Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-08-16
Need Nitrate
For r.. Explosives Is,
Warning Nations Must Have Chill
can Product; Fields There
Supply The World.

.EgI. Wghis tHtFENEft4 ~A~~- |.lN.Haa 4tNtN4twNaN
Where ID. al the raw material COM
ing from for the vast amount Of pow.
der that will be needed in the great
European var? That is a question
that South America car answer, &C.
cording to afnews note in the July
number Of the lAonthly Bulletin Of
the Pan American Union. Washing
ton, ID. G..
Strange to say, the one country In
the world which in times Of peace
supplies the greatest agent to in
crease the productiveness Of the
earth, will now be called upon for
identically the same agent to sup
ply the means OF destruction. That
country Is the Republic OF Chile, and
the product which has now assumed
such tremendous importance is the MI
trate Of soda which it supplies to the
world. The nitrate fields Of Chile
form a wonderful asset in the nation
al economy, and this news note states
that the Government will sell at pub
lie auction, on August 10, in the city
Of Santiago, certain nitrate lands To-
Gated in the Province of Tarapaca,
thus opening up for development addi-
ti0nal areas containing this remark
able product. as
Great Fertilizer.
The greatest use in recent years Of
Chilean nitrate has been ito make two
blades I grassNgrow where but one
grew before" and in this capacity It
has been a blessing to humanity. The
use of nitrate 81 soda as q fertilizer,
though very general now, has been
known to civilization less than q
century. The story goes that an old
Scotchman who lived near the pres
ent nitrate fields about 1916, spread
some soil containing white crystals
over part Of his garden. Things plant
ed In this particular spot grew Won
derfully. Samples of the soil we're
sent to Scotland for analysis, and the
nature Of the substance and its value
as a fertilizer was o established.
According to tradition, however, CEN
turtles before the Spanish conquest,
the Incas of Peru and some of the ma
tives Of Bolivia knew Of the fetiliz-
ing value Of the white crystals, and
are supposed to have known how to
produces them from the crude mate
rial.
Chile HI Monopoly.
Today Chile enjoys practically a
world monopoly II the production of
nitrate, and its use is constantly
growing. In 1918 the exports reached
the high.water mark. Nearly 3,000,-
900 tons we're shipped from the var
ious ports Of the country and went to
increase the proquctiveness Of the
soils Of many different nations. In
lcttddsentally. Chile eriyees.. 4 golden har-,
vest from the product. The revenue
derived from the export duty on nj
trate, If equally distributed among
the inhabitants Of the country, would.
give every man, woman, and child no
less than SO annually. This great
revenue Is being used to build rail-
roads, improve harbors, foster educa-
ton, and to build up the nation gener-
ally; and, taking into consideration
tu0 uuIIU0T Oh us lUll&O1tanIS, MAKES
Chile one Of the richest countries in
the world.
Large Ares.
The Chilean nitrate beds are found
in q strip Of country about 500 miles
long, at a distance "arying 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
small shafts or drills on through the
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.
mand for nitrate will be to make pow.
der and other explosives. Nitric acid
is needed to manufacture nitro.gly-
cerine. dynamite, smokeless powder
md $hn rro~}n,,o l~{,nAa - hlu1> o-,SS.