Wednesday. March 16, 1904 nolia. Mr. Jones ie one of the own ers pt the property, and it la thought there may be a new deal coming up. They will probably not return before tomorrow, MISTAKES OF MINE OWNERS CRACKER OREGON TO RESUME SOON. LOOKING AFItK THEIR SUMPTER INTERESTS l: THE SUMPTER MINER President Michael Here And Brings Good News About His Properties. Joseph Michaol, of Minneapolis, president of (hii Turuagaiu Arm coin pany, operating tho California, mill largely Interested In the Cracker Oregon mill Cracker .hu;k in tlm Cracker Crook district, nrrlvoil tlnn mnrliiog t look uftor tho oMirntlou of IiIh prttpoi t Iih. Mr. Michael hrlngH most encouraging nmvH. Tim Cracker Oregon will roHiiiuo opera tiotiH within tho uiixt three tuoiitliH, or irohiihly 11 sooner limit. "Wo would Htnrt up nt once," Hitj'H Mr. Michael, "were It not for tho faol that tho toniIh Hro In h do plorHhlo condition, mid tho getting iu of supplies li h mutter attended with grout dlllloulty. Just a hooii as tho wuathor opeus up, however, wo will begin oporntloiiH, hikI wo hope thut It will not ho ho lung rh tho 1 1 in 11 I have mentioned," This property it equipped with h (on stamp mill hiiiI iii1ihUii(o ma chinery. Operations, according to Mr. Michael, aro to I in resumed on an extended miiiIo. Itogardlug tho touiporHry closing of tho California, Mr. Michael says: "Among tho piomliiiiut conditions which nnido It necessary to u uml millliiK operations for a short time, wiih tho dltilciilty with which thu transportation of supplies was at tended, duo to tho snow Mini tho liml wtuto ot romlH. It was uoxt to i lit -possible, tit least h viry stietiiions FACE OF DRIFT NOW IN TALC. Tom 0. (liny, superintendent of the Valley Queen, mine iu from tho 111I110 last night. Ho icports Charles Warren, vlco president of tho com pany ami foreman of tho works, lunch Improved from n threatened attack of pneumonia While Mr. (iray does not take iiuy ot tho eiodlt of the approach!) u recovery to himself, it is believed (lint it Is duo to his jiidl tdous nursing and apppllcatiou of simples. Mr. (Iruy is hero on urgent matrimonial business which would not brook delay. Work at tho mine, he says, is going on In good shape. Tho drift on vein No. I, recently started, Is now Iu twenty feet uud tho face is In talc, which, as Is well known by mining men, Is a good iudlcatlou, Work hi tho other parts of tho mine is proceeding satisfactorily. mutter, to get In our cyanide and other supplies, ho wo (Inured it more expiidii-nt to i Ioho down temporarily thiiu to iiltcii it to run under such conditions, lint thu suspension will 1 ho Tory brief. Just hh hood iih tho weathur opem up, wo will ho going again. "And lot 1110 say rlftlit hero that those who are wagging their tongues aliuut tho California's mill not heliiK a success, aro speaking about some thing concerning which they have not tho remotest knowledge. Tho California mill Ih a success, as has Iioimi thorotiKhly demonstrated duriiiK tho time it wbs operated. It la ad mirably nulled to the trcatmeut of the orv, and there in uot the remotest fault to be found in thin direction. I No defect or deficiency In the mill has anything to do with tho close down, it was due to the conditioun 1 hare stated, lloro in a point. We are, absolutely Hiiro that the Cali fornia Ih a mine, and a good one; we hare all kinds of oro iu sight, and our mill ha satisfied us that the treatment is a success. It Is ouly a question of time, and a very brief time at that, until wc will he going aguiu at full blast." Mr. Michael will remain iu tho city several days looklug after his interests. The situation In the cast, he Miys, is v orv encouraging, and bis companies aro iu moat excellent shape. WENT TO EXAMINE MAGNOLIA MINE. Al Jones, Al Celser and Engineer Esselstyn, who left for the Magnolia yesterday to in like an examination of this property, met with hud luck be fore they reached (iratiitc. The re port came iu this moruiug that their team gave out before they reached (iraulte, and tho three had to foot it to (Iraulte, where they tecured a fresh span and preceded on their trip this moruiug. The Informant states that when the horses gave out tho trio got busy to give assistance, am) when seen in this act about a fuot of A I Jones' persou was sticking out of the siiow, Hud barely the tops ot Esselstyn'a aud ISeiser's heads could be seen. There are sundry rumors regarding the uilssiou of these meu to the Mag D. Jones aud A. Snyder, of Du luth, vhu are interested iu Oregon mineral and timber holdings, arrived here this morning to look after busi ness matters. Mr. Snyder is the father ot Mr. Snyder, a member of the former mining brokerage Arm of llnrks & Snyder, of this city. Mr. Jones is one of the heavy stockholders In the Esmeralda In the Cracker Creek district. It Ih re ported that this property is to resume operations at au early Jate, but Mr. Jones bad nothing to give out iu confirmation. However, it is a valu able mineral holding, situated in a favored locality, and the general impression here Is that it Is suou to be worked. Mr. Jones is extensively interested iu timber lauds In western and south ern Oregou, also iu Utah, aud iu mines iu Colorado, Arizona aud Brit ish Columbia. He is one of the stockholders In the Calumet aud Ari zona smolter at Douglas, which has just completed a most successful yvar's run. Msesrs. Jones aud Sny der will be here several duys looking after their Interests. Prussian Potash Mines. The potash that is dug from the royal Prussiuu mines, located at Stassfurt, niuety miles from Ilerllu, la the sole source of the world's sup ply. Hefore the mines were discov ered the best substitute that could bo found for the product was wood ash, such as tho southern plantations used iu the old days for makiiig lye soap. The Prussian mines aro twenty-eeveu iu number aud were devoted to the production of salt before the salt rock was discovered. When tho new va riety of salt was given to the world about forty years ago, the Prussian mines were temporarily abandoned, aud iu a few years a search for rock salt was instituted. The salt was found, but in a badly adulterated condition, and au analysis of the adulterant revealed the fact that it was the most valuablo part of tho mineral. The potash was at ouco turned to use as commercial fertil izer, aud establishments iu Kentucky aud other southern states took a large proportion of tho production. It is au lugredieut of the material iu which the Tjiii;?suo aud South Caro lina phosphate in lnrly used. Tho mines are coutrolled by a syndicate ami aro miner 1110 supervision 01 mo empuror of (iermauy aud king of Prus sia. They employ "21,000 men, and ylled 1.U00 carolads a day of potash. Of tho entire output To per cent is used for agricultural purposes, while tho remainder is used for chemical purposes. It is lurgely utilized iu the cyanide process of extracting gold from tho ore. Exchange. Resume Work at Gold Coin. The Maker City Democrat reports that Tom Kenuerly, of the Hold Coin, iu the Ureeunorus, has re turned from the east, where he has beeu for six months past, aud will resume work ou that property iu the spring. He is accompanied by F, C. Uanter, of Philadelphia, who will have charge of the work. Rush Into Mills Without Knowing Kind Best Suited To Ore. In tho opinion of John Arthur, of the Sumpter Sampling and Testing works, the thing which is militating most against tho best interests of mining iu this district is the estab lishment of mills uusuited to proper treatment of the ore. "Of course," says Mr. Arthur, "you will accusn mo of talking up my own business, slnco 1 have gone to considerable expense to equip a testing riant for the recommendation of the process betl adapted to a given ore, but you have ouly to look about you to i each the conclusion that the mistakes iu this direction are not a few. A great many alleged miuiug men seem to thiuk that among the first things to be done is to equip their piuperty with a reduction plant. For the most part they are ex-fanners or dry poods clerks whose kuowledge of miuiug, to say the least, is limited. The machinery man who cau put up the smoothest spiel un loads a mill ou them, without any reference to Its adaptability to the reduction of their ore. With a great flourish of trumpets it Is then an nounced that such and such a prop erty Is going to Install milling ma chinery, and tho eastern stockholders begiu to imagine themselves rolling in weultb and luxury. Hut in many lustaucea their dream is short lived, for the first thing you know the plant is closed down aud some vague reason assigned, when the truth of the mat ter is that it wouldn't save the val ues. 1 am not mentioning anybody or auy property, but speaking gene rally and one will not hare to start any very exhaustive inquiry to learn that what I um saying is gospel truth. This gives the district a black eye. Outsiders begin to wag their tongues and eay, 'Why did such aud such a mill clnso down? Why does uot this or that mine pay divi dends?' "The ore la here undoubtedly and iudisputaly. It is here in vast quan tities, aud of n quality that if treated correctly will yield immouse returns. If before rushing into a mill with a flare of tinhorn", tho operator would pay a small sum to some reputable aud therefore unprejudiced testing institution which would guarautoe the process, it would save tho abso lute throwing away of largo sums of money in useless machinery, aud at tho samo timo save the district from slanderous talk. I know I am preaching up my own trade, but at the same tiu.e I um glvluus stiuigbt goods, as far as the best Interests of the camp are concerned." Timber and Homestead Filings. Timber and homestead tilings, as well as filial proofs, can bo made before Charles H. Chance, United States Com missioner, office in First National Bank of Sumpter building, Sumpter, thus sav ing applicants expense of a trip to Lt Grande.