ALLIANCE HERALD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1918 POTASH NOT KNOWN IN F.AST (Continued from Pane 1.) consumed annually about 2"0,n00 tons of K2-0, at a cost to the consum era of approximately ftfi.OOO.OOO. Ninety per rent of this went into fer- I tilizers. of which the greater part was used In the cotton fields. This consumption in the I'nited States was reduced in 1917 to about I MM tons. VniMHitioii of Luke Brine. "The strong water la the Nebraska lake is called brine. Two things stand out prominently in determin ing value of branes. viz , the per ( centime of absolute salts and the per centage of KIO in the salts The brines contain compounds principally of potassium and sodium, and traces of magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. The compounds are principally BUlphatea, carbonates and chlorides. The rela tive amounts of sodium and potash vary considerably in the potash re gion, and there Is a yet wider ratm if the lakes of the whole sand hill country are considered. By the percentnue of potash is meant the per cent in the water or in the solids of the water. For example a brine running 16 per cent solids and 28 per cent of that as potash (K20) would be reported: potash, 28 or as potash, 4.44. Both these are cor rect, but they refer In the one case to the solids and in the other to the water and salts combined Under a refining procers such as i two of the Nebraska plants are in stalling these other chemicals, now rescured in eastern chemical works, will he extracted. At present prices their value Ib greater than potash, and is thus one bulwark agatnst Ger man competition after the war." There is one monoply lone enjoyed by Germany, one which, it was hoped by all cohorts of the kaiser, could be used as a most powerful lever in open ing up renewed commerce with the world after the war ifl over. This is the monopoly of potash. There are two fields under German control wherein are contained the greatest known deposits of natural potash. These deposits are in Prus sia and in Alsare-Loraine. Fer many years the production and refining of potash has been strictly under gov-' ernment control. Abour one hun dred companies in Germany prior to! the war operated the potash plants. All were unaer government airwuwa and these concerns constttuded a magnificent syndicate which virtually controlled the supply of potash used In agriculture and in the other in dustries. Only one-half of the pot ash prepared for commerce was al lowed to be exported, the other half retained being wholly utilized in agri culture and in the manufacture !n encies ruled by the kaiser. One Jermai Club in the Discard Some of the most noted among the German scientists, and the other kul tured and foresighted ones In the In ternational affairs of the Fatherland, have confidently believed, and have expressed freely their convictions that th's great German monoply, if nothing else, would force the entente powers to most favorable terms of peace front the German viewpoint They reasoned and argued that by outline off the supply or potash the Industrial world would he seriously hampered in scores of most Important and necessary pursuits. But these scientists and wily states men know not and they did not know they knew not that in the United States vast deposits of potash were available, and only needed such a calamity as the present war to set Into motion American enterprise and genius for the development and the Utilization of these great supplies of potash which nature has provided. I lilted Htnte the Kal-erS ;.! Oi tomor "Necessity is the mother" of the potash industry in the I'nited States. Trior to the breaklnr out of the war Germany supplied approximately 90 pat cent, of the potash used through out the world. How ureat has been the demand for this eawattal element In the Vnited BUlttfl snown bv the figures from the ("enr.us Bureau re ports ami the statistic supplied by iii' Department of Commerce, The I'nited States for years has been one of Germany's best patrons tn so fat as potash is considered. In 1919 201,220 tons of muriat of potash and 4 2.74 ". tons of SOlphaM of potash were importated Into the country The total potash In varioun forms Which we purchased from (iermany that year was valued at $1,929,124 In 1916 our total Importations of pot ash amounted to 4. r.." tons, valued at $1,007,228. From a price of $39 a ton, sea board in America, in December, 1113, there was an advan.-o to $."00 a ton in December. 1916. No wonder such p1 vanr" in price of a commodity thai a civilized country must have greatly stimulated search for suppli.-s of pot ash In this country. It is one of the most necessary tilings In American industries. It is an essential in hundreds of trades. It had been a Commodity so cheap that there was no inclination for Americans to make serious effort to produce It in a com mercial way. In fact in the Statisti cal Abstract of the I'nited States for 1915 no mention is made of the pro duction of potash in this country. Even though the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Soils have made exhaustive reports on minerals and other thinns under the jurisdiction of these government bureaus, little data had been gathered up to 191 i t of the potash resources of the coun try. Passed Up With Few Words In the Year Book of the depart ment of Agriculture for 1915, the statement is made: "There are four possible domestic sources of potash: The giant kelp of the Pacific coast from lower California to Alaska; the alunite deposits, muinly in (he moun tains of Utah; the feldspathic rocks of the eastern part of the United States and the mud of Searles Lake in California." In the Agriculture Department re port Issued in 1916, in an article by Frederick W. Brown, assistant in charge of investigation of fertilizer resources. Bureau of Soils, futlier reference is made to the r.ourcos of potash, and for the first limp official recognization is given to the potash lakes of Nebraska, which were at that time being utilized in a modest way. and which were passed upon with the statement: "Whllo the size of these lakes precludes the possibili ty of their ever furnishing a large supply of potash, it Is to be hoped that the operators will succeed in perfecting their process so as to be able to continue production upon a return of normal conditions." Private Research Rewarded If the clever scientists in charge of our geological investigations Knew so little about the existence of potash in this country, it appears that the Ger mans should know still less. But facts are that in the United States are vast deposits of potash, great fields which have been hardly inves tigated, and as private researches proceed the vastnss and the value of these deposits are becoming known In the Sand Hills pf Nebraska DiKine the past year the so-called sand hill country of Nebraska has been producing about two-thirds of a 4000-acre ranch, paying $32,000 all potash produced in the I'nited States. Nebraska 's potash resources are enorm mis The field extends from the North Platte river In the western central part of the state to the Niobrara and the Iong Pine for It. After he bought It he discov ered that It Included a 100-acre lake. He asked a rebate of $100 from the man from whom he purchased It. It 1 was not given. Today the heirs of the cattleman are operating a potash 1 These deposits are In the hundreds reduc tion plant and estimate that the of small lake.t located In the sand lake cont. tines more than a million hills, principally In Sheridan, Gordon and Cherry countie.v Of these lakes there ate approximately Too. all of dollars worth of potash Ibiptd tad Mug of Potash Town ThlB is only a fragment of the hls- thetn ca rr n potash, and about 100 tory of potash in America. The fu- were venturesome enought to start In the game will keep gathering in the dollars. Fortunately the) have been not stock poddlOrBi but legiti mate pioneers, level-headed men whoso foresight and enterprise mer its the success they h ivo attained. It will to int resting to wptch the progress of the potash Industry In oui own oMiniry -an Industry tint Rives a boa?! MOW to Oermrn amblt-tlons. Which have bet n tested run from five to nine par i nt carbonate of potash. The lakes ranee in size from 15 to 300 anil 400 acres. The deposits of lUre will disclose the rest In the meantime Kraal plants are running night ami da) anil other mammoth plants an bein:' built The three Soap at Germ Destroyer. Lately medical science has been try ing to find out to what degree the chemical action of soap can be de Deeded upon as a destroyer of genua Professor Hymen, after experiment Ing with many varieties of soap declares that "all soaps possess nntV septic properties In some degree, and that any germs rubbed Into soap 01 dropped upon Its surface are not cap hie of multiplication." potash in these lake hods run from potash towns of the Nebraska sand eight to 20 feet in depth i hills are lloffland, the first one where Crop of Now MUHonartea potash was leathered la small way. Already some of the ptOBeor. Who Lakeside, Which 'or years was a cat less than three years ago started in j tloloading station on the Burlington the potash business in these fields. railroad, and Antioch whore two and in a modest way, are rated as large refineries are riming and other millionaires Throe exclusive pot-! ones beini: built. At T.aKesltle. a ash have been built up. ami m arly n company which was put out of the thonaand hands are employed Is thelbrewlnl bualneaa at Omaha by the ...... .l.i..u i- V . i I . ...... iiiu'i- i . which is tne iiini-M iii state iroittouor auieutimeni . is omiu merlca, ami the permanency of which seems a certainty. The story of oil, of gold or any other like discovery is not more In tereatlOf than that of potash in the Nebraska fields; and the story of pot ash in the United States Is now only in its first chapter, and no doubt the I subsequent ones will be fully as In teresting. Accursed Lakes Turned to messing if an Immonac plant ami utilizing the machinery which It formerly used IB making beer This plant repre sents an expenditure of more than $200,000. Sand Hills Put ash Production One authority on fertilizers writ ing on the subject of potash makes the statement that in 1917 the total output of potash was approximately 15.000 tons, and this Is mainly For years and years the "alkali" ! credited to the utilization of the lakes of the Nebraska sand hills, now Pacific kelp beds, the Searles Like j so valuable for the potash they con tain, Ware considered worse than worthless, in fact a nuisance to be and the Nebraska alkali lakes. The fact Is that of crude potash Nebraska alone produced approximately 62,600 avoided. From their wafers cattle ( tons. From lloffland. the pioneer wouldn't drink, nor would hogs wal-j potash town of the United States, low In them; they were even avoided there were shipped 718 car loads I by the flocks of wild ducks passing during 1917; from Antloch, 496 car i over them, and apparently their only loads and from Lakeside, 3KI car redeeming features was that they ! loads. With an average of 40 tons to j were never the breeding places of the car the tonnage stated Is derived mosquitoes. They Were the curse of at. The price of potash la about $5 : the homesteader, the bane of the cat- ' per unit. The concentrates from the tie and the sheepmen and thoroughtly Nebraska fields run about. 28 per cent damned by every thirsty man. : which brings the product to a valuo Ctotdefl Opport unities Passed Up lot $140 a ton . Thus IT ran be easly A few years ago when the Kin- estimated that the potash Industry kead homestead law was enacted, hun enriched Nebraska about $8,764,000 , dreds of homesoekers rushed into the In 1917. sand-hills hoping that on the 640, Potash Not a Piker' Came acres allowed them they could, raise I Tno potash game Is a big one. a little stock and manage to build a while the pioneers In It had little home. Many of these homesteaders capital. It has advanced bo th. t now it found part of their claims covered by requires hundreds of thousands of the alkali lakes Many of them after ,ioilars fo engage In it with any as a year or two abandoned their claims. sllranro of xicvo. The wooden One of these Kinkaiders some day Btnvo ppo ,inPS wnl(,n mt ho flod will come to a realization, if ho has for 1P conveyance of the water from not already experienced it. that he ,iho lnkofl ,, ,.xrrn,,v cosf;nc mnrP passed up the one great opportunity tnan $MO0 mj,0 A wducag plant I of his life. He filed on a section In r(innot h() wo ,,, for ,0 t,)!in the southern part of Sheridan county $lr;0-00n. At Antloch a plant will I hree hundred acres of his claim was ' ,)r eompletej V(VTOF,,nt , !in In covered with one of these abominable votn.n) of , h;(lf milItnn rton:,r!, alkali lakes, a shallow, no-good patch j . ,..,. 1 1 . Still a fliihy Industry v., airi Ruvnia i in niiuui'M mini 01 fish could not be found. He cussed his misfortune, he condemned the country as he would the infernal re gions, and picked up stakes and Some men now in the potpsh indus try a few years ago would feel rich had they a hundred dollars cash To day they are trying to decide what moved to parts not known. His de- ,hpy ran hoat do wi,h ,,"Mr Incomes parture was just at the time when it I ..Pf" rrom ,OOB IO ,'""n was quietly whispered about that these alkali lakes contained potash. His abandoned claim was "jumped Still the indntry is In swaddling clothes. In the bad lands of South Dakota. In North Dakota. Montana, the alkali country. An Unknown Gift to TTetrs 6 MAZOLA Helps the housewife to save butter, lard, suet; improves fried foods and salad dressings. FOOD Administrator Hoover says that 375,000 tons of animal fats can be saved yearly if one-third ounce less is useJ per capita per day ami he asks every American to do his share. He says use vegetable oils in cooking. And thousands of housewives today are congratulating themselves that they have at last found in Mazola a vegetable oil which is even better than the old cooking mediums. Mazola is a pure product from American corn. It browns food quickly, preventing that greasiness and sogginess which used to be so prevalent in fried or sauted dishes. And since Mazola does not carry taste or odor from one food to another it can be used over and over again a great force for economy. If you want an especially delicious mayonnaise or French dressing use Mazola. There is no need to give up salad because ot the uncertain supply or high prices of olivs oil. Get Mazola from your grocer in pint, quart, halt-gallon or gallon tins. The large sizes are the most economical. Also ask for the free Mazola book of Recipes or write usdixecl. ONE. PINT" Youi moocy rclundcd il M.ioi. 4oe ox five cmiie num. i. on. Corn Products Refining Company 17 Battery Place New York UlUKtjK SALAD H O COOKING. Oik bv a man who was looking for Ins Wyoming and oth-r western states nt what It contained, and today the con- 1 far as n are lakes similar to demned lake is giving up dallv sev-',hp ,akPF' in tno bad lands, oral hundred dollars worth of potash. Thrsp ,akos rrp now Attracting at and most conservative potash experts ,f ntif,rl They mean that forever the estimate that there is still to be taken I TTn,,"fl States Is Independent of Oor out of the once-considered no-good :manv Insofar as potns' I ts concerned. ' shallow puddle. This man is only one I Kvpn ,,1"lru he wise ones tn the I Of the many who have missed out In .Oaolotleal Survey and other bureaus in Washington have had their eves closed and made a lot of gue s wok A prominent Nebraska cattleman. 1 hr scented as facts, th- potash tn now dead, some years ngo purchased trr Promises to thrive Soon na private enterprise nroves the sroat- , noss of this nartlcular Industry there will he vo'umlnous "official" reports It promises to erin.il Wyoming ell In jtbls repaid. Potash has never been of sufficient importance in the United States to appeal as being worthy of r.ny special I legislation for the regulation of its I production. But thero has been a j sudden change, and astute men a I mong the national lawmakers have tO. mod their attention toward It. Will There Hi- a Monopoli Idka in (icmuMiy Perhaps some people have heard of or read ubout the Walsh-Pittman bill recently passed by the Senate, and now lingering before the House This bill is to "encourage and pro mote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, gas, potassium and sodium on the public domain." Note the intent of the measure, then look up In the Congressional Record the amend ments to the original drafted Mil! There is plenty specific changes as to oil and coal, but strange us it muy seem, considering the importance of potash just now, there is not a single modification as to phosphate and potassium. Let It be hoped thut the bill will encourage the potash industry. Let it also be hoped that this most promising industry will not become a monopoly like some others In similar commodities. The provi sion of the Walsh-Pittman bill are most liberal, and prov;de for the b aling by the Government of mineral and oil-producing lands in trncts not to exceed 2,560 acres to any Individ ual or corporation. Fake Promoters Not Vet in Kvldence So far the potash business has been free from "wlldcatting" but its raln-bow-llke Lues will attract the wily promoters, end we will soon have numerous fool-seekers and blue-sky artists in the limelight, and the taleB of great fortunes nirde quickly In pot ash will be played up In the most In teresting style of th sure-tvlng oper ator. In the interim the onea who CarUn&Jeffrey Co. Oaulu, Nebraska ifi s the new "cold flVv'v wZSt' Jjy ho'tlc" to enjoy with ithe wSji stiictcst sense, but the T ; ?ffi 1 H' Mil liveliest, nippiest nppc- (IL,,. jefc. " A tSS n,er Imaginable rich jjf amtd! B fBll in the flavor of nutritive H HL. kVu HLHll cereals and imported HilBVkV 3MlJtl BEVO fl WfJrjlHk makes good things to Vjfl Lit mm ihIHRvI cnt even better HlJefl mll.llMll and it's healthful. SiliiSsSHiBflB iLffijjC-Bh 4 ANHKltSKR BUSCH ltvejppa st. lkjui. u. s. a. ' m KING'S CORNER Alliance Distributors for Bevo !wmm RAt1HMSKISnHHSeewwta Dray Phone 54 Dye & Owens Transfer Line HOUSEHOLD GOODS moved promptly and '7 TRANSFER WORK solicited. Residence Phone 636 and Blue 574 Save American Blood Buy More War Stamps The government muat have money now. The da eigion is soon to he made for or against America. Which way it will go depends upon the money loan ed the ffovernment to carry on the, war. The more money loaned our government the sooner the war will end the less American hlood will he shed. The government has issued two hillion dollars in war securities in the form of 25-cent "Thrift Stamps" anil $r "War Saving! Stamps." The $5 War Savings Stamps are little govern" ment honds, bearing 4 per cent compound Intereat They cost $4.13 now. The 25 cent Thrift Slumps do not hear interest, hut sixteen of them are worth $4 in payment on a $5 stamp which does These "hahy honds" are intended for investors who are not aide to loan the government more than 25 cents or $8 at a time, hut they can he bought in a mounts up to $1,000. We sell both kinds of stamps for the Govern ment. Let us tell vou ahout them. FIRST NATION A LBANK Alliance, Nebraska Order Your Coal Supply Early It is the wise thing to do You'll say so this winter, too. If we could make plain to you the situation, we know that fou would put la your winter's coal supply now. We are not trying to scare you, but we are trying to toll you. The car shortage exist. It may oos to you like everything Is moving, but you'll appreciate what we toll you when winter comes and It may be next to Impossible to get coal. We've got coal to sell you today. We've got coal today to put into your bin. We can't promise more. It's good ooal and it's a fair price. We urge you to get busy thing act. It will prove to your advantage. Dierks Lumber & Coal Co. F. W. HAROARTEN. Mgr. PHONE 22 111 Laramie Ave.