Wednesday, September 19, 1900.
THE SUMPTER MINER.
fli '
"
THE GENTLEMAN
FROM COLORADO.
Discusses Relative Value of
Hotel and Smelter.
"If you will excuse me for repeating
that literary chestnut from Dickens, 'I'm
waiting for something to turn up,' " re
marked the loquacious representative of
the Centennial state Sunday afternoon,
as he stood on the bridge across Powder
river looking at the polluted water that
had done service in the Golconda mill.
"This being the case, I have had time
to think on other subjects than my fown
private affairs," he continued. "The
topic uppermost In my mind of late has
been the relative value to this town at this
stage of the game of the big brick hotel,
which THE MINER says Dave Wilson Is
going to build here, and the smelter which
is already built and operated sufficiently
to demonstrate its practical success. For
one I am more than pleased to learn that
Sumpter Is going to have at last a hotel
that men accustomed to the ordinary com
forts of life will not be Afraid to sleep In, a
house that will ntlce' the fastidious trav
eling man and the luxury loving capital
1st to remain over night In this town,
something that only absolute necessity
has had sufficient influence to persuade
teem to do in the past. This Is, of course,
no reflection on the taverns now open to
the public I suppose it is necessary to
make some such crack as that.
"In fact, the need of a good hotel Is so
apparent that it is a waste of energy to
call attention to the whys and wherefores.
Hut I was surprised to learn that more
than 920,000 had been subscribed in this
camp towards the worthy enterprise, and
couldn't help but think how much more
direct benefit that amount of money would
do this town if it were employed as a
working capital with which to buy ore for
the smelter. Fully that much money is
needed for that purpose.
"You know there Is no sentiment in
trade; nor is there in the business of
precious metal mining. If a mine owner
has rock worth shipping and can sell It
fur cash, he is not going to turn it into the
smelter here and wait ninety- or sixty or
thirty days.or t venty n I iu e. for his mon
ey, merely trom motives of local patriot
Imii. Till-, thing of being n public bene
factor is an almighty poor substitute for
actual capital or credit at the bank, to do
bu-ineM on.
"The smelter here N n scientific suc
cess, there are already produced more than
enough ores tributary to ihU camp to keep
it running continuously, and it is a near
Approach to a local calamity that It Is not
in const. int operation. It the smoke from
its stack will drive out those who object
to it as a nuUaiue, the Institution will do
a grrater service to this camp than if its
original object shall be richly realized.
"Of course, there is much ore In this
district that can't pav for long railroad
hails, yet is of sufficient value to pay
lical smelting charges. It Is the devel
opment of this class of mines that the
smelter willaid.lf it will pay cash for ores,
and producing minesand pay rolls are what
is imperatively needed here.
"The fact of the business Is to give
this broad, comprehensive topic a personal
application if a whole lot of men are not
put to work in this district pretty noon at
wages of about three dollars a day, I'll
have to go to work myself, and that is
tie appalling catastrophe that I am work
ing my jaw so energetically to prevent."
boa Om PraliirtUa.
It ha been apparent for aom Month
that the iron ore product la destined to
play a most important factor In the reve
nues of this country for this year. Ac
cording to the geological si rvey, g;nei
ally accepted as eminent and accurate au
thority on such subjects, the Iron ore out
put for the United States for the year 1808
was a trifle over nineteen million long
tons. The same source gives the output
for the year 1800 at nearly twenty-live
million long tons, far In excess of that of
any other country in the worlJ, making a
net gain ot nearly six million tons,
having a value of 51.42 per ton In 1800 as
against 51.14 per ton In 1898. Three
states in the Union practically contributed
, the entire product, namely: Michigan,
producing nine million to'is, closely fol
lowed by Minnesota with something over
eight million tons, Alabama being third
with nearly two million tons, and twent.
one other states making up the total 01
I perhaps twentysix million tons. It is In
teresting to consider the position Utah
might assume in this procession, if the
great iron ore business was industriously
prosecuted. Irrespective of the marvelous
1 deposits in Utah.Wasatch, Juab. Morgan,
Weber and Salt Lake counties, there are
those who maintain that In Iron county
alone Utah could soon be made to take
first rank in iron ore production. It is
said, and generally accepted as a truth,
that in iron county, excepting a skim sub
soil, that the county is all a magnetite
and hemitite iron ore. Experts, who but
a short t.ime ago were employed to exam
ine and report on the iron ore possibilities
of that section, proclaimed them unsur
passed or unequaled anywhere, saying
that In the neighborhood of Iron City
there are belts of iron ore outcropped
easily traced for thirty or forty miles in
length by five miles In width. There is
nothing to show that Colorado contali s
any great deposits or mountains of Iron
ore as compared with Utah. Such being
the case, with inexhaustible coal fields
nearby, what is to prevent Utah from be
i ig the supply and distributing point for
tne trans-Mississippi valley in the manu
facture ot Iron and steel? Salt Lake Min
ing Record.
TRA.DE IN DIVINING RODS.
JJtlUf That Hidden Treasures Can Be DU-
covtred by Their Um.
In New York city, located on one of the
narrow side streets down town, is a fac
tory in which are made every year more
than fto.coo worth of divining rods for use
in finding hidden treasures. From this
factory alone are turned out and sold each
year almost $000 fake rods, which means
that in the rural districts within 200 or
300 miles of the metropolis are found
. every 12 months that many gullible farm
ers and ignorant hayseeders.
The details of this remarkable business
are almost beyond conception. Can you
believe there is one man at this end of the
clvllled nineteenth century blockhead
enough to Imagine even for a moment that
he can discover gold mines and hidden
treasures with the aid of a metal rod sim
ply touched with loadstone?
Can you believe men live today, white
men, men educated In the common schools
of the country, men residing iu towns
equipped with newspapers and churches
and circulating libraries can you believe
there are men dense enough to pay from
f IS to f 35 of their toil-earned money for
such things as divining rods, treasure
spears and treasure perfumes?
It is worse even than the gold brick
swindle. A farmer visiting New York fi r
the purpose of exchanging his good money
for what he believes to be the product of a
legitimate mine is simply conducting a
business transaction. There is no thought
of magic nor of the black art, but merely
a commercial exchange.
The hayseed who strikes up a dicker
with a green goods man also is working
on an everyday commercial basis. But
the farmer or vlUager whs invests la a di
vining rod, a treasure apear er treasure
perfume marks the gauge of his Intellect
below that of a Digger Indian. Boston
Herald.
Hn
I THE RIMBOL
g Conducted by MHS. H. l-'ISIII.K
A First-Class Restaurant. Onlv Home
Cooking. Private Rooms for Ladies or
& Families. ... Recently Removed to
I McCulloch Building, Next Dooi North
I of Brewery.
I SUMPTER, ORE.
XWk''mknn
ENGINES tv
B0ILER8
SAW
MILLS
TMESIERS
STACKERS
RUSSELL & CO.
Weito far Catalog aad Price. . Portland, Oregon.
MCmaV-VT CSAam
KtfSI-BM 1
ri -a -ar-i
RUSSELL
Hiah Grade
Machinery
Boutum St Spalding
CRYSTAL JMF Company
Free delivery of Pure Ice. Leave orders at office of Columbia Brewing and
Malting Co., ne.t door to MlNI-R office.
SUMPTER BOTTLING WORKS
Munulicturm ul all kinJs ill (.jot-orul.J Drink. nj CUi is.
UrtlrJ In lonnrcllun lih tlir
Kentucky Liquor House
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.
GAGEN A. SLOAN, PROPS.,
SUMPTER, ORE.
W. S. BOWERS
ABSTRACTS
Real Estate, Loans and Insurance. Mining Patents Obtained
Years, of eMierieiice ill IL'ikrr Cmmtv I'nnrds.
No. .M04 Court Street, Maker City: Oregon.
oooooooiMionooo
Km'IumIvc
Agent
tor
the Celebrated
OLYMPIA
HKKR
On draught or
by bottle.
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a
The Olympus
ft
II. FINLil K, Proprietor.
Iguors and Cigars. OUIIIUICI. J .
High Grade Wines,
LI
'Just around the Corner"
NF.BERGALL & MOORE
I'ROI'RII-TORS.
THE MAZE
Fine Wines, Liquors and Cigars. '
I Next to First Bank Sumpter SUMPTER, OREGON