600 to zoo
Il pays these from $3.50 to So a day
where in the Sicilian mines the sulfu
iaborers get from 20 cents to so cent
l day. The company runs a boarding
house which does not pay expenses;
has built school house, and Furnished
teachers for the education of the work
mems children. II has drained the sit
Of the town SO that there is no malari
Or ague, altho the country was formerl
:. swamp.
The sulfur comes to the surface 991
per cent pure, or much purer than an
found elsewhere in the world, and ha
no further need of refining.
Disaster to Italy.
This success of the Union Sulfu
Company precipitated a vast deal O
trouble for Italy. When the Union Sui
fur Company began operations the en-
hire output of the Sicilian mines wa
In the hands of company called 9TH
Anglo-Sicilian Company" and IT reso
iutely refused to accommodate itself t
the lower prices II soon had a stoc
of 100000 tons of sulfur on hand, an
the mines Were producing 450,0 ton
year, with the market for il steadil
diminishing as the Union Sulfur Com
pany made headway. The Government
came to the assistance of the compan,
passing a law that every producer {
sulfur should sell his product TO tn
company at a fixed price, and this nc
proving sufficient, the Italian Govern
ment and the Bank of Sicily advance
$11.000,000 TO the company to take u
- the accumulated stock and make ad
nSces 10 the saifur producers. A
5tempt TO reduce the production
the Government so as to bring it int
relation with reduced export brougt
about general strike of 100, 900 work
9ngmen IN September of last year. Tn
1taiian Government tried to put til
Gcioa Sulfur Company out of business
end began sending sulfur 10 this cour
3ry at decided cut in the price. tn
Union Sulfur Company met the cut wit
. still lower price. and the result wa