Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1872-06-01
The FutureofIrOn

Unless the present scarcity apd
ugh prices Of ron are the temporary
! effect of causes which may be speed
/ lily removed, they must operate as a
serious check to the prosperity and
progress Of all civilized nations. The
rapidly increasing demand for and
consumption Of this metal, in its Va
ried manufactured forms, has al
ready been brought to a halt, and
enterprises Of great public utility
anlbeyen Of national importance arc
now awaiting further Developments
upon this subject.
This enhanced cost falls with the
most severe and paralyzing effect
upon railroad building enterprises,
and hence indirectly upon the gen
cral interests o commerce and pro-
ductons so largely dependent upon
transportation faculties. UnfOrlu-
nately, this larg advance has come
upon us IL time when the railroad
sys IN Of cur country is being ex-
tended at the rate Of some seven or
eight thousand miles a year, when
new building projects we're about to
be entered upon in nearly every
State and Icrrit ry in the Union,
and when yastrailrOad schemes were
being maturcd in South America,
Russia Egypt, India, China, and 9th
er non-producing countries, which
have just begun to develop their ma
terial resources, ami need iron to do
it with in immensr quantities in ey-
cry posi- lie utilized shape.
At the present rati OF Increased
consumption, in this country, on the
score Of railroads alone, we should
want rails en-. ugh to lay fifty thous-
and miles Of additional track during
the next five or six years, to say moth
iny Of the requirement Of iron for
rolliag stock, machinery, and indus
ries dependent upon or growing out
OF his increase Of railroads.
Where is all this iron coming
from? and If the present demand 50
much exceeds the supply and forces
up prices to 50 high range, what
may be expected Of the prospective
demand, which promises to be much
larger in proportion than ether pros
pectiye, or even possible increase Of
production2 With all Che old mar
kets of the world asking for great
er supply Of iron products, and new
ones constantly opening, can we rea-
sonably hope to meet this demand
upon basis OF values which will en-
able consumers to take and pay for
what they want? The alternatives
presented in this case are very plain
and positive either production
must be enlarged or consumption
curtailed; since the present relations
of supply and demand cannot be long
without rendering iron
luxury rather than a necessity.
L is difficult to perceive how the in
creased supply, requisite to keep
prices within bounds, can come from
Europe, who just now seems to re-
quire about all she can make for her
own use, and has every year less and
less to spare for the outside markets
Of the world. The growing scarcity
and higher prices Of coal and ore, the
enhanced rates Of miners wages,
and the reduced hours Of labor i'll
Wales and Scotland, are significant
facts, which all point to limited ex-
port movement aud a high range Of
prices in the future. It's very eyi-
dent that the cost Of production there
is not likely to be reduced, with
mines growing deeper and more dif-
fcult t. work, and operatives clamor-
ing ,or more pay or deserting for
.ther fields o labor.