New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-01-20

might-ought to know what it costs better than
those who never made any OF have failed IN
trying to make 1t. But we take no great inter-
est in this wordy war, since, for our purpose, IL
is better that Mr.. Wells should be right than
his antagonists What we desire is that The
Iron needed TO supply fully the ~dnfs
of our People should be made on our
o,rn soil, not imported from abroad
Washington urged that. in one of his early
Messages; our most eminent patriots ana
statesmen have deemed it Indispensable
Madison. taught by experience, urged that we
might satisfy our need of Iron more cheapF
in time of peace by importing, and yet hnd
our cheap whistle q dear one when we CAME
TO want Iron in war and not find 1t, unless at
exorbitant prices. If there be one point on
which tho great men Of our heroic age were n
unit. it is this-that we ought not to depend
on Great Britain for our supply of Iron
Now, then, we know that under Protection we
are advancing swiftly toward perfect lndepehu-
ence of Europe in regard to Iron. On this point,
there is no room for cavil or mistake. Inc
sixty new and generally superior furnaces
erected, mainly West of the AllcGhanies within
the last eighteen months-the Million Iuns oil
Pig Iron smelted in this country in lSjo
moro than were ever smelted here until
the present Tariff was enacted-have placed
this beyond dispute. Whatever else may be
doubtful we know that we are marching
straight on to an ample Home product OF Pig
Iron.
-" But are not the Iron makers charging
too high prices and making too much money r
My dear Sir. if You think they are, just go
in! You have as good a right to make Pig
Iron as the best of them, and you can sell your
product as high as they do, or as much lower
as you please. We will have no laws that do
not give you the same chance with the
best Of them. If you want to try,
we will tell yOu where Ore, Coal, &c, IN the
mine can be bought at least as cheap and OF
as good a quality as they ever bought them;
while Labor, Skill Experience will come Mt
call to YOU as it came to them Do go III ana
make more Pig Iron, so that that staple shall
be abundant and cheap though you sell for
the most you can get.
Can You guess why men of energy and
means do MT make Pig Iron if they think
there is SO or even S. per tun profit in that
business
Here is our excellent Free Trade neighbor,
Mr.. A. Il. Stewart, who has just undertaken to
build new suburb to our City would he not
have built furnaces instead, if he had supposed
there was more money in them than in Hampstead
PlainsY John Randolph said he hated Protcc-
ton so intensely that he would go some dis
lance ont of his way to kick n sheep; but Mr.
Stewart is far above such little prejudice. We
defy any man to say he believes that Mr. Stew
ant abstains from lron-making for any other
reason than that he thinks lie can use his money
to better advantage.
Suppose for illustration, that Wells had con-
WINGED him four years since that that there
were lots of money in Pig Iron, so that lie
had Withdrawn half his fortune from Dry
Goods and Real Estate and invested it i'll
mines aud furnaces-that he had, since 1862
! imported SlO9,OOOOOO worth less of Shawls
Laccs. &c, than he has done, and made in
stead SlOO,OOO.OOO worth of Pig lron-do you
not really think our country would have been
the stronger and richer for it9 Would not
great many Of our Government bonds be this
day owned by our own people that have
gono to Europe i'll payment for fleet
ing vanitiesP Would not thousands of
choppers, lumbermen, quarrymen, masons,
&C.. &C.. have been set to work to clear the
grounds, build the stacks, open the mines, &C.
&C., in addition to the thousands of skillful
artisans drawn from Europe to take the lead
in running the furnaces2 Who among rs
| would have been poorer (unless, possibly, the
sherifis) if Mr. Stewart had been tempted by
Wells to devote his great capacities for bust
ness TO the production of Pig lronf
The Hudson Valley is rapidly growing in
| importance as a focus Of Iron industry. Our
admirable Champlain and Orange County ores
here meet those of Western Massa ,husetts, as
they soon will those of Northern Connecticut
also as well as the coal of Eastern Pennsylva-
mia. A railroad has just been constructed in
Essex County expressly to bring ore to Lake
| Champan, as one was lately made in Rock
land County to bring Sterling ore to the Hud-
son. We are getting on, even without Mr.
Stewards help at Washington or in the furnaces;
| but how much better and faster we could move
| if he would put his shoulder to the wheel !
Why IRON Z the Free Traders make Pig Iron
fIsAr ~. T.