South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1874-12-11
The Minerals of West Va.

Inc minerals OF West Va.
A prominent citizen Of PENNSYLVANIA. and an
Iron man of experience has furnished the follow
ing communication for publication. We call
the attention OF Iron men TO it and earnestly
hope 1t may be Of some service "a directing at.
tendon to the vast and invaluable fields of wealth
lying hidden in our mountains Near Moorefield
in our sister county, vast beds OF valuable iron
ore have been opened, tested and now await the
hand of Developments:
For tie Iqtelligencer.
II the good people of West Va. would make
known to the world those immense mountains of
iron ore thrown up hundreds of feet above wafer
level, which can be mined for al least one-four,h
the average cost of the Pennsylvania Iron Dis
tflcts which furnishes nearly one-half the iron
maze In the United States, who can tell the re-
suits billions of tons of coal in w Va, lie a.
long the east side Of the range Of the Allegheny
Mountains, which run in close proximity with
these mountains of irol ore Limestone Is also
found of elegant quality associated with the ores.
Inns valuable range, which no other part of this
country can boast OF, runs some hundreds of
miles in a regular and unbroken formatiou.-
More than one-half of all the Iron made in the
United States IS smelted with Anthracite Coal
these Goals are owned and the prices are controll-
ed by a few companies composed mostly of En-
glish capital who are showing no sympathy with
the Iron Master-if prices of coal are compared
with that of iron. The Anthracite Coal il fast
becoming luxury only for those who can afford
10 pay. The prices are regulated on &C a month
by these coal monopolies and prices are constant
~ raj fnfr h., IL
else are being reduced since the panic of 1873.
1t will be impossible Cor the remaining industries
of this country outside of the iron manufacturer
to allow much longer these munopo lies to inn
pose on the Iron Master so long as the Iron Mas
ter is pensioner other industries of the Uni
ted States, which amounted last year Ns73) 10
over thirty.fve millions of dollars over what
iron could have been delivered for in this coun-
try from the iron districts of England The G.
economists OF this country have right to OBJ iect
10 tue squandering yearly of such immense a.
mounts Of money belonging to the industries of
The country in making iron tchere nature had
not made provision for the Iron Master. The BIZ
luminous Goals used at the Rolling Mills in Eas-
tern Pennsylvania, the great Iron Centre of this
country, are brought from the Allegheny Noun
| a.
Goals cost at this time about Sil5 per ton on
cars at the mines and the freight from the mines
to the Rolling Mills of Eastern Pennsylvania cost
on an average SO 80 per ton. The Iron Ores in
the Iron District Of Pennsylvania are scattering
In the eastern portion of the State, there are
some valuable deposits of ore, but are owned
10y different companies and individuals who are
ex,orting on the Iron Masters equal TO that O,
the Anthracite Coal Companies These dsad-
\ vantages have within the last year placed the l.
ron Master into a position unable TO compete
/ with Wetern Pa, who are obliged to transport
/ their Iron Ores from the Iron Mountain of Mis-
souri, and Lake Superior from GOO TO 500 miles
away from the furnaces Of Western Pa. With
these apparent disadvantages Pittsburgh West
Of the Allegheny Mountains, are glutting the
markets in Eastern Pa, at lower price than it
can now be made for in what is called the great
/ iron district Of Pa. There is no doubt IL the /
ron Master would locate in favourable localities
in West Va, il would soon be king Of other il.
dustries, and 10 place Of seeking support from
others II would soon be able to take care of its
own industry, and compete equally with the
Farmer and Planter and unite with them in bal
lasting the vessels, with American Iron, that
sail from our shores TO foreign lands
The statistics OF the Iron and Steel association
Of The United States show that the product Of the
pig iron in 1873 was 500, 900 tons-the impor-
tation Of all kinds Of iron for the same year was
about 3OO,O 600 tons. The total production and
importation is little below 900, 600 Of tons
am quito well satisfied with the knowledge I
have Of the immense masses ofIron material that
West Virginia is blessed with, which all lay close
together a saving Of at least $50 90 on each and
every ton Of bar iron could be made 10 W Va,
over that Of the iron centre Of Pa This amount
saved should induce capital to build Rail Roads
and Iron Works ia West Va, and no doubt will
as soon as the people Of your State will make
known to the world the hidden treasures you
have on hand to make your State the great bee
hive Of all industries Of the United States
Yours, &C, &c
EF DURING the month Of November
On O00 bovro1a 81 nour vvnr. H..