USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume I > Part 62
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The Colorado Fair Rates Association and the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado have pending in 1918 the most comprehensive case yet filed for the improvement of rate conditions both into and out. of Colorado.
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
They aim through their attorneys, Albert L. Vogl, Carle Whitehead and former Governor George A. Carlson, to secure a comprehensive readjustment of class rates between Chicago, Mississippi River and Missouri River terri- tory and Colorado common points. The complaint seeks reduction in com- modity rates from the same territories to Colorado common points; reductions are also sought in class rates for Atlantic seaboard points and territory via Galveston to Colorado common points, and between Galveston and Colorado common points ; reductions are also asked in commodity rates from Atlantic sea- board points and territory, via Galveston to Colorado common points. Read- justment of class rates between Colorado common points and all points in Kansas and Nebraska as far east as points midway between Colorado common points via Missouri River points is sought. It also seeks reduction in class rates from Colorado common points to ninety-four representative points in Arizona, Cal- ifornia, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Da- kota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, including Pacific coast terminals ; and commodity rates to Albuquerque, New Mexico; Billings, Butte and other Montana common points; El Paso, Texas; Green River, Utah; Holbrook, Ari- zona; Huntington, Oregon; Pocatello, Idaho; Salt Lake City and other Utah common points; Thermopolis, Wyoming, and Tucson, Arizona.
MISCELLANEOUS NON-METALS THAT ENTER INTO THE MANUFACTURING HISTORY OF COLORADO
In addition to those previously mentioned, the principal non-metal mineral deposits found in the state are asbestos, asphalt, cement materials, clays, corun- dum, feldspar, fluorspar, fuller's earth, graphite, gypsum, mica, natural gas, potash, road metal, sand, sulphur, and a variety of gem stones. Of these ce- ment materials, clays, fluorspar, fuller's earth, gypsum, road metal, sand, sulphur and various gem stones have been produced in commercial quantities. Most of the others have been produced in small quantities, but the deposits as a usual thing have not been developed sufficiently to make their production profitable.
Cement materials are found principally in the Missippian and Cretaceous limestones along the Front Range. Limestone of the Niobrara age is also used for this purpose. The principal cement workings are in Fremont County, where two large companies are operating. Only Portland cement is made. Large deposits of good cement material are found in Boulder, Larimer, Chaffee and Gunnison counties and in several other counties. There has been little de- velopment except in Fremont County, near the City of Florence. The average annual output of Portland cement from the state is in the neighborhood of one million barrels.
The clay deposits of Colorado are in wide variety, and are found in con- siderable quantities in nearly all parts of the state. Brick clay has been dug in Boulder, Conejos, Alamosa, Delta, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Garfield, Hins- dale, Jefferson, Kit Carson, La Plata, Larimer, Las Animas, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Monte Vista, Teller, Weld and Yuma counties, and to a limited extent in a few other counties. It varies greatly in quality and shows a wide range of color. Fire clay has been dug in Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Garfield, Jefferson, Lake, Pueblo and a few
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
,other counties. Kaolin occurs in many mines as gouge, and extensive deposits are found in La Plata, Chaffee, Garfield, Fremont, Custer and some other coun- ties, but they are undeveloped and their quality is little understood. Clay suit- able for the manufacture of stoneware and china is found in Jefferson and a few other counties. Deposits near the City of Golden are being worked successfully. Clay suitable for the manufacture of tile has been dug in many counties and a considerable amount of tile and similar clay products are being produced in the state. Special opportunities are offered for the development of the clay de- posits of the state. Detailed information about these deposits may be obtained from the State Geologist at Boulder, Colorado.
Fluorspar produced in Colorado is used almost exclusively in the steel fur- naces of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, as a flux. It has been found in Boulder, Clear Creek, Custer, Dolores, Douglas, El Paso, Gilpin, Gunnison, Jefferson, Mineral, Park, San Juan, San Miguel and Teller counties, and has been marketed from Boulder, Custer, El Paso, Jefferson, Mineral and San Juan counties.
Fuller's earth is found in Chaffee and Washington counties, and has been produced in limited quantities from the latter county, near the town of Akron.
Gypsum is found in very large quantities in several sections of the state. Its occurrence has been noted in Custer, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Larimer, Montrose and some other counties. Deposits have been worked in Eagle, El Paso, Jefferson, and Larimer counties. Reports of recent investigation in connection with black alkali on irrigated lands, particularly in the San Luis Valley, indicate that such lands may be reclaimed by the use of gypsum to neutralize the sodium sulphate in the soil. If experiments in this direction prove satisfactory the result will be the utilization of a large amount of the gypsum available and the consequent reclamation of some of the best agricultural land in Colorado.
Road metal of various kinds is found in practically every county in the state. Disintegrated granite is largely used for ballast and for surfacing. Clays of various kinds are largely utilized. With the increased activity in road building that has been evident in the state in the past few years, materials of this kind are rapidly becoming valuable.
Valuable sands are found in most counties in the state. Building sand has been dug in Denver, El Paso, Fremont, La Plata, Pueblo, Rio Grande and sev- eral other counties and is known to exist in considerable quantities in about half the counties of the state. Moulding sand has been dug in Denver and Pueblo counties. Good glass sand is found in several localities, particularly along the valley of the Arkansas River in Prowers, Pueblo, Bent and Otero counties. It has never been developed.
Sulphur has been mined in Gunnison County, at Vulcan, and in Mineral County, at Trout Creek. It is found in several other localities, and is a con- stituent of many of the compound metallic ores produced in the state.
Gem stones have been produced in considerable quantities in Colorado, chiefly in the central mountain counties. Among the varieties are blue chalce- dony, amazon stone, agate, amethyst, aquamarine, beryl, chrysoberyl, garnet, jet, opal, rose, smoky, clear and crystal quartz, sapphire, serpentine topaz and tur- quoise.
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
Asbestos has been found in considerable quantities in a number of localities, but there is no production. Asphaltic rock occurs in Garfield, Routt, Rio Blanco and other western counties, in Grand and Jefferson counties and in other lo- calities. There has been very little production. Corundum is found in Chaffee, Clear Creek, Routt and a few other counties, but it is not mined. Feldspar has been produced to a limited extent in El Paso County. Graphite has been mined in Chaffee and Gunnison counties and is found in Las Animas and a few other counties. Mica is rather widely distributed in the state, but has been very little mined, principally in Fremont and Mesa counties. Potash occurs with other salts in solution in Soda Lake, Costilla County, and in other localities. Alunite, which often occurs in connection with potash, is found in Conejos, Custer, Hins- dale, Mineral, Lake, Ouray, Rio Grande, Saguache and a few other counties.
THE STATE'S STONE QUARRIES
The stone deposits of Colorado cover a wide range in variety and are prac- tically inexhaustible. They are confined largely to the mountainous counties, in the central and western part of the state. They include granites, marbles, sand- stones, limestones, slates, abrasives, lavas and other less common varieties. There has been little working of stone deposits for any purpose except in re- stricted areas near railroad lines, and few sections of the country offer wider opportunities for development in this direction when market and transportation conditions justify such development.
Perhaps the most extensive and valuable stone deposits in the state are the different varieties of granite. Almost every known variety of granite is found in Colorado, showing a wide range of color and texture. Granite mined in the state has been used largely for building purposes, for interior finishing and for monumental purposes, as crushed stone for road surfacing and like uses. Granite quarries have been opened for commercial purposes in the following counties : Boulder, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Gunnison, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer, Pitkin and Rio Grande. Hundreds of small quarries have been operated to supply local demands in many other counties. The character of Colorado granite is well known among users of stone all over the country, and its use for building and monumental purposes is increasing steadily.
The range of marbles found in the state is not nearly so wide as that of gran- ites, but there is a very large supply of excellent stone and a good variety of color and texture. The most extensively developed deposits are in northern Gun- nison County, along Yule Creek, near the town of Marble. The marble here is principally pure white, or white with black veins and is of medium fine grain. Some of the handsomest public buildings in the country are trimmed with this stone, including the postoffice at Denver, Colorado, the Cuyahoga county court- house at Cleveland, Ohio, the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, D. C., and a num- ber of others. Marble has been mined also in Chaffee, Fremont, Pueblo, Pitkin and Saguache counties, and in small quantities in several other counties.
Sandstone is very widely distributed in the state and is of many varieties. It has been mined principally in the following counties : Boulder, Conejos, Delta Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Fremont, La Plata, Larimer, Las Animas, Montrose, Pueblo, Rio Grande and Routt. It has also been mined for local uses in a con-
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
siderable number of other counties and is found in some form in practically every county in the state. It has been used extensively for building purposes in the state and has been shipped to a limited extent to other states. The most important varieties are the fine-grained red, light-grey and tan-colored sand- stones found along the Front Range, particularly in Larimer, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso and Pueblo counties. Cream-white and pink sandstone are quarried in Routt County. In most of the inter-mountain counties the stone is quarried chiefly for local use.
Limestone is quarried chiefly in these counties: Pueblo, Boulder, Chaffee, Douglas, Fremont, El Paso, Jefferson, Gunnison, Mesa, La Plata, Larimer, Pit- kin and San Juan. There are lime kilns in Boulder, Chaffee, Douglas, Fremont, Gunnison, La Plata, Larimer and Pitkin counties. The limestones of the state may be divided both geologically and geographically into two general groups. The first group includes limestones chiefly of the Cretaceous age, which occurs in the eastern plains region and in a narrow belt immediately east of the Front Range. The second group includes limestones mostly of the Carboniferous age, which lie west of the Front Range. The abundance and wide distribution of both sandstone and granite suitable for building purposes has retarded the de- velopment of the limestone deposits to some extent. It has been used chiefly for lime, as a smelter flux and in the purification of beet sugar. Limestone de- posits are used extensively in the state for the manufacture of cement, espe- cially in Fremont County, where the principal cement plants are located.
Lava stone is found extensively in some sections of the state, particularly the south central part. It has been used chiefly for building purposes and has been quarried in Douglas, Fremont, Gunnison, Huerfano and Rio Grande and a few other counties. Grindstones and other abrasive stones are found in several sec- tions and have been quarried to a limited extent in Gunnison County.
The amount of stone produced in the state has varied greatly from year to year, the maximum annual output being but slightly in excess of $2,000,000, but it has perhaps been somewhat in excess of that figure, as there are considerable amounts of stone used locally each year which do not appear in the statistics of production.
THE OIL PRODUCTION OF COLORADO
Although Colorado has never ranked high among the states in petroleum output, it has been producing crude oil steadily since 1887. The maximum annual output was recorded in 1892, being 824,000 barrels. The total output of the state to the end of 1917 was approximately 11,000,000 barrels.
The most important producing fields are in Fremont County, in and about the City of Florence, and in Boulder County, near the City of Boulder. There has been some production from Rio Blanco County, near the Town of Rangely ; Garfield County, near the Colorado-Utah line, and Mesa County, near De Beque. Drilling has been done in several other sections and favorable oil showings have been found in some localities, but no production of importance has been made from districts other than those named above. '
As a result of the extraordinary demand for gasoline, fuel oil and other . petroleum products, growing out of the war there has been much prospecting
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
for oil in the state since 1915, and several wells are now being drilled in widely separated districts. In order to encourage the development of possible oil sup- plies within the state, arrangements have been made for an oil survey, to be conducted under the direction of the State Geologist and the State Oil Inspec- tion Department. This survey is now being made and reports on various dis- tricts will be made public as they are completed. Information regarding the survey will be obtainable from the State Oil Inspection Department at the State Capitol Building.
Recent discoveries of oil in large quantities in nearby states, particularly in Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma, have greatly stimulated prospecting in Colorado. Reports of competent geologists on various sections of the state have afforded considerable encouragement and many oil experts are convinced that the oil supplies of the so-called Mid-Continent field extend into this state.
The oil of both the Florence and the Boulder fields is of good quality, and the production in each district has held up exceptionally well. The Florence field especially is noted for the long life of its wells, one of them at least hav- ing been a steady producer for twenty-five years. This field has always been the most important in the state and is now producing nearly ninety-five per cent of the oil marketed from Colorado.
Colorado has immense supplies of oil shale, which promise in the near future to become one of the most important sources of petroleum production in this country. The war demand for petroleum products has caused both the Federal and State governments to make special investigations of the economic possibilities of these oil shale deposits, and reports have been made which prom- ise much in the direction of speedy and extensive development.
Colorado's oil shales are found in what is known as the Green River forma- tion, in the western part of the state, chiefly in Mesa, Garfield, Rio Blanco and Moffat counties. They cover an area of perhaps 2,000 square miles, and the various shale strata sometimes attain an aggregate thickness of more than one hundred feet. Tests made by representatives of the United States Geological Survey have shown a recovery ranging fron1 10 to 68 gallons from a ton of shale and in one case the recovery reached 90 gallons. Experts of the United States Geological Survey have estimated that the oil available in Colorado shales is at least 20,000,000,000 barrels, or about three times as much as has been pro- duced in the world up to date. The same authorities estimate that in the process of recovering oil from the shale there should be a recovery of approximately 300,000,000 tons of ammonium sulphate, now in great demand as a fertilizer, worth from $50 to $60 per ton, or more. The process of distillation by which the oil is recovered also may result in the recovery of large quantities of pro- ducer gas, dye stuffs and other valuable by-products.
There has been almost no development of these rich shale deposits, for the reason that production of petroleum from wells in this country until recently has been ample to meet requirements. Prices as a result have been low and there has been little encouragement for the installation of expensive equipment for the recovery of oil from shale in competition with the production of oil from wells. In 1917, however, the consumption of petroleum in the United States was 21.000,000 barrels in excess of production, and at the beginning of 1918 the supplies in storage were only sufficient to last, at the present rate of con- Vol. 1-36
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
sumption, a little less than six months. With growing war demands consumption is sure to increase, and the Federal Government is now encouraging the produc- tion of oil from shale to supplement the supply from wells. The price of oil is higher than it has been for many years, and there is every indication that the profitable production of oil from shale in this country will begin very soon. It has been produced profitably from shale in Scotland and France for a great many years.
Oil is recovered from shale by a process of destructive distillation. A plant for handling shale in this way has been established at De Beque, Mesa County, and other plants are being contemplated for various points in the shale fields. Many varieties of equipment have been devised for the recovery of the various products from the Colorado shales, and tests with some of them have proved very satisfactory. Those who are familiar with the tests are confident that shales of the average richness found in Colorado can be now treated profitably with the equipment at present available, and improvements are constantly being devised. so that within a few years it is believed that practically all the shales having an average oil content of 15 gallons or more to the ton can be worked advantageously.
Following is the output of petroleum in Colorado up to January 1, 1916:
Year
Barrels
Year
Barrels
1887
76,295
I902
396,90I
1888
297,612
I903
483,925
1889
316,476
1904
501,763
IS90
368,842
1905.
376,238
I891
665,482
1906
327,582
1892.
824,000
1907
331,851
1893
594,390
1908
379,653
1894
515,746
1909
310,861
1895
438,232
1910.
239,794
1896
361,450
IQII.
226,926
1897
384,934
1912
206,052
1898
444,383
1913.
188,799
1899
390,278
1914.
222,773
1900
317,385
1915
208,475
I90I
460,520
CHAPTER XXVIII
COLORADO'S NATIONAL FORESTS AND MOUNTAIN PARKS
PROTECTING THE TIMBER IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN-WORK OF PRESERVATION BEGUN TWENTY YEARS AGO-THE WHITE RIVER PLATEAU TIMBERLAND RESERVE, THE FIRST NATIONAL FOREST IN COLORADO-TOTAL AREA OF SEVENTEEN FORESTS IN STATE IS 12,640,450 ACRES-BUILDING HOMES IN THE RESERVES-MAKING THE TIMBER PROFITABLE-SELLING AT COST TO SETTLERS-PROTECTED RANGE FOR HOMESTEADERS AND RANCHERS-NEARLY THREE THOUSAND RANCHERS GRAZED LESS THAN 100 HEAD OF STOCK EACH IN 1917-NATIONAL FORESTS OPEN TO MINING DEVELOPMENT-WATER POWER IN THE RESERVES-ROAD BUILDING THROUGH THE FORESTS-STRETCHING TELEPHONE WIRES FROM STATION TO STATION-WORK OF THE FIELD DISTRICT-NATIONAL FORESTS IN COLORADO THE MOUNTAIN PARKS-DENVER'S MOUNTAIN PARKS.
(By Wallace I. Hutchinson, U. S. Forest Reserve)
PROTECTING THE TIMBER
Until about twenty years ago the forests of the public domain-the timber of the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico-seemed in a fair way of being eventually destroyed by fire and reckless cutting. Nothing whatever was done to protect them, or even to use them in the right way. They were simply left to burn, or else to pass by means of various land laws into the hands of private owners whose interests in most cases impelled them to take from the land what they could get easily, and move on.
Had this destruction gone on unchecked, there would have been little tim- ber left in the west at the present time, either to burn or to cut, and the develop- ment of the country, which calls for timber at all times, would have been seriously retarded.
The destruction of the forest cover on the watersheds supplying hundreds of streams which rise in the Rockies would also have had its certain effect on stream flow. Little or no water would be available during long dry periods, and destructive floods would follow heavy rains. This, of course, would spell disaster to the irrigation systems by which thousands of ranchers raise their crops, and would also have a serious effect on domestic and municipal water supplies and electric power development. So, in 1891 Congress authorized the President to set aside "Forest Reserves," as national forests were then called, in order to protect the remaining timber on the public domain from destruction and to insure a regular flow of water in the stream.
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
WHITE RIVER PLATEAU TIMBERLAND RESERVE
The first national forest in Colorado-the "White River Plateau Timber- land Reserve" -- was created by President Harrison on October 16, 1891, and later presidents have created others, until at the present time there are seventeen forests, with a total net area of 12,640,450 acres. Within the forest boundaries are also some 2,115,896 acres in private ownership, consisting of lands granted or taken up for one purpose or another before the forests were created or of homestead and mining entries made since. These forests are largely located in the high, mountainous country of the state, and through proper management now yield an unfailing supply of timber for the people and also regulate the flow of streams upon which thousands of inhabitants of our cities, towns and ranches are dependent for their domestic and irrigation water.
BUILDING HOMES IN RESERVES
The policy under which the national forests are administered by the De- partment of Agriculture through the Forest Service is to make them of the most use to the most people, but especially to the small man and the local farmer or settler. They are meant, first of all, to enable the people of Colorado to build homes and to maintain them. How well this policy is becoming to be under- stood by the public is shown by the constantly increasing use which is being made of national forest resources by the home builders of the state.
MAKING TIMBER PROFITABLE
The greatest of all national forest resources is timber, which the Government is anxious to sell as soon as it is ripe, since when a tree reaches maturity it is no longer growing at a profitable rate, and should, therefore, give way to young trees and seedlings that will insure continuous production. The total commer- cial stand of timber in the national forests of Colorado is estimated at 18,076,- 432,000 board feet, having a total stumpage value of over $36,000,000. Engel- mann spruce is the leading timber tree, followed in order by lodgepole pine, western yellow pine, Alpine fir, and Douglas fir, these five species comprising over ninety per cent of the total stand.
Any one may purchase timber from the national forests, but no one can obtain a monopoly of it or hold it for speculative purposes. Settlers living within or adjacent to the forests are granted free use of material for firewood and domestic purposes and where timber is desired for farm use any amount may be secured . for the actual cost of administering the sale, at a price of about seventy-five cents per thousand board feet.
SELLING AT COST
In Colorado during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, permits were issued by the Forest Service to 3,017 applicants for 8,500,000 board feet to be taken free from national forest lands; 2,000,000 board feet were sold to settlers at cost, and 44,696,000 board feet disposed of through 935 commercial sales, 95
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HISTORY OF COLORADO
per cent of which were sales for less than $100 worth of timber, showing that the small lumberman or local consumer is the one who receives the principal ben- efit from the timber resources of the forests. A permanent supply of material for local communities, including the mining industry, is always given first con- sideration in the administration policy of the national forests.
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