The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-04-03
LABOR OF THE OIL MILLS IS EAST INDIAN.

ing It away in baskets on their heads.
The deposits of the Irawadi are so
rapidly filling the bed OF the river
that. jetties similar to those we. hay.
at the mouth of the Mississippi will
probably be put In.
superintendent. a Scotchman named
Bisnop. had my camera with me. but
he objected to my photographing the
refneries. although he allowed me 10
take snapshots of the laborerS and tile
scenes outside the plant
/ shall not attempt to describe tho
processes, except to say that enormous
furnaces are kept hot with. oil fires.
pipes TO catch the vapor as the oil
boils Refining petroleum is much like
tdstiIling whiskey. The crude oil is
heated to a vapor which flows off into
the cold pipes. AS II strikes them TINS
condenses and runs off as pure oil.
Wax Candles for Duddhn.
In the meantime, the residue is car
ried from boiler to boiler, until all the
oil has been won. a part of what is
left is turned into wax. and in the end
there is a product which is made into
coke superior to that from coal. The
are made here in great Quantities. to
be used in the worship of Buddha.
Any one who can burn candle before
a shrine acquires merit, and the bigger
:
this reason. the candles are OF az
sizes. from wax matches to great,
round. taperlng cylinders six and a half
feet tall and as thick as an elephants
or 80 rupees. IT will burn fifteen
hours. and If consumed at shrine
will add much to ones chances of
machinery aud Labor.
The machinery of Syrian is up-to-
date. 1t is nearly all English. although
there are some Yankee inventions en-
ployed. The institution has can-nak-
ing factories, and the oil is run into
the cans on the premises.
The labor of the mills is almost aito-
gether East Indian. About 5000 men,
women and boys are employed, the
children ranging in age from ten years
upward. 1 saw little Hindus VINO
candles, carrying heavy loads and doing
all sorts of work. They labored with
all their might, and their wages were
a few cents day. We rode about
through the works on trolley car
pushed by four Hindus and before
leaving took a ride on a big automo-
bile in and out among the great tanks
where the OIL is stored. There. are
something like forty or more OF THESE
tanks. each marked 100000 ga!lons.
Dunneedaw, on the opposite bank Or
the Irawadl, and 1T is steadily adding
to It's works. 1t makes Its own barges
and has almost as many departments n
as the Standard. ] understand that Lne
oil prices are rising. and that the value
of the field has quadrup.ed N the last
year or so. The whole country IS now
being prospected, with view TO hhd-
ing new oil territory
Where Rubics Come From:
Next to coal oil. the. biggest
monopoly in Burma is in rubiess. This
country produces the finest Of such
stones and furnishes the most OF me
worlds supply, The INDUSTRY Is f,, IN
Company. which is operating int |, ne
Mog9k Valley, about ninety miles
fronh NIandalay. There is a reglon
there 1000 feet above the sea, cover
ing from fifty to one. hundred square
miles, which has produced more and
better rubies than any other place
upon earth. At times II yields as
much as half million dollars worth
of rubies a year, and about ten years
ago single stone was found weigh,
| ing seventy-seven carats, which SOLO
for more than 100000.
The fine ruby is more valuable than
a diamond Of the same weight 1t Is
| estimated that one the color or
pigeons blood, weighing five carats
Xviii sell for ten times the value Of a
fve-c carat diamond, and that the price
| will increase With the Size. A ruby
which weighed eleven carats. was re-
Gently sold In England for. We, epe,
whereas diamond of that size would
not bring moro than 5000. The
| largest ruby known Is one which came
fran Tibet. 1t weighed 1000 carats,
but it was. not of the first quality
Some of the best stones Of this kind
arc owned by native Indian rajahs,
who consider them among the most
beautiful of Jewels,
The demand for rubies is greatly
affected by the times. The panic Of
1907 caused slump in the market.
AL sorts OF precious stones went down
and for months the London demand
fer Bnrman rubies entiraly ceased.
The company then curtailed its pro-
duetlon by stopping night work, and
III cut the wages OF the men from BE-
4 TO ~ cents n day. IN 1908 mo divi-
i dends We're declared The times are
ROW better and all the mines are again
A working.
In The N1ogok Mines. M
4 understand the output OF the pres-
ent year VIII be large The monopoly
has introduced modern methods. It's
puniping machinery 49, now worked by
waterpower. and the same power
generates and stores elcctricity, SO
that tho mills work day and might,
IN,