The Sidney herald., 1957-01-24
Looking Ahead"
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CONTINUED from Page 81
power available in Montana an,
from the Missouri River Dams
electricity developed from atomic
energy does not appear attractiv,
at the present time or in tn,
forSeeable future.
The foregoing discussion natur.
ally leads u to consider the O
slbilities of n of our principa
resources - Ignite coal. AS men.
toned previously, Montana. anc
particularly the Sidney area. i.
fortunate in having vast deposit.
of Ignite. Ignite can be minec
and transported cheaply to such
industries as may eventually To-
cate in this area. This coal is OF
value now but will probably be
OF greater value sometime many
years in the future when the
present gas supplies become de-
pleted. At that time it may prove
to be feasible to use Ignite as
a substitute for natural gas. That
again is an industry which re-
quires substantial investment in
plant and equipment and so long
as gas from other sources is
available, cannot prove to be eco
nomic. Nevertheless, these Ignite
deposits constitute a valuable re-
serve for the industrial future of
this area.
We expect to develop a small
mine for the production of lig-
mite coal for the generating plant
now under construction. The new
Sidney plant will represent the
first l~arge-scale use of Ignite
coal for power generation in
Montana. The development of
such a mine as this will be Wis
bile evidence to other industries
n the future when considering
his area as a location.
The last general topic l will
iiscuss is that of industry. AS
mentioned previously, Sidney is
'ery fortunate Tor perhaps very
in having secured the To-
alton of one of the few large
Industries in eastern Montana.
since that industry located here,
'ou have had a chance to OBJ
erve its effect on agriculture, on
BUSINESS and on the general econ
my of the ear. 1t is unfortunate
hat other industries have not as
ct discovered the advantages of
his area but there are certain
landicaps which we all must rec
gnize and which we should try
D overcome. First, of course, is
ne remoteness of large markets.
econd is the cost of transporta-
to markets. This COSTS large
the result of the distance from
lese markets. Third, Of course,
the lack of a variety Of raw
Materials and to a certain extent
he lack of labor supply. These
andicaps can be overcome by
ertain types of industry and in
attempt to promote industrial
evelopment, the type of indus
y which can overcome these !
andicaps should be sought. {
The most ideal type of industry {
ould be a small plant not re-
too much skilled labor, /
18th processes which can be east |
learned and simple skills de-
The production should S
: something small, preferably t
me type of part for assembly i
sewhere into machines or equip S
ent. The cost of transportation y
ould not have such a great eff t
ct on either the raw material il
the production for this type b
industry. The principal value Ii
ould be built into the product f
the labor involved. o
AS an example of development C
this kind, l would mention the L
ange now taking place in New q
You have heard during a
e last ten or fifteen years OF u
e decline of industry in New N
due to the closing of
oe factories and textile mills a
lich moved into areas more p
yorable because of Transport m
ion or labor conditions. is
New England is now in a state et
economic revival due to the tt
velopment Of electronic devices F.
ed in the modern accounting at
lchines, mechanical brains, h;
ided missiles, air planes and bl
Ter such mechanisms. The tn
mer vacant factories are be- "a
subdivided into little plants al
ere sub-contractors are man. er
Icturing many Of the parts, su
or devices required tn
these complicated mechanisms. in
edit for much of this develop &c
Mt must go to the research ac- or
tiles and developments which ma
re been carried on at the Mas pc
husetts Institute of Technology.
NJ md Is an area where tn
"A transportation costs f.