The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-10-16
WAR Brings BIG
TRADE CHANGES
Resources of United States
Searched as Never Before to
Meet New Demands.
RIVER TRAFFIC IS INCREASED
Upper Reaches Of the Mississippi Help
Relieve the Congestion on the
Rallroads-Strontium Ore
in Demand.

/
New York.-One of the most inter
esting and important developments In
the United States at the present time
Is the manner In which and
industry are gradually adjusting and
tensing themselves under the full load
of the war strain; curtailing activities
here, speeding up there. and reaching
out at some points, under the pressure
of new needs, to create entire new In
dustries. In industry the u Of
the United States are being searched
as never before to meet the new de-
mands. and mineral wealth which has
always been there against the time OF
need. but never before called upon. Is
being developed, while In commerce
new processes, new economies and
new efficiency, involving 40 new dis
coveries, but latent possibilities In time
Of peace, are being permanently add
ed to the wealth of the nation under
the pressure of unprecedented de
mand.
The whole process Is too vast and
Nuiftd W bt o1th &tlaAtJ NJ IA inv
but there are several means by which
occasional glimpses can be gained.
One of these Is by the reports of the
department of~the interior on the min
eral Of the United States,
which continually describe the devel-
opment Of new mining activities In
metals and chemicals, whose deposits
have beer known for years, but whose
possibilities had not been fully recog-
nized. Another Is I'm the pages of the
various technical journals, in which,
every week. there is at least one story
which has been added to the national
machinery.
On the Mississippi.
In new traffic channels Ii Is Iron Ag.
which reports that for the first time
only a short while ago, moreover
the upper Mississippi has been opened
to ore and coal traffic on a big scale.
The Mississippi has been big enough,
for years, to- carry far more heavy,
slow traffic thnn Its upper reaches, as
far as st. Paul. the head of naviga-
ton. than ever. apparently, anyone
thought of putting upon 1t. Ore trains
aud coal trains have moved along Its
banks for years, moving the freight at
q cost per ton mile far beyond the
demands of the river. but II took the
war to make people realize the full
value of the stream.
But now that war has come. and the
railroads of the entire country are I'M
der such a strain as they before
had to bear. people In 81. Paul and all
the river towns as far down as st.
Louis have suddenly perceived that the
old Mississippi must do her share. And
quite recently six new steel barges,
carrying 1900 tons OF coal-the larg-
est cargo ever hauled to the head OF
navigation ON the ri~ver-arrived ut
st. Paul, the vanguard of a new fleet.
The development Of an entirely new
mining industry within the United
States, under pressure of the war, is
told In a recent bulletin OF the Geolog-
ical survey, on "Strontium In 1915"
For many years large deposits OF
strontium ore, in the form of celestite
crystals (strontium sulphate) and
strontianite (strontium carhonate)
have been known to exist, often be
side beds of limestone which were be-
Ing actively quarried, In Michigan and
Ohio along the shores Of Lake Erie
Schoharfe county, New York, In West
Virginia and Texas, and In California
and Arizona. Strontium salts were
used In beet-sugar refining. bur faI
more In the manufacture Of fireworks
because of the brilliant crimson flame
they gave.
Market for Strontium.
Before the war, however, the mar
ket for strontium vas so limited, ant
being confined, moreover, to the AT
lantk seaboard, imports of strontiun
ore from Europe were cheaper thar
the freight rates from California an'
Arizona, the only deposits which hat
ever been worked commercially.
The war, however, changed all thi
In two ways. In the first place, |
EICnlcu u uGW ah0 AShShhohS ShhAh
for strontium, magnesium, and bari
UNI, for vast quantities Of signal rocs
cts, flares, etc., both at the front an
on the sea. Moreover, here at HON
the Increase in freight traffic on on
railroads, due to war demands. neces
STATED a considerable increase in til
use Of signal flares here also.
The new industry was getting on 1t
feet In 1916. In 1914 about 1900 shor
toni Of strontium ore had been col
sumed by American fireworks man,
facturers, the commonest form Of tn
refined product being %strontium nitrat
ut around 10 cents q pound or les'
OF this 1000 pounds, the proportio
Of domestic ore was SO small as nc
to be worth reporting. In 1915 tn
consumption Of strontium ores Ia
risen nearly a 100 per cent; the prie
had caused the huge strontium depo
its In California and Arizona to
opened and worked for the first tin