The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-10-11
The Iron rtnae Of cnlsaEo-n.pot. .!


Its Present Condition.
d. Bow'S Rcrie,c in It's October number
publishes an article on the iron trade,
written by W. D. Nixon, Esq Of Chicago,
laying great stress upon the great strides
Chicago Is rnaking'i in tho race with Pitts.
burgh for supremacy. He claims that
Illinois in the present year will produce
more than one.quarter Of all the rails pro.
duCed in the United States. In 1873 there
were lO3 iron establishments in Chicago
alone, with u capital Of $Sls,4l2,33C, em.
Ploying l0,Sj9 hands and producing SEQ.
Ole, 7l5 in manufactures Of iron alone. In
the manufacture OF Besscmer steel rails
the production Of Chicago was l93OOO
tons, exceeding that OF Pittsburgh, which
was only q, $40 tons. The North Chicago
rolling mills claim to have rolled the first
BesSemer steel rails in the United States
on the 9th Of May, 1866, some Of which
are still in Use on one Of the roads
leading out ol Chicago. There are
three oil these Bessemer steel estab.
lishments in Illinois, producing in
1878 II total Of lis 00O tons. The State
boasts the possession Of one-seventli Of ali
the known coal beds on this continent,
which, converted into power, would do
more work than could be done by the EN-.
tire human race, beginning with Adams
wedding and working ten hours lAy
through all the centuries, until now and
on into the future ut the same rate for the
next 100000 years. Though the Chicago
furnaces use Illinois coal, its conversion
into coke has not yet been achieved; and,
therefore, they have had to use Penusyl.
vaniR coke to the extent Of 1000 tons in
single year, the freight Of which alone
cost at the rate oi$l 900 a day. The ANALYSIS
Of the Illinois coal compares with the Eng.
lish biiuminOus, and it is, therefore, nr.
gued that it can and will be converted in.
TO coke. The finding out Of the requisite
process is only question Of time, and
when found the battle will be won, and
Pittsburgh aud Chicago will, even. handed,
compete for supremacy In the iron trade
Of tho United States. The supremacy in
steel manufacture already belongs to Chi.
Cago, because OF her neafness TO
tho two iron districts OF tho Mis-.
sissippt Valley, producing remarkably rich
and pure ores, which, from the small
amount OF phosphorus they contain, must
continue to be the chief dependence Of
the American people for making the -.
al that is rapidly displacing iron. In con.
Clusion, Mr.. Nixon Characteristically OBJ.
serves, Chicago can take its crude iron
from the shores OF the lake and transform
1t into locomotives, steel rails, nails or
watch springs. It is not monopoly that
she wants, but still greater freedom and
the general diffusion Of manufactures ali
over the Northwest. Instead Of ST, Louis
and Cincinnati rivaliDg Chicago, they are
her richest suretics OF dominion, "ihey
are far enough away to give sea room, and
yet they are near enough 10 prevent The
springing up OF any other city between
them. Chicago has dozen empires cast.
ing their treasures into her Ian. On a
bed OF coal that can run all the machinery
of the world for hundreds of thousands Of
years; in garden that can feed millions
OF people; at the head Of the lakes that
give her an outlet to the markets Of the
world, and surrounded by such great do.
posits OF natural wealth, Chicago can
afford to be generous, and vet be the
greatest city in the world"