El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-12

- richest in mineral wealth Of any
range throughout the country, DR.. w
B. Phillips, state geologist, told Of the
possibilities Of mining in west IeXas
at the dollar dinner Of the chamber OF
commerce Friday evening, held in the
banquet hall of the Paso del Norue
hotel
In his address DR.. Phillips urged men
with money to take UP claims and pur-
chase land in the Quitman mountains
for the purpose Of developing the coun-
try. which. he says will produce for
tunes in hidden wealth with little op-
Grating expenses. He criticised the
mining legislation Of recent years IN
Texas, which, he said, was responsible
TO a certain extent for driving the pic
turesuue figure Of the prOspeCtOr from
the west and he urged better support
for the United States bureau Of mines,
which, he said in the past has been
badly neglected both by the state and
national governments
Attended by 100.
The dinner the first Of a series to
be held this winter by the chamber OF
commerce. was attended by $50 per-
sons. 7. Lynn Thomas, dairy expert OF
the department Of agriculture, gave
talk on the possibilities the valleys OF
the Rio Grande offer for becoming a
great dairy, butter and cheese center
Lantern slides, showing scenes OF the
valleys Of the Rio Grande valley and
were shown by L. NJ Lawson, project
engineer Of the reclamation service.
These. and motion pictures showing
valley and dam scenes, will be eXhlb-
tied at the San Francisco exposition.
Several songs were rendered by a
quartet composed Of MeSdames h. b
Bow1es and Ralph Henderson and Par
vine Witte and Thomas Christian. Al
bert Sievers played the accompaniment
on the piano. Mr.. Christian sang 1T
a Long Wav to Tipperary,' and those
present Joined in the chorus. Miss
Norma DAILY and Max Alexander, two
professional dancers, gave an exhibit
ton Of the "maTiEe' and other dances.
G. S. Settle of the National Play
grounds and recreation association, Of
Cleveland, Ohio. who is here to outline
plans for the purpose of opening play
grounds for the city, made brief talk,
in which he asked for the cooperation
of the business men in his work.
Robert Krakauer, president Of the
chamber Of commerce, was chairman
and, after the dinner, he introduced DR..
Phillips as the first speaker. DR.. Phil
ET Paso Center of Rich District.
"I don't know of any city in the Unit
Cd States that is in the center of such
q rich mining district that Ell PasO IS,
and has so little money in the develop
7nent Of the mines. Within so miles Of
FL Paso there is one of the richest
mining districts in the world and the
opportunities there are not seen by Ell
Pasoans. In the Quitman mountains Of
FL Paso county and the Sierra Diavalo
mountains, Of Culberscn county, we
have two Of the richest mining sections
in the country, not even excepting the
Chino properties near Silver City.
Zinc. Copper, Gold and silver.
Elm the Quitman mountains on both
sides. only so miles from 81 Paso. there
arc excellent copper and zinc ores. Re
cent shipments have been made from
small mine there showing 60 percent
lead This was mined on the east
side Of the mountains. On the west
side Of the mountains there is ore con-
tanning Is percent Of copper. On the
west side gold nuggets worth $50 each
have been found, and there is also evil
denee Of much silver. The old Hazel
mine assayed 1000 ounces OF silver to
the ton, and also large percentages Of
copper. There is a 81 freight rate from
these mountains to FL PasO and branch
lines TO the mines could be built with
little expense, as the country is level.
west Texas is one of the most
promising and most neglected mining
sections in the country. The mining
section Of west Texas is almost as
large as the entire area Of South Caro-
lima.
Quicksilver In Brewster.
eTn Brewster county there is found
great quantities Of quicksilver which is
now being mined. There is more quick
silver mined in Brewster county than
any Of the larger quicksilver districts
Of California.
an CuIberson county there is a large
quantity of native sulphur within few
inches Of the surface.
"Our laws don't protect the mining
industry. It looks as though we don't
want mining It's the fault Of our
laws A Door prospectOr who has been
'grubstaked,' locates his claim and
when it is surveyed, he doesn't know
where il is. ] was an assistant to R
F. Burgess in the legislature when the
new mining law was passed. It makes
n radical departure from the old laws.
I believe it will revive mining. If you
want a man to develop mining proper
ties, let him own the land.
People Don't Believe.
Another thing the matter with min
ing in west Texas is the fact that you
don't believe a word I say. I tell you
about the wonderful possibilities and
the hidden wealth and you don't believe
fl. If you, and the legislature, did be-
lieve what I say, it would be better for
the prospectOr and for mining. You are
the key Of the greatest mining region
in the country, Mexico, Arizona, New
Mexico and west Texas.
Lack Of financial support has dis
couraged mining. You don't think
anything of financing a project in Mex
leo, New Mexico or Arizona. Why not
then put your money in west Texas,
where there is just as good mining
properties?
Millions Taken From Ground.
do you know that 1857. 900, 900 has
been taken out Of the earth of Texas2
Last year the mines Of Texas produced
$50, O0O, 900. It was not taken out by
Texans but by Chicagoans, New York
ers and Californians.
Il know Of 10 engineers in Colorado 1
who pooled $500 each and developed a
property they selected. They were Of
fered $4,000 before they stuck pick /
I'm the ground, but they made it pay
before they spent the $4,000 and it T.
turned out to be a rich property. They !
refused $4,000 for it a few months at !
ter starting developing work. There ]
are just as many advantages in Ell PasO 4
county.
You have done one good thing in :
FL Paso, that was starting the Texas |