The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-17

cent. These favorable gradients make
 it possible to haul ton of freight | at a less cost than any other rode 1 crossing the Rocky Mountains
 ''The coal fields which I have men, toned are known as the Kent dis l trict, and no living man knows their | extent or the billions of tons which | will be mined from them. In all of
 my experience and acquaintance with l coal fields, I have never seen any
 thing which approaches this district
 Imagine lifting the coal fields of Pennsylvania and dropping them in Elk Mountain Valley; conceive, if
 you can, the finding of this body of coal and the enormous fortunes which
 would accrue from the mining and | marketing of it!
 Along the main line of the road l in the Kent district there are out croppings of coal for over 6 miles.
 Eleven veins have been opened by borings, five of these have been open- ed up showing veins of coal 25 feet, | 19 feet, IA feet, 12 feet, and feet in ] width. They have gone down from l 60 to 800 feet without any signs of
 the veins failing to hold their width
 and quality. 1 f'The 26 foot, which is the underly- l ing vein, shows 88 feet of solid rock
 between it and the 19 foot vein. All | overlying, veins over the 19 foot vein,
 as far as shown, shave from 50 to 65 1 feet of solid rock separating them | These veins seem to bottom on a solid rock with, a free cleavage-while the 1 top of the vein has smooth and free
 cleavage from the roof, leaving it clean and strong which makes it un- | necessary to put in a large amount of l timber required to support a bad roof. Properly mined. these veins will show the maximum amount of lump coal. All of this coal is of the high l est quality of bituminous, approach ing. in some portions of the veins, a pure anthracite In the IA foot vein, there is foot heart of camel coal, equal to the finest English camel coal None of these veins of coal shows ! more than trace of sulphur or any impurities; and does not run over | ash coal, free from clinkers Any coal possessing these qualities com | mands, in any market, from 50 cents ! to dollar per ton more than the white ash coals.
 Another valuable asset of the coal
 company owning the Kent district is 17,000 acres of heavily timbered land, which will not only furnish mine tim bers, but also material for ties for | the road This timber is felled and l hoated down the Medicine Bow Riv- | CT to point half mile distant from | the coal mines and alongside of the tracks of the railroad at minimum cost.
 The various processes of mining do not break up this coal in minute particles, but leave a large portion of | it lump. probably 70 per cent. giv- ing it the highest market value. OW- ing to the low rate at which this coal can be mined, the railroad has con- tracted for its supply at a phenome- nally low figure, not to exceed $1.35 per ton.
 s.The quality of slack of these mines is so high, that instead of being re- fuse, as in other mines, it will be which will in turn generate electric
 ity to be used in all mining operations where it is practicable, besides light ing the various mining towns. For 30 miles beyong the Kent dis trict the road through a timber belt.
 under which lies coal; then reaches a belt of limestone 10 miles miles wide. The iron belt, of which Bradley's Peak 800 feet high, is vir- tAally solid iron, running from 60 to
 65 per cent. metallic iron. The chem
 ica1 composition of this ore makes it
 particularly desirable for the produc-
 tion of steel of the highest grade. A conservative estimate by the State
 Geologist of wyoming gives Bradleys Peak alone over one half billion tons
 of ore.
 'The close proximity of all of the needed materials, coal, timber, lime
 stone and iron ore, for the manufac- ture of iron and steel should make the Bradley Peak district the future
 iron and steel center of the great
 territory from the district to the Pa cific coast. The coal, timber, lime stone, iron ore lands, town sites and
 water rights of the territory which I have mentioned are owned and con- trolled by subsidiary companies Of the Denver, Laramie and Northwestern railroad.
 "To the westward the line passes
 through the Landers oil belt, Wind River Reservation, Yellowstone Ma tional Park, thence to Seattle tap ping, and opening up the rich country of the border and Pacific northwest ern states.
 My inspection of the property and attendant investigations convinced me of it's unquestionably great value,"l continued Col. Heft, "and the more learned of the directors and officers of the Denver, Laramie and North western, the firmer grew the convic- ton that the success of the enterprise was beyond doubt.
 "Charles Scott Johnson. president of the road, is a representative Den yer business man ana hnancler, who has been at the helm directing the course of the project and successful ly overcoming all opposition.
 ''Col. William B. Green, the first vice president and general manager, is a well-known railroad builder and operator. The treasurer s. Spang- fer, is one of Colorado's successful business men. Besides myself, the gentlemen mentioned and the follow ing comprise the directorate: William Earth, Senator Carlton, Hon. s. Kent, William Skinner, A. Wright, Judge Milliken, B. A. Holcomb, R. Kent. Hon. Chas. Garwood, w Cole W. Maplewood, all men who have not on- ly made successes of their private in- terests, but have been and are inti- mately connected with public enter prises of magnitude, requiring high executive ability and business acu- men,
 Col. Heft has no intention of mak- ing Denver his home, but will still re- side in Bridgeport, devoting the time necessary to assisting his new rail- road associates in successfully pro- jecting this new railroad which meansI the development of territory of un- told wealth.
 Col. and Mrs. Heft are prominent | in the social life of Bridgeport, and | their beautiful residence on Park av- enue is one of the show places of the | city.
 Col Heft is himself an inventor | electrician and engineer and was one of the pioneers in America, of electric | traction, as applied to street passen-