Huntington advertiser. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1874-1921, 1874-09-17
The Iron Age.

rieF of the 10th Inst, an article cop
tel from the Iron Age, in which II in
dulges in some sarcasm toward the
Engineering and Mining JO'0mai, OF
New York, and this paper. 1t dis
misses Us with scant courtesy, but
turns the weight of its batteries on
the Joupal
We cannot help thinking the wind
must have been "due east when the
editor OF the Age was penning h 5 ar
ticle. or else he had a twinge of the
govt. and the body 50 influenced his
mind Il, to cause him to forget that
suacitsr IN mo,jo for which he is 50 well
known aud 80 highly esteemed. We
assure him that We did moi intend
any GiSre,pect, nor was our article
written a. be claims, TO show that
no place Is aS good Us Huntington for
iron making We said, I'VE have
always maintained that Hu"tington
Is one of the very best points, &c,
and also, charleston and Hunting
ton are both good points, &C." but
We made no such assertion as the Iron
.lys says.
Now, as We have not seen copy
of the Engineering and Mining Jo,"-
nai. We cannot tell how that paper
combatted the assertions of the Age,
but we do know that the premises of
the Ays are wrong, and It's concIu-
sioLs eminentlyso.
We have 10 theory to uphold on
this matter; all We know about 1t Is
from practical experience, and we d."
know that when figures are published
to prove that IRON can be manutdc-
tured at the mouth Of Gauley, or any
where cise. for less than SD per ton,
there must be error somewhere.
The Iron 1g undertakes to show
that coal can be delivered on the ears
at 81 per ton. We have great re. :
pet for Hon. Howell Fisher, but ii
seems strange that 1 gentleman of his
theoretical knowledge should max
the assertion that IN expenditure OF
two thousand dollars will open mine
capable of delivering 1000 tons OF
coal Der week. This is the very tip
top of absurdity. That amount OF
coal could not be taken out Of any
mine without very extensive prepara-
tons, and the mere handling of the
coal cannot be done by means of a
plant costing only two thousand dol
lars. nor do We believe that ten times
the amount will put the mine in the
condition to deliver thousand tons
per week. OF course, Mr.. Fisher is
better authority on this subject than
we are, but we cannot help thinking
his figures got the better Of his dis
erection when he made the assertion
referred to.
The 1ge refers also to the testimo
ny of Mr.. W. ii. Edwards, the Su-
perintendent of the Coalburg mines.
This is peculiarly unfortunate, "a
though Mr.. Edwards is referred to
only as authority on treight'.
But let Us look into this matter
The company for which Mr.. Edwards
i superintendent has mine in the re
zion referred to bv Prof. Ansted, who
seems TO be considered by the Age the
end of all controversy that Company
has expended on then mine over
$500. 600 in bonds, on which it has
failed TO pay the interest, and its per
sonal property his been sold by the
Sheriff, under executions, it having 4
floating debt of over $4,000. This,
too. in the face of the fact that the
company has been selling its coal at
an average Of more than double the
81 per ton spoken Of by the Age.-
These two facts hardly tally. And
again. with ali this expenditure, and
the aid of an accomplished engineer
from England, this company has
never succeeded-unless We are mis-
informed-in delivering one thousand
tons per week. nor averaging one
half that quantity. We repeat that
We believe our estimate OF $40 for
coal per ton of iron is as low as can
be possibly figured.
The great difficulty about estimates
Is, that it Is 80 easy to make figures
say anything we please; the old aid
age that figures will not lie" is
about as lar from truth rs We can
get.
The Iron Age speaks also Of the
Gauley Coal Company expecting
to mine and deliver 100000 tons of
coal wear through a single tunnel.
Let us take this statement a little
more into detail. There aie say 500
-l l. =. IL :.