The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1872-11-02

OF the work east OF the crosslng-Duktth
! Herald 31St.
THE westward DEVELOPMENT or THE
IRON,lLANUFA CTURE ~ THE Q. s.
T. Guilford Smith, of Philadelphia, in a
communication to the Iron 1ge, gives
many interesting statistics regarding the
steady western development of the iron in
dustry of the country, from which we ex-
tract the following:
'sThe necessities of the colonies in North
America, at very early date, compelled
the inhabitants to begin the manufacture
of iron. We accordingly find historical
notices of furnaces whose very place is now
forgotten, as well as the more enduring
ruins of the stone stacks then in vogue.
The fuel used at that time was of course,
charcoal, and the furnace was always loca-
ted near to some iron deposit, wood for the
charcoal being abundant everywhere.
''But as the forests were gradually cut
down, and charcoal became dear in the old
ct settlements the make of iron decreased, /
and the furnace itself was finally abandon
ed for a new one built in the vicinity of
fresh woodlands. SO the march of settle
ments has gradually thrust the manufacture
Of charcoal ron into the backwoods. Char I
coal furnaces are now only to he found in
the extreme northwest, as i'll Michigan or
in the south and southwest, as IN Alabama
and Tennessee where great local deposits |
of iron ore exist.
"In 1910, when the making of iron in |
iehigh began, the product of the whole /
United States was only 2S5, 600 tons; while |
to-day the make in the Lehigh region alone /
exceeds the make of the Union in 1910, and
the total production in the county had
reached nearly 100000 tons in 1870
''The census Of 1850 gave a total Of rs
blast furnaces located in Ohio, Indiana,
Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Ken
lucky, and p rail-bar, sheet, and boiler
plate mills, with capital Of s3,37O 900, /
employing 2804 hands, at a cost Of 5 ,O94,- |
100, and producing IS, 1913 tons, of which
10000 were rails. In 1870 three works /
alone in these States have invested more
at a cost of s $4,000 in wages, and pro-
duce 100000 tons of rails, 1000 tons of
pig, and 10, 600 tons of bar and plate iron.
''The following figures of the production
of iron ore and pig iron, from the Lake
Superior district, speak for themselves. In
1856, 1000 tons of ore, no make of iron
value of the ore S28, 900. In s8GO ll6, ,906 |
tons ore, 5000 tons pig iron; value both,
736, ,496 In 1870, 856,471 tons of ore, 40,
298 tens pig iron; value OF the ore and iron, /
S6, 300 ITO. Or since 1866, the value Of the T
total output of ore and iron, is $50, ,069,883. /
In 1870, the product was from sixteen
mines, and finds a market in all parts of the
country.
The iron interest follows close upon the |
tide of immigration. The charges for trans
portation for such long distances encourage
the building Of furnaces and rolling mills at
the earliest practicable moment. Their
erection marks very accurately the years in |
which wealth has been accumulated
''It will be seen that, from the Atlantic
to the Mississippi the iron men are fairly
at work, extending north to the Canada
line, and south to the southern part Of Ala
bama. And for the present, until more eX
tensve discoveries of coal are made west of
the Mississippi, I think the progress Of the
iron further west is checked, and it will now
follow the coal and iron deposits as they
are developed north and south of the line
which has hitherto marked It's native mi .
grafton.
"The total mileage Of tEe railroads ofthe /
United States amounts TO over 600 miles,
and has increased in the last decade at the
rate of 10 per cent. To supply this demand
for rails, and to keep up the renewals of
INeSe fOatS, ana 10 lurIlSH oLIicI dtulltlAS /
for iron, now keeps 600 blast furnaces
and 800 rolling mills at work, which employ
l4o, coo men directly in the business" In
addition we are indebted 10 foreign coun-
tries for 81 ,059 tons OF rails to say nothing
of the vast amount of imports Of other forms
of iron and steel manufacture, amounting to
$40, ,0SS tons This surprising demand for
iron and steel is, it is believed, true of all
civilized nations at this time, and accounts
for the prevailing prosperity of the trade
everywhere"
MAKE money fast and honorably, 5l2 so +
per day, S75 per week, by at once applying /
for territorial right, (Which are gwen free
to agents,) to sell the best, strongest, most
useful and rapid selling Sewing Machine,
and Patent Button Hole Worker, ever used
or recommended by families, or buy one for
your own use; it is only S.. Sent free
everywhere by express. Address for par
ticulars, Jerome b. Hudson g Co. Cor.
Greenwich and Courtandt Sts., \. Y.
POCKET DICTIONARY.-We Pocket Die
tonary, in its present shape, is great improvement
over all previous editions and I'll similar works In
the first place it is neatly printed, and bound in mo-
rocco with gilt edges. Then it contains 200 pictorial
illustrations, which give much clearer idea of the