Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-19
BIG MARKET FOR
CHILE'S NITRATE
Chemical Is Used for Fertilizer
and as Basis of Modern
High Explosives.

Where is all the raw material COM
ing from for the vast amount Of
powder that Will be needed in the
Great European war? That is a ques-
ton that South America can answer,
according to a news note in the July
number of the Monthly Bulletin of the
Pan-American Union, Washington,
Z. C.
Strange to say, the one country in
the world which in times of peace
supplies the greatest agent to increase
the prCouctiyeness of the earth, will
now be called upon for identically the
SANE agent to supply the means of
destruction. That country is the re-
public of Chile. and the product which
has now assumed each tremendous
Importance is the nitrate of soda
which it supplies to the world. The
nitrate feds of Chile form a wonder
full asset IN the national economy, and
this news note states that the govern
ment will sell at public auction, on
Aug. 10, in the city of Santiago, GER
tain nitrate lands located in the Prov
ince ca Tarapaca. thus opening up for
development additional areas contain
ing this remarkable product.
The greatest use in recent years of
Chilean nitrate has been ito make
two blades OF grass grow where but
one grew before" and in this capacity
it has been a blessing to humanity.
The use of nitrate of soda as a fer
tilizer, though very general now, has
been known to our civilization less
than a century. The story goes that
an old Scotchman who lived near the
present nitrate fields about 1916,
spread some soil containing white
crystals over part of his garden.
Things planted in this particular spot
grew wonderfully. Samples of the soil
were sent to Scotland for analysis,
and the nature of the substance and
its value as a fertilizer was soon es-
tablished. According to tradition,
however, centuries before the Span
ish conquest, the Incas of Peru and
some of the natives of Bolivia knew
of the fertilizing value of the white
crystals, and are supposed to have
known how to produce them from the
crude material.
Today Chile enjoys practically a
world monopoly in the production of
nitrate, and its use is constantly
growing. In 1913 the exports reached
the high water mark. Nearly 100000
tons were shipped from the various
ports of the country and went to in
crease the productiveness of the soils
of many different nations. Incidentally,
Chile derives a golden harvest from
II n
from the export duty on nitrate, if
equally distributed among the inhabi-
tants of the country, would give every
man, women, and child no less than
SO annually. This great revenue is
being used to build railroads, improve
harbors, foster education and to build
up the nation generally; and, taking
into consideration the number of its
makes Chile one of the
richest countries in the world.
The Chilean nitrate beds are found
in a strip of country about 500 miles
long, at a distance varying from Is to
80 miles from the Pacific coast. The
deposits lie in great beds, or strata,
and the product is easily mined. The
everything strata are penetrated by
natural nitrate beds to the underly-
ing bedrock or substratum of clay or
gravel. At the bottom of the shafts
charges of powder or dynamite are
placed, which, when exploded break
up and scatter the surface layers and
the nitrate. The fragments of nitrate
are then gathered from the debris and
carried in carts or small cars to the
Oficinas, or factories, which convert
The natural product into the white
crystals OF nitrate OF soda. sack them,
and then transport them to the near
est port for shipment.
Just now, however, the greatest de-
nand for nitrate will be to make pow
Ter and other explosives. Nitric acid
5 needed to manufacture nitro-grycer-
ne, dynamite, smokeless powder and
-arious kinds of high explosives used
n these modern times. Even in times
# peace the United Etates uses for
explosives three times
he amount of nitrate used in the pro-
Iuction of fertilizer. In times of war
10 estimate con be made as to the
mount the world will demand, and
doubtless the price OF Chilean nitrate
will soar.