The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-03
TALK Of MOVING
SHELTER TO ELY
Thought U. S. Company Will
Not Hurry to Resume at
Bingham Junction.

An undercurrent of opinion to the eff
feet that the United States Smelling
company will be in no hurry to resume
operations at it's lead smelling works
at Bingham Junction, even if its petit
ton to the federal court is granted. was
found in brokerage and mining circles
yesterday. When reasons for the opln-
ion were sought, they were not easy to
obtain. Those who professed to have
them declined to say what they were;
but III one instance, at least, broker
placed wagers at four to one that re-
sumption would not begin previous to
Sept. l, If at all.
Officials of the company, from Pres
ident w. G. Sharp down, have declined
all the time to make any statement con-
corning what the company might do in
the future, though the impression has
been had from their utterances that,
If permitted to do 50 on fair terms, they
would reopen the smelter In the near
future. AS the hearing on the company
application for a modification of the
smoke injunction, so-called, does not
come up until the end of the present
month, of course there is no chance for
the company to say what it will do for
month yet, at least.
May Go to Ely to Operate.
Things have been happening, how
ever, that at least suggest the posi-
bility that the company may never at
tempt to smelt ores in this valley again,
and particularly if the court does not
grant it's modification petition. From
what has leaked out, it would seem
that the big corporation has had its
engineers at work sizing up other loca-
lions for sTnelters and it can be stated
positively that, during the past few
weeks, or since 1t was announced that
the Cumberland-Ely was after it. Unit
ed States company engineers have been
examining the Federal-Ely company's
water rights and smelter site, north of
Ely and across the valley from the big
works of the Nevada Cum
berland Ely companies at McGill.
1t is claimed that the United States
company sees In this site an ideal place
to engage in the smelling business for
ever unmolested. 1t is also claimed that
this is one of the reasons why the Fed
eral-Ely declined to- give an option on
the property without a binding pay
ment, to the Cumberland-Ely company.
There is good reason to- believe that the
United States cOmpany's engineers have
made favorable reports on the Federal
Ely site and that the hurried departure of
President Sharp for the eastern head
quarters of the company was due to the
fact that this subject was up for dis
cusston.
Location Advantageous One.
1t has been pointed out that the Ely
site would be desirable one for the
United States company for several rea-
sons. With the railroad built from Ely
Tnnnnah a MANNED II hrip
the company's mines at Eureka within
easy distance of smelling facilities and
give the company chance to compete
for all classes Of ore from camps trib-
utary to that line. Again, If a road is
built south from Ely to Phoebe. and
if the San Pedro builds west from IRON
ton through the Deep Creek country to
Fly it would give the company great
opportunity to ship ores from the Cen
tennial-Eureka. at Tintic, and it's mines
at Bingham, right through to it's works
at Ely, and also give it an even break
with the Guggenhelm crowd for all Gus
tom business that must come through
the camps that these lines will make
productive of heavy tonnages of all
classes of ore.
1t is therefore seen that the United
States 0mpany may be planning to
eventually quit the Utah field entirely
and make its stand in that portion of
the country west of here where business
is sure to be heavy in the future and
where it is impossible that damage can
be done to farming and ranching inter
ests. If the Deep Creek line is built 1t
is not going to be = very long haul from
Tintic and Bingham to Ely; if the road
to Phoebe is built, it will be much cas-
Ter to ship ores from Phoebe to Ely than
from Phoebe to Salt Lake, as the dis
lance, as the crow flies. is only about
100 miles, or twenty miles less than the
distance between here and Milford,
Beaver county. The Deep Creek coun-
try is full of ore; so are the ranges
that would flank the road between Pr
oche and Ely and it is not impossible
to believe that the United States COM
pany will go after a full share of the
business that the country mentioned
will have to offer.
RssIi