Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1918-04-11
Activity is Promised
Blue Ledge District
(Medford American.)


each day 800 tons of ore from the
Blue Ledge mine to the Southern Pa
cific railroad at Medford is among
the possibilities in the schedule OF
activities designed to illumine the
dawn Of a Greater Medford during
the coming summer.
While that feature of the proposed
enterprise suggests the employment
of a man-power numerically indiffer-
ent-as sixty-five men could take
care Of the operation of the trucks
and their daily repair at each end of
the line-in it, however, one may see
the glimmer of brighter light than
that which has contributed substan
TALLY to the good cheer of Medford
since its somewhat dramatic entree
into the field of municipal activities.
AS a payroll potentiality, the
greater consideration lies in the hun
dreds of men necessary to operate a
great mine; and not only one great
mine, but the development and OPP
Grafton of number of great mines in
what is warrantably believed to be
one of the richest mineral belts in
the west.
Medfords Greatest Asset.
The Blue Ledge cluster of pros
pective mines of wealth has not been
overlooked by capitalists interested
in mining to the extent that one
would be justified in assuming from
the fact that it has not yet attracted
active development on a large and
permanent scale.
Unfortunate conditions, quite
anomalous in many respects, have
served to discourage the investment
of big capital in the leading property
of that district; and, having done
that, they have also served to crowd
into the background the fact that
other properties in that camp, in
which development has not pro-
gressed extensively, have shown un-
mistakable marks OF great deposits
of precious metal. While the Blue
Ledge has been most frequently men
toned as evidence of theeXistence of
a rich belt of copper, gold and silver
in that region because of the extent
OF its development, it is known by
mining men of knowledge and expert
ence that the King group, the Bloom
field and other attractive properties
IN that camp have shown more allur-
ing qualities as prospective mines of
great richness in proportion to the
extent Of their development than did
the Blue Ledge in its early stage OF
excitement.
Outside Enterprise Enlisted.
These conditions, together with the
, fact that the Blue Ledge has proved
its worth, have been under careful
consideration for many months by
outside capitalists and enterprise in
other lines of activity incidental to
practical mining business. They
have found that the bugbear that has
0bstructed progress in development
work in that district has been lack
of transportation. That supplied,
they have become convinced that not
only will the Blue Ledge be operated
as a great mining property, but that
other properties equally attractive
will be developed, adding their out
put to the tonnage to be transported
to the railroad by some means. Care
fully estimating the tonnage thus to
be obtained, they have also found
that there are hundreds of thousands
OF dollars to be made in the trans
portation business alone.
It is known at this time that it is
useless to talk Of building steam or
electric railroads during the period
OF the war. This fact has served to
advance the interests of motor truck
transportation, until it has been de-
termined that it is today the most
convenient and probably the cheapest
form of transportation, all things con-
sidered, available under these con-
ditions.
Cost Estimates Submitted.
Business men of Medford, desirous
of contributing in some practical
manner to the advancement of indus
trial interests in this part Of the
state, have for months been quietly
gathering data as to what may be
done toward encouraging the forma-
hon Of transportation company for
the purpose Of the development of
our vast mineral wealth, known to
exist and known also to be lying uni
touched because of lack of transport
ing facilities. In this effort they have
succeeded sufficiently to warrant the
announcement that great motor truck
companies have become profoundly
interested in the proposition and that
the sum of 100000 is within easy
raach for that nurnnca To this s,ro