El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-06-23

the prairie and down 10 the haroor on
th-ir way to the north
Is Boiling Liquid.
But let US see how these great blocks
are built ID. The sulphur as it comes from
the earth is carried in pipes to an acre
field Glove TO the we'll This has been
srnoothed. and a fence Of two inch pianks
RIM around IL The planks are nailed TO a
post 10 feet in height so that they can
make a sight board wall which reaches as
high as your head The sulphur begins 70
flow in II comes out Of the pipe IN a
boiling, hubbiing liquid so thin that II
flows easily over the ground 1t is now 100
degrees above the heat Of boiling water
but il is sulphur and II congeals or freezes
at $50 degrees Fahrenheit II Is 50 hos
that II spreads itself evenly over the sur
face. and a little later solidifies. making
a great bod Of sulphur rock covering the
g-11nd. As more sulphur comes It flows
everIy over this surface. and the great
mass is gradually built Up IN a soiic roeA
a. feet thick. as I have described
As the building goes on the fence IS
made higher and higher until you nave al
last a wall Of plank inclosing the BLOCK.
This block is as hard as stone and would
stand for an indefinite time on the bed
OF the prairie The pianks are now taken
away and used over again It takes Wen
flowing about six weeks to make such
block. and al current prices the snlpnur
contained in Il Is worth in the neighbor-
hood Of S2.eOo Oo0- AS I figure II. the COM
pany is now mining something Ike zeeu
tons OF sulphur day and its product IS
about one half OF all the sulphur OF the
United States
Is Valuable National Asset
This will show you how necessary II IS
that these sulphur mines be protected and
given every facility for exporting their
great sources OF supply Of sulphur known
to the world. two OF which are IN the
United States. The other United states
source. as have said, is the Union Sui
phdr company OF LOUISIANA when nss =
capacity about equal TO this IN addition
are the mines OF Sicily and the product
Of Japan. neither OF which we can rely
upon for any part OF our supply Until
recently Sicily had been taking care OF
the needs OF Europe and Asia II had on
hand prior 70 the war $50. 900 tons OF sui
phI- On top OF the ground II now has less
than 80. 600 tons. Of which 10000 tons are
promised 10 France The remainder y
refuses 10 sell.
Il Is also important that the harbor at
Freeport be deepened in accordance with
the recommendation OF the board 81 engi-
neers for rivers and hsrbors Of the war de-
partment- This can be done at cost OF
s445. zoe. and a bill 10 that effect Is now
before congress These recommendations
advise the increase Of the depth TO al least
IS feet and they say that this sum will
secure that depth and, maintain il FOR
three years. which would probably include
the term Of the var
Can Be Made Fine HarbOr.
As Il is now. the harbor has a channel
Is feet deep and three miles long. con-
Meeting Il with the Gulf OF Mexico. At the
entrance 10 the gulf great Jetties nave
been constructed and there are all facil-
titles for making an excellent and per
manent deep waterway into Freeport- The
B-azos river. which Is the longest and
largest in Texas. is wide and deep all the
wav 10 its mouth It makes great bend
between the gulf and the harbor, and at
that point IL is crossed by the intercoastai
canal. which runs north and south along
the gulf This bend makes the harbor
landlocked and serves a protection
against the storms OF the sea
The deepening OF the harbor viii give
the southwest another important gateway
to the Gulf Of Mexico. FreepOrt will form
grain Of this part OF the world and the
sulphur will probably bring chemical
plants and sugar refineries here on &C
count OF its chespness. The nearness OF
the place 10 the oilfields 81 &cxico may
make it an oil distributing center, and fuel
oil will be the basis for considerable in
dustriaI development Moreover the port
has the advantage OF being absolutely rree
as to dock or wharfage charges The land
ali around belongs TO the company and It's
plans include the building OF a city
Has 1900 Inhabitants.
The town has already 1880 population
AMI that notwithstanding It Is only -FOUR
years Of age. Il has banks. stores. pubic
schools and comfortable homes II has =
hotel the Tarpon Inn. which is patronized
somewhat on account OF the fishing and
bathing and as a seaside resort The sui
phur mines alone have q payroll OF Ss8,ee0
a month and this will be increased by the
demands OF the war The place Is con-
neeted by rail with Houston. which Is %
miles away. and there are occasional
steamers going to Galveston. which Is
about the same distance 10 the north up
the gulf.