The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-07-19
SHOULD NOT EXPLOIT
OIL SHA[E BUSINESS
Editor The Silver State:

Editor The Silver State:
Dear Sir: Permit me to thank you
for sending good-sized clipping
from the Elko Independent regarding
what Editor Hale thinks | think
about the shale business I do not
blame Mr. Hale for sticking up for
Elko, and for Nevada. He should do
so. and | am with him. am for
Elko, and Winnemuca, and all the
rest of Nevada. and its newspapers
The knowledge which have been
disseminating eabout oil shale and
shale oil is just what Brother Hale
doesn't think II is, but which he COM
mends as the right thing | CLEANED
my knowledge from actual facts
gathered on the ground" and so did
DR.. Bonner
| have been to the Elko plants.
and to other plants in southern Col
orado and southern Utah, more than
once. have tramped the mountains
from Elko to Carlin, almost, and
have seen all sorts of shale deposits,
and learned their history for seventy
years back. | have seen the crude oil
Mr.. Hale speaks of. and know about
the paraffin he mentions, and | have
seen. in different places. almost
every imaginable sort of oil whiy
has been refined from shale crude
visited the so-called Southern Pa
cific experimental plant at Elko when
construction was commenced | saw
1t again when il was a year old. I
know tie number of the s. p. section
on which it is located, and the sec.
tion where the shale "mine'- is. I
have stubbed my toe over oil-well
castings up there which I dare say
Elko newspaper men do not know
about | have been in the hole"
whence shale is taken. and | almost
agree with some things Editor Hale
says about the layout.
have interviewed several men di-
rect from the famous Scottish shale
oil plants. all of whom were familiar
with the Pumpherston plant of
which the S. p. plant at Elko is a
small reproduction. and | have writ
ten many columns about what Oil
shale processes are. and more about
what they are not. | have been in
! formed that two Colorado men have
been searched out By federal effieeTs
because OF what | learned about
them. and published.
Now the point of all this is that
Mr.. Catlin. and DR.. Bonner. and your
correspondent. are, in fact, telling
the world what wonderful oil shale
Nevada has, and what glorious po-
tentialites are in that shale. The
possibilities are fully demonstrated,
| but it must be reiterated that the
processes are not
Just because. as Mr.. Hale so siren
uously AYERS. crude oil and paraffin
may be seen at Elko: and because. as
have told you, all sorts of oils, kerr
osene. gasoline. naphtha, benzine, and
many other ines, and oleos, and
wakes may be seen, which genuinely
have been refined from shale oil,
these facts have been abused by
swindlers-by stock-sellers.
The gentlemen high up in shale
wisdom are doing Nevada the biggest
kind of a favor. and giving her the
only valuable kind of advertising,
when they tell the public that shale
| oil is not yet refined in this country
commercially. because we do not
know enough about 1t.
Unless the Catlin superintendent
may be correct in statement which
has been interpreted to mean that he,
at least, believes truly basic system
of destructive distillation has at last
been decided upon. there is no use
of experimenting with refining pro-
cesses. Chemists anticipate no diff
Guilty in perfecting such processes
They will do it Immediately the cor
rect base is indicated. Pumpherstor
processes are of little use. because
American shales are different from
the Scotch. There are as many diff
ferent kinds of shale in Nevada, and
Utah. and Colorado. as there are de.
posits of shale, almost.
II Is not to be understood for q
! moment that Nevada has not great po-
tential wealth in shale. John Catlin
as the outstanding head of shale in
vestigation, is doing great work foi
Nevada and for the nation; and he Is
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