The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-13

grandmother used to give him but tell
him that without sulphur the guns
in France would become silent; the
newspapers of the country cease to
exist; the vast crops of cereals dwtn-
die; the fruits that have made the
California region famous shrink in
bulk, and motor cars become as use
less as if they were shod with iron
instead of rubber, and he will prob
ably class you with the late lament
ed Munchausen of imaginative mem
DRY.
And yet 1t is a fact, and most I'M
pleasant phase of it Is that unless
the government. can come to some
agreement as to the means by which
the sulphur supply is to be greatly IN
creased within the next few months,
all those industries that lie outside the
production of explosives for the use
Of the American expeditionary force
will cease to exist with the same
promptitude that an incandescent
light ceases to glow when the wires
are cut, for not rubber tire can
come into existence without sulphur
to carry on the vulcanization process,
not indeed any of the familiar rubber
goods that minister to our comfort.
By the same token, news print paper
cannot be made without sulphur to
produce the pulp, and if that comes
to an end the $4,000 newspapers in
the United States will cease to exist
with the speed with which a train
enters a dark tunnel. Anyone with
a fairly lively imagination may indulge
it in fancying what land without
newspapers would be like.
It is impossible to go into the de-
tails of all the Industries that would
be affected by the sudden cessation
of the supply of sulphur, but chemists
have long recognized it as indeed the
king of chemicals, and they have been
for years exercised in mind as to
where the supply was to come from.
Quite recently the Bureau of Mines
in Washington, which is division of
the Department of the Interior, to-
gether with the Geological Survey,
conducted an exhaustive inquiry into
the sulphur sources Of the United
States What they discovered caused
them to perspire just little more
freely than heretofore. Mineral or
essential sulphur at present comes
from three deposits, one in Texas, one
in Louisiana, and one in Wyoming.
The first two furnish the bulk of the
$500 tons daily that Is mined, and
the latter is merely a perfunctory
source of supply.
In some WAY the Senate got wind
of the situation, and the Mines and
Mining Committee held two hearings
at Washington, one on May Sd, and
one on May 22d. At the first hear
ing DIR. Van H. Manning, Director
of the Bureau of Mines, set forth the
situation tersely. He stated the evil
Dental facts, and it was made clear
at that hearing that the time was
not far distant when the government
would be likely to lay its heavy hand
on the available supply of sulphur
and commander it for itg own uses.
Arthur e. Wells, consulting engi-
neer for the War Department, the
War Industries Board and the Bureau
of Mines, went on the stand and
pointed out that sulphur was so vital
part of the work of the world that
unless means were Immediately TAX
en- to insure a bountiful supply trou-
BILE of very serious sort would en-
sue.
I'VE are travelling altogether too
close to the edge of our supply" said
Mr.. Wells in substance. I'VE have
no margin of safety whatever"
Sulphur, while entering so large
ly into the affairs of human kind,
does not stand out in the forefront
SO greatly because the mineral itself
usually loses its identity in passing
manufacturing experience. AS an ex-
ample, it is not exaggeration to say
that our daily bread depends largely
upon sulphur, nor is it stretching
things to announce that without sui
phur we might be wearing canvas
shoes entirely. In both these essen
tials to daily life sulphur enters in
the form of sulphuric acid. There
could be no fertilizer without the acid;
there could be no tanning of leather
| without it.
In It's inquiriesIhe government Blu
| reau has discovered that there are
two or three main sources of sulphur,
| or perhaps 1t would be better to say
| that there are two or three methods
of obtaining sulphur. One of these
| is what is known as the pyrrhotite
| method. Pyrrhotite is a low grade
sulphur bearing pyrites, and the plan
| of coaxing out Of it the sulphur it
contains is a somewhat long and ex-
| pensive process involving the con-
struction of extensive mining opera
| tons to say nothing Of the develop
! ment work required, and then the
building Of roasting plant for the
extraction of the sulphur. The ex-
perts figure that to develop one pyr-
rhotite property in Virginia would re-
| Quire not less than $4,000, 900 and over
a years time. Another method is the
| extraction from pyrites, but unfortu-
nately the bulk of the rich pyrites
has been coming from the famous Rio
Tinto mines In Spain, and since the
| United States entered the war these
| hipments-nearIy a million tons a
year-have been over 90 per cent
shut off. There are, of course, dx-
tensive American pyrites deposits, but
/ these are usually found to have a large
content of precious or valuable met
ais, and they have been mined for
these alone. The possible use from
the residue-which means reclamation
from the slag-has been in the form
of sulphuric acid direct, This work
has gone on largely In the West, and
sulphuric acid is of such character
that 1t does not bear shipment we'll.
Usually sulphurio acid Is not shipped
over $50 miles, and carries a higher
freight rate than dynamite. and spe-
cially constructed tank cars are neces-
sary
The third method advocated by the
| Bureau of Mfnea and the one thew min
their dependence for an immediate