The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-07-02
G;penilg 5State 9ollraat.
American Iron.


The London Mining World thinks that
''before the lapse of another generation the
United States will be the great iron and
steel producing country of the world.' 1t
observes that 'sthere are causes in opera
ton which will prevent any rapid expansion
of the iron industry of this country, while
in the other the great resources of that in
dustry are comparatively untouched.
Among these causes may be mentioned the
limited supply of good ores in Great Brit
ain, the necessity which arises each year OF
sinking deeper for the fuel to smelt them,
and consequently the increased expense Of
raising it. The great body of British ores
is derived from the coal measures and the
las. --- A'..'a ..D.l .'Is5sstsst
These formations occur in the districts
of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire,
Warwickshire, and Shropshire. They are
argillaceous in character, and yield about
twenty-six per cent. in the furnace. Turn
ing to Percy's great work on the ''Metal-
lurgy of Iron," where the essays on one
hundred specimens of these ores are given,
we find that in every instance he
detected the presence of phosphorus. No
metallurgic skill has thus far been able to
eliminate this deleterious ingredient from
the ores or prevent it from passing into
pig iron, nor is it wholly extirpated from
the manufactured bar. In the Bessemer
process it adheres to the iron in every
stage aud in undiminished quantity. With
one per cent. of phosphorus iron becomes
fit for but few purposes. Sulphur is also
present in these ores, which IS to some
extent expelled by calcination and the sub
sequent process of pudding, but sufficient
remains to render the iron unfit for con-
version in the higher qualities Of steel.
The Philadelphia North American, which
has for years assiduously and very ably en-
deavored to foster, stimulate and build up
the American iron interests, forcibly re-
marks upon the subject :l57aa b .ssz I55I
"The American iron and steel interests
are stlgmatized as grasping monopolists for
seeking to make legislation useful in this
crisis to give permanent ascendency to our
home production Of iron and steel. Fortti-
nately the enormous demand for both iron
and steel, coming concurrently with the
causes referred TO in the above extract,
will stimulate interest to the fullest posi-
BILE extent, and counterfeit the efforts Of the
trce-traders to break down our works. 81
10 the mind OF the average tree-trader
the position of English industries is natural
and invincible, ard it seems folly in us to
seek to build up our own. And yet we
see that it is essential to the interests of in
ternal commerce that we should do so, in
order to counterfeit any undue preponder-
ance of the English, and to supply con-
sumption in points where the English re-
sources are confessedly inadequate. r,sg
England, it is already known, is large
importer Of iron ore, as her own mines
cannot supply her works in consequence of
the enormous increase in the demand for
and production of iron. But it is not so
generally known that England is also an
importer of iron. Yet such is the fact.
The Mining Wold informs us that she inn
ports fifty thousand tons a year Of pig iron
from Sweden and Russia, made from
Specular and magnetic ore, similar in COM
position to those derived from Lake Supe-
rior and Missouri. ass 2 # sesesl1 aE2