LAKES FULL OF EPSOM SALTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17688, 28 July 1919, Page 6

LAKES FULL OF EPSOM SALTS

> On Kruger Mountain in the State of t Washington, within a few miles of each i other, are two lakes, one on each side of the international boundary, from which ' large amounts of natural Epsom salts have been mined. and shipped. Says a writer in The Mining and Scientific Press (San Francisco, March.. 1):— v 1 "Photographs of the lakes, made in t connection with a study of the occurrence . covered field with dark areas, nearly cirj cular, and occupying about half the total . area. The dark spots are shallow pools of , br JPf» immediately beneath which are r solid rocklike masses of epsomite The , areas between the spots are white and j consist of efflorescent salts restinn- on . black mud. During the rainy season" the t nse of water in the lakes causes the j spotted appearance to vanish. The smaller 3 of_ the lakes is in Washington, and con--5 tains nearly pure magnesium sulfate The j Canadian lake contains sodium sulfate , (Glaubers salts) mixed with magnesium t sulfate. Other lakes in the vicinity show t a predommance of sodium sulfate. Rocks s in the vicinity contain pyrfte and pvrrho- } tite. These may, upon oxidation," have b produced sulfates, which reacted with the r magnesia and lime of the rocks. This , view is supported by the fact that between the epsomite .and the underlying meta- . morphic rocks is a thin layer of gypsum. . A point of much interest is the expansive t force with which a saturated solution of . the Epsom salts crystallises wpon a sudden . drop in the_ temperature. This was sufj ficient to split a three-inch iron pipe from , end to end. It -was also found that [ crystallising salts -could not be kept in s wooden tanks, as tbe solution would work into the cracks and upon crystallisation j -would open the joints. Such tanks had to bo lined with metal."

PKOFIT-SHARING. TO THE EDITOB. caeli, and '• G, Jistey" have very mildly assailed mo because I atumi that proiut aUarui K js qq solution of the laiour problem, i'or tue ot who ot the complexity of tho conditions winch underlie the solution .of this vexed question it is necessary ma* a, greater ana more competent authority than i should formulate tno ground-work upon winch I base my contributions, tfrom. an exceedingly nKln article by the Earl of Meath entitled '"j.ho Cultivation of Patriotism" I quote the following extract: " The present world-war has «aned for a, marvellous exhibition ot tno power ot patriotic feeling amongst tho freo peoples ot the limpire. His Majesty the mcEsa S e to hia people o£ . .t' j - 5 ' Pouted this out wiwai he aua: 1 desire- to take this opportunity-of .expressing to my people my recognition and appreciation of the splendid patriotism J-nd sell-sacrihoe which they have displayed in. raising by voluntary enlistment, smeo Z^T CnCemeat «* **"» war > no *** than 5 Q4l,<X)O men, an effort far surpassing that rl^Lf^u^ 1011 m sknilar cScumSancea recorded m iustory, and one which will be a lasting source ot pride to future generations. - Commenting upon tho King's message tho Earl of Meath continuedf^l£ U 11 ,. 4110 vowei of Patriotic T^~? g f the vast majority of the British_ peoples; but let not onr justifiable pride in this exhibition of patriotism blind «, to the fact that there have boon unmistakable signs amongst small sections of both rich andTpoor, tho British Isles, of a eelfiah, indifferent, cowardly spirit which has declined to assooato its interests with those of tie community at large, and haa to the best of its Sr^+- atte { nptO< U 0 Beek exemotion from principallv to be found amongst those who have grown suddenly rich and who have managed to escape from the responsibilities attaching to wealth, and, at the other extreme of thesocial hierarchy, amongst those fZh f 6 booom f of the exploitation of tibe former clas, or who 'by misfortune or ttieir own weakness have sunk to such depths of misery and penury as to render the growth in their minds of any patriotic ieelinjr an almost absolute impossibility A country may possess richly endowed universities, colleges, and technical schools; its lactones may bo supplied with tie best machinery; but if its merchants, its maun-

lecturers, and its workpeople are self-seekers devoid of honesty, careless of the general weal, idle and profligate, nrin will sooner or later overtake that country, and sooner rather than late." This is indeed a withering indictment of a, system which rests upon "profiteering." individuals have grown suddenly rich, not by adding to the wealth produced but-by exploiting tho consumer, and this evi Messrs Brasch, Mitchell, and " Estey" pn£ sume, can bo removed by the spoils being divided between the employers and employees. A greater fallacy was never conceived. The whole of the labour trouble arises from tho inequitable manner in which the wealth of the country is distributed, and the responsibility for this anomaly rests with the authorities who have lamentably failed in their duties. Dr Willian Garnett, says: "Hitherto associations among employers have existed in tho United Kingdom mainly, if not exclusively, for two purposes—to defend themselves against the demands of labour and to keep up prices against the consumer." Until this erroneous notion of "profiteering" is eradicated from the minds of our financiers and commercialists there will bo no industrial peace—■ and rightly so. The distribution of wealth, to be just, must rest upon equity as preordained by God, but here I confess I am checked Our authorities upon God's law aro silent. I believe Bishop Welldon is correct when he says: "The Church, indeed, has taught, or professed to teach, duty duty to God and to man. But that sublime principle of English life—the watchword which inspired Nelson at Trafalgar and Wellington at Waterloo^—has been well nigh deadened by the noisy cries of conflicting-self-interest." I do not know if I have made the case clear, but in plain English the first thingnecessary for us to do is to purify our industrial system from commercial roguery. This applies to both employers and employees, but as the workers have nothing whatever to do with finance or wholesale commercialism, in which spheres the misdeeds are committed, our attention must be concentrated on employers and financiers because they are the exploiters, and, therefore, the cause of the industrial disturbance which poisons our social life. These men will not? let the distribution of wealth flow as God intended it should from His bounteous store in' Nature. Food, clothing, and all that makes life worth living are from the primary stage in production all along the line of transportation and manufacture subject to a commercial value which has no relation to their intrinsio cost, and tho consumer is forced to pay this arbitrary price. Let all honest working men take a note of this, that no socialistic nationalisation is a cure for this evil. As thesg men defy God, the first thing for the workers to do is to expose their pretensions. Let all Christian employers take a stand and combine to control production with the object of inducing prices, and of remunerating the worker in accordance with his" efficiency, then each individual will receive the value of his work. Thi9 ( implies co-operation and the abolition of "profiteering-" in order to reduce the price to tho consumer. But, until Parliament takes active steps to eliminate the "profiteer" there is not the slightest indication that the workers will increase their exertions for the benefit of this parasite whose activities do not add a pennyworth of wealth to the national store.—l am, etc, W. Sivertsen.

Sib, —I think Mr Sivertsen's letter on the subject of profit-sharing, in which he probes deep in search of fast causes, should bo carefully studied by every earnest thinker who has a genuine desire to see the evolution of now and better social conditions. I feel quite suro that Mr Hyam Brasoh -has misunderstood ihim. There is no apparent desire in Mr Sivertsen's letter to oomment on the motives of Messrs Ross and Glendming (Ltd.) in launching their scheme. The names of the members of tho firm axe simply used in designation of the magnificent business and manufacturing edifice which they have built up. Iu any case their administration of the ■wealth of which Providence has made them trustees is well known in Otago to be beyond praise. When this has been made clear, criticism of the new policy is perfectly legitimate. No doubt the wealth of tho firm has been acquired by the aid of the industry and sagacity of its members under tho recognised system: of individualism which at present would appear to be drawing to a close without much apparent light as to a substitute. The individualistic system may best bo described as "I" against " you," and tho profit-sharing system as "my employees and I" against "you and your employeo." Neither takes cognisance of tho wholo social body. One is a struggle of individual against individual, the other a struggle of group against group. This Mr Sivertsen sees clearly as implied by hia statement that "as a solution of the labour problem profit-shoring ia a financial absurdity, since to bo of general benefit it would havo to be applied to every other The logical solution of this is State ownership or the nationalising of everything. That a vast concern should havo grown up in a young country in tho space of a single life, will to Mr Sivertsen be a striking examplo of the injustice and inequality of tho individualistic system. Probing further, in the light of the humble beginning described by one of tho founders of tho firm when announcing tho initiation of tho scheme, he will natarally be led to the conclusion that the 6 per cent, now to be accepted as "capital's wages" could not hare prevailed in tho early history of the concern. It will also bo apparent to him that these profits which were not shared during the past 50 years have gone to th e building up of tho concern to ite present magnificent proportions. Yet, if tirofit-sharing 'is right now, it should havo been equally right 50 years ago, but labour could not then make the position plain, and capital could not perccivp it. Wo appear to be on the eve of drastic changes economically and socially, and I' do not think any writer to your columns piercos deeper or searches more honestly for first onuses and a peaceful solution than Mr Sivertsen docs. Ho has as little time- for tho nostrums of {he Socialist as ho has for that of the Capitalist, and quite, evidently regards profit-sharing as tho combination of a group organised for se-lf-protoction at the expense of the rest of the community, whilo his concern is for tho wholr. social body. " It's a long, long way to Tipperary" and ho may find the profitsharers against him. captured by capital, instead of comrades in a common cause, smeo selfishness in human nature is by no meana confined to the class representing Capital. Blindness to this fact is labour's greatest stumbling-block.—l am, eto. July 25. Ex-Emi-io-ebb.