Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 93, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1911 — C. L. Thornton Writes Letter; Tells of Spokane Jasperites. [ARTICLE]

C. L. Thornton Writes Letter; Tells of Spokane Jasperites.

C. L.* Thornton, who moved to Spokane*, Wash., foilr years ago, sends the following letter from Wallace, Idaho, where he has been at work installing electrical mining machinery. His letter will be appreciated by his old friends here, and is published complete: Editor Republican: I expect yoq, began to think I had gone back on you for not sending my subscription sooner. I haven’t forgot you, but have been away from home over in the > Couer d’ Alene Mining district for about eight weeks installing electric machinery for one of the big mines. I expect to get through in a week or two and will be glad to get back to sunny old Spokane. Find enclosed money order for $1.50 as I still read The Republican. It is better than getting a letter from my old home; we learn what is going on old friends whom we still remember and wish them well. I have been writing a letter every year since I left and you were kind enough to publish it so my old friends might know how we are getting along. It is late this year but I will try and write about a few things that may interest some of them. Wallace is in the center of the Couer d‘ Alene mining district, ohe of the richest mineral districts in the U. S. Last summer during the big forest fires Wallace was almost half burned up. It burned everything east of the court house and many people lost all they had. The railroads hauled the Seople out by the trainload to Spokane uring the big fire. It is very interesting to me to go through the big mines in this district and see where they get out the rich mineral. They are taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in this district. We see an ore train with two big engines come into Wallace to the concentrator of the Federal Mining Co. every day. The concentrator where 1 am putting in'the electric machinery belongs to the Hercules tnine and will cost SIOO,OOO. It is one of the richest mines in the country. All of the parties that own it are millionaires now and no end to the ore yet. They were all poor people a few years ago. They "bung to the mine and didn’t let Eastern capital get hold of it, like most of the good mines in this country. Electricity is one of the great things for the mines. They can get power to do most of the work from three wires run over the mountains, where they couldn’t get power any other way. They send it in here from Spokane, over one hundred miles, at 60,000 volts and furnish thousands of horse power to the mines. We have been getting along very well this last year. My health was not very good for awhile, but I am feeling better now thah I have for years. I have Invested some in a mine the last year and believe it will make me some Ihoney when they get it opened up. I have examined the property and believe is all right. I made the most money last fall that I ever made. Working for over a month I made $lO a day putting in signal lights in the elevators of a 15story building in Spokane. I only get $5 per day now. That is the general wages for electricians in this country. Our children are all doing better than they ever could have done back in the east, as opportunities are better for an ambitious young man in this western country. I will give you a few local items: Theodore Long was married last winter. He is living at Grangeville, Idaho. Lem Martin is in the real estate business in Spokane and is just as fat as ever. Rev. Downing, who was raised in Rensselaer, has a fine pastorate in Spokane and is doing well. Grant Hinkle has a good position at Olympia for the state of Wasington. Vernie Thornton has proven up his claim and now lives In Spokane again. Hale Grant is doing line; he has learned to be a broom maker since he came out here. Thomas Willey has traded one of his residence properties in Spokane for .160 acres in Stevens county. He is back at line work for the W. W. P. Co. at present. EM Hopkins is still with one of the lumber companies, in a planing mill. Mr. Crisler, who has lived out here for years, rents his farm and lives In the city, where he can enjoy himself in his declining years. There are so many from old Indiana out here, I don’t know what they are doing, so I will ring off. I like the people in this western country. They do things and are not afraid to invest money to make things go. I can see if people in the east

would work together that had money, as people do out here, everybody back there would make more money and people Would lose some of their miserly dispositions. With best wishes to our old friends and neighbors, I remain, Very truly yours,

C. L. THORNTON.