Baxter Springs news., 1916-03-23
A Busy District.

anOut the DubieSt place IN the
United States, unless, perhaps,
the places where munitions OF
war are made present greater
scenes of activity.
Not less than fifty drill rigs
are at work on a piece OF land
not more than six miles wide and
fifteen miles long, And the re-
ports of rich strikes of lead and
zinc ores are of daily occurrence.
People living right here in
Baxter Springs do not realize
just what Is going on right next
10 them.
Dozens of big new modern con-
centrating plants have been built
within the past few months, and
the older mills are running all
the time. The output of ores
has put the Joplin camp back
into third place place, at least
the Joplin camp has been third
in the list twice this winter, and
before three months more have
passed the Joplin camp will take
permanent third place in the
tabulated report of ore sales.
The Webb City camp will con-
tinue to hold first place and the
Oklahoma-Kansas camp will take
second place and hold it.
/ All of that section of country
southwest of Baxter for. a, dis
tance of fourteen miles has been
and is being punctured with drill
holes, and the finds of ore are
richer in percentage of ore con-
tent than was ever dreamed of in
the older camps. Some of the
dirt being taken out and milled
iuns as high as fifty per cent,
and it is poor dirt, indeed, which
runs as low as six or eight per
cent.
The ore is deep, and this OF
itself gives promise OF long life.
The upper runs of ore, while
rich, do not hold out, but the
lower run is of wide extent and
very heavy in ore content.
Towns, great big thriving
ones, have sprung up all over
the new territory, and they are
certainly scenes of much activity.
While most of the people of this
country know of what is going
on, vet we have readers all over
the United States, and some in
foreign countries, who do not
know of it, and it will be news
to most of them that towns OF
such magnitude have grown.
Commerce has at least $500
people and is growing by leaps
and bounds. Cardin, two miles
northeast OF Commerce, has per-
haps fifteen hundred people, and
is also growing fast. Picher, a
couple of miles northeast of Car
din, has five or six hundred peo-
pie, and the development work
going on there is going to make
it a much bigger town before
many weeks. A new town is
springing up on the D. S. Chubb
land and bids fair to pluck few
flowers from the crown of pros
perity.
A railroad is being built from
Commerce to Picher just as fast
as men and teams can do the
work. We are told the road is
to be extended on to Baxter
Springs. The road is being
built By men who arc also inter.
ested in the M. o. & G. Track
has been laid from Commerce to
a point very near to Cardin, and
the grade is being pushed on to-
ward Picher..
The gravel road is very nearly
finished from Baxter Springs to
Picher. Only short two miles
remain to be graveled. Then
two miles of gravel would con.
meet Picher with Cardin, and
from the latter place to Com
merce, and Miami, the gravel
road has already been finished.
This would mean a gravel road
from Miami via Baxter Springs,
to Carthage, Mo.
The entire country out west
and southwest is one busy scene
of activity. 1t must be seen to
be appreciated. 1t will pay any
of our readers to get out and see
what is going one.
Many thousands of dollars
worth of ore are being taken out
of the ground every day. Dozens
of new mills are going up, half a
hundred drills are at work. and