The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-05-13
Bangor's Cement Plant.
It was Only Hot Air Production and has
Gone Glimmering.

It was Only Hot Air Production and has
Gone CIimmering
The Journal made note at the time of
the advent in Bangor of promoter said
to represent foreign capitalists who were
ready to invest millions in a cement
plant and other enterprises in that city
or vicinity, and the later appearance of
the aforesaid capitalists, who modestly
withheld their names and places of resi-
dence. AS to the cement enterprise, it
was shown at the time that lime rock, an
important ingredient, was not found in
that section, and level headed people
generally regarded the scheme as Wis
ionary one, like many others which have
had their origin in this vicinity and in
which some of our people have taken
stock to their sorrow. This cement en-
terprise apparently died before it was
born, and had passed from memory until
last week the Bangor News gave it a
final quietus in the following article:
1t has been some weeks over a month
since any Boston or New York newspa-
per has announced over a Bangor date
line that Bangor was about to become
the leading cement-manufacturi port
in the world, and that the Bangor board
of trade and Bangor capitalists stood be-
hind wealthy Canadian syndicate which
was about to erect a $4,000, 900 plant at
the head of tidewater on Penobscot river,
which in few years would be turning
I hn oil al.
ment" for the construction of Edison
concrete homes and for building gigantic
reservoirs and storage basins all over the
world. According to the newspaper tales,
every ingredient needful for manufactur-
ing cement was found ready at hand right
here in Bangor, and waiting for the touch
of the magic hand, which should cry
! presto! Changew to our inert rocks,
and they should hasten to convert them
selves into cement, and the cement should
hasten to put itself into sacks and bar
rels for shipment down the stormy Pc
nobscot, and thence to Kamatkaska and
far Cathay for the erection of new Chi
nese walls and for the building of an all
cement girdle about the globe.
Viewed in any aspect the vision was
beautiful one, radiating prismatic colors
to every point of the compass and illumi-
mating Bangor so that neither the light
of the sun or the moon or the electric in
candescents would ever again be needed
to show the way to Bangor churches or
to Bangor bars. In the haste of going
to press the gifted press agent Of the
Canadian promoter failed to mention
that the nearest available deposit of
limerick was down in the vicinity Of
| Camden hills, or that in making Of all
cements lime was the chief and the one
indispensable ingredient. Tables of ce-
ment compositions from more than so
kilns in this country show that lime COM
poses from II to 76 per cent. of the total
amount, while most any old rock, pref
erably Lodges containing aluminium and
quartz in about equal amounts, were used
to complete the remaining "a to % per
cent, though coal clinkers and Stag from
furnaces were about as good as anything
else, provided they were ground finely in
a Sampson crusher and calcined in the
furnace with the essential limerick.
Neither was there any allusion made to
the fact that cheap fuel is the chief es-
sential, next to cheap and handy lime
rock, in the manufacture of cement. As
matter of fact more than so per cent.
of the annual output of cement in this
country is now concentrated within few
counties which join on to one another
along the borders of Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, these places being favored
by Nature from the fact that limestone
is abundant throughout the region, while
coal dust or worthless culm from the
coal mines along the great Reading sys-
tenn Of railroads has been accommodating
for decades until it now forms small
mountains near the mouth of every mine,
and this worthless culm, which has been
a nuisance ever since coal mines were
opened. is found to be the ideal substance
for heating the cement kilns to the re-
CURED intensity for making best Port
land cement.
/ Of the more than 100000 casks of
Portland cement manufactured in this
country every year, these few counties
in Pennsylvania and New Jersey produce
about 35, 600, 900 casks. Thus far the en-
/ tire cost of the fuel is the cost of hauling
the cars of culm few miles, and unload
ing them into the kilns, the owners of
the mines doing the loading free of cost
for the sake of cleaning up the land.
Right here in this favored locality they
have kins constructed that are 125 to $50
gan kilns are no more than SO feet in
. lSiSCA. AL IA elll, III view VI LlC 1eASe
that all New England does not manu-
facture enough cement to waterproof a
single family cistern, and in view of the
other fact that fuel is comparatively
dear in Maine and is becoming more
costly with every passing year, it seems
very unlikely that the reading public
will see anything more concerning this
Canadian capitalist, who is about to start
a gigantic cement plant in Bangor. 1t
is beyond question that the press agent
of this Canadian is gentleman of I'M
surpassed ability. The pity is that the
man behind the scheme cannot make
good.
As far as known, Bangor has no en-
tangling alliances that will prevent it
from accepting a gigantic industrial
plant at shortest notice.
Children Cry
FOR FlETCHER'S
"A