The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-08-14

Where u al the raw material COM
ing from for the vast amount Of pow
der that will be needed in the great
European war? That u a question
that South America can answer. ac-
cording to an article in the July num-
Der Of the monthly bulletin Of the
Pan American Union.
Strange to say. tho ono country In
the world which in times Of peace sup
plies the greatest agent to increase the
productiveness Of the earth. will now
be called upon for identically the same
agent to supply the means Of destruc-
ton. That country II the Republic OF
Chile. and the product which has now
assumed such tremendous importance
II the nitrate Of soda which 1t sup
plies to the world. The nitrate fields
OF Chile form a wonderful asset in its
national economy. and In the near fu-
ture some additional areas containing
this remarkable product are to be
opened for development.
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 1t
has been a blessing to humanity. The
use Of nitrate Of soda as a fertilizer.
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 1915. 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 Scot
land for analysis. and the nature Of
tho substance and its value as a fer
tilizer was soon established. Accord
ing to tradition. however. centuries be-
fore tho Spanish conquest. the Incas
of Peru and some of the natives Of
Bolivia knew Of the fertilizing value
posed to have known how to produce
them from the crude material.
Today Chile enjoys practically a
world monopoly in the production Of
and its use is constantly grow
ing. In 1913 the exports reached the
mark. Nearly 100000
tons were shipped from the various
ports Of the country and went to In
crease the productivenees OF the soils
of many different nations. Incidental
". Chile derives a golden harvest from
the product. The revenue derived
from the export duty on nitrate. II
equally distributed among the inhab-
itants Of the country, would give every
man, woman and child no less than
SO annually. This great revenue IL
being used to build railroads, improve
foster education. and to build
up the nation generally; and. taking
into consideration tho number of its
makes Chile one Of the
richest countries in the world.
The Chilean nitrate beds are found
in q 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 u easily mined. The
everything strata are penetrated by
small shafts or drills on through the
natural nitrate beds to tho underlying
bedrock or substratum of clay or
gravel At the bottom Of tho shafts
charges Of powder or dynamite are
pW4CSQs WulC1ls WnOll CAPAO00Ae OS00A
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 tho
oficinas, or factories. which convert
the natural product into tho white
crystals Of nitrate of soda, sack them.
and then transport them to the nearest
port for shipment.
Just now, however, the greatest de-
mand for nitrate will be to make pow
der and other explosives. Nitric acid
is needed to manufacture nitro-glyc-
erin. dynamite, smokeless powder and
tho various kinds Of high explosives
used In these modern times. Even In
times of peace the United States uses
for manufacturing explosives three
times the amount OF nitrate used in
the production Of fertilizer. In times
Of war no estimate can be made ~ to
thA amount tho world will demand