Huntington advertiser. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1874-1921, 1875-07-01
IsTAe-e Too Much Iron 7

it is sent to the foundry and re -melted,
and its substance g0es some way to-
ward making new rail.
7, will be news 20 Iron men that
yslls are made in a foundry, or that
old rails are re melted. Again 1t says
$40 farmer lets an old horseshoe he
in the road. He picks it up, and the
blacksmith, with little labor, makes
= new horseshoe of it" That black
smith must be a smart man.
The truth of the matter Is that rails
do waste away in use. We caDRot
give the exact figures, but the differ
cnce between a WORKOUT RAIL and q
new one of the same size, as IT had
been originally, cannot be less than
10 per cent. In re rolling, the waste
again is not lesS than 10 TO 10 per
cent, 50 that j, is a moderate estimate
10 compute the loss IN metal a; % PEI
cent from old to new, which represents
the actual consumption. In horse
shoes the actual consumption Is much
greater. In the first place, when 4
horse casts a shoe it i. generally te-
cause it Is worn out that Is, the sub
stance of il IS consumed. The black
smith does not make new one of It.
hut throws it in the scrap pile, whence
it goes to the rolling mill, where it Is
re-rolled, making another loss, so that
the actual consumption of metal in
thst horse shoe Is, at rough e>ti-
mate, 90 TO 10 per cent.
There are many other uses to which
Iron i put in which it is actually con
sumed such as nails, tin ware, stoves.
crate bars, wear IN machinery, &c,
80 that there is a large actual con-
sumption of Iron; just as fully a CO"
sumption as Of food or clothing. II "
nevertheless true that the conSump-
ton IS not equal to the present pro-
duction. This does not prove that
the production is too great, but that
the price is too high. There are 4
thousand uses TO which Iron may DC
put whenever the price Of production
is fixed at such a rate a. that that
material may be used instead Of tie
substitutes now in use.
For instance. one great and abiding
fault in the erection OF buildings in
urge cities. Is that they are 50 subject
~ destruction by fire. When the
cost of iron is such as to PERM; it,
use for girders, joist, roofing, &c, 1t
will be 4 consUmmation devOutly To
be PRAYED for. When that time
comes, the stairways in all of our pub
lie buildings viii be Of irnn; the side
walks of our streets; the bulk heads
and plating for canal locks, anl "a
thousand other things which are now
made Of wool, or some cheaper sub
stitute.
Is the towns and cities Of the coun-
nv grow older, they are more and
more striving to do away with cheap
and temporary structures and to re-
quire Permanence and soGdi;y To be
the qualifications OF their buildings.
Iron will be one OF the most impor.
tant means by which this Desirable
end NAV be attained
But with Pig Iron at $50 to So per
ton, it Is too expensive tor the Purpo-
Sos mentioned. 1t will therefore be
necessary TO reduce It's cost.
There Is in the furnaces OF the Uui-
ted States, sufficient capacity 20 pro-
auce all the Iron that Is wanted f,f
the purposes alluded -, hence, the
problem TO be solved, isnot, Is there
too much Irons" bI, "h,w can the
price Of Iron he reduced"
We feel pyide and confidence in
saving that West Virginia can DO
more to solve this problem than ANY
other State in the Union.
Here are her hills teemius. with
ore, coal. limestone, timber, all the
adiuncts for the manufacture, in c,o,e
proximity to each other. VIVA; :
needed is labor saving machinery by
whieh these articles may beput * the
Furnace at q reduction from pres
ent cost, and improved processes by
which Iron may be producedin great
erquan:ities by the same OUTLAY.
We make The calculation as 70 mTiu-
&c value Of material. Ore amounting
20 millions Of tons may be purchased n
this State at pc per ton; 5oc is 8
very liberal price for 80 per cen, ore
Coal can be purchased in cquA
quantities At the same price. Lime
ston. in the hillsis not worth more ihSr
&c per tou. 30 that the SEXUAL 'nt''n
sc ST., 'ue # the cost OF material Tor
- @. IRON. apart from the Gus; d th'
Lta, producing II i>-say, two "''1
a half TONS az orr ~ 50c 81 p. tire,