Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-03-30

Il Will room % COuSlIuClSu mere, huu AN
many more cotton factories, iron FUN
dries, etc, will rapidly spring up.
the worlds Exhibition
has assumed shape, and Is already an
sssursd fact. Buildings are already %
ing erected. Several different States
snd nations are fitting up their own
buildings. II opens the Attn Of next De
cen. Der and continues six months. This,
in connection with the establishing Of y
castle Garden" through the insCru-
mentality of the Southern Immigra-
Iion Association, which will send agents
to Europe to bring immigration into
this port, inaUgurales new era, not
only Tor New Orleans, but for tue entire
South. She is growing in favor Of a
! protective tariff as her Misunderstanding
Iuttrts increase. Self interest governs
nations as well rs individuals.
On my way here Il did myself the
pleasure of visiting Mr.. William II.
Woodward, the President, aud Mr.
I Joseph Fl. Woodward, the Secretary
and Treasurer, Of the Woodward Iron
| Company, at Wheeling, Jefferson
county, Alabama. They are located
twelve miles southwest of Birmingham,
right in the richest part Of the great
| coal, iron and limestone leeds of Ala
| bAma. The Alabama and Great South
| eTn railroad passes directly through
| their properly, and another road
! nearly completed from them u l.
mingham, sffOrding the same facilities
for shipping aud ut the same rates -
from Birmingham. They hOnored Their
new town with the name Of
| HE CIty OF Their Nativity
Wheeling. Dear old Wheeling!
| With all hec coal smoke and dust, her
! hot summers and freezing winters, her
! high and low waters-but still dear Old
| " heelug!
Few men, young or old, have shown
more business tact, energy and dlscre-
ton than the Woodward brothers. Be-
fore leaving West Virginia, though
comparatively young, they stood among
the first of our business and iron meu.
Here they have planned discreetly aud
quilt wisely. Wheeling, where the
blast furnace is located, stands in
beautiful valley near an eyer-tlOwing
stream Of pure water, surrounded by a
HTay limestone which Is used for huX-
lIT and nearly midway between their
coal field, on the northeast, and their
red hematite, on the southeast. They
have 200 acres of coal aud go acres of
ore in this, or what may be called the
furnace tract, owning everything be-
tween their coal and ore on both sides
Uftheir railroad, which is six miles in
epglh.
Their coal, iron and limestone, all Of
the best character, are in closer prOX
unity here than at any other place yet
discovered in America, thus enabling
them, beyond any question, to make
iron
cheaper Than Anywhere Else
-IerhaIs six or seven dollars per ton
cirarr than in Pennsylvania or West
V rsIuia, and even cheaper than a.
Birmingham, only twelve miles distant,
VII, n their furnaces have to pay the
railroads for transporting their mate
rial. The WOOdwards own everything
within themselves. They mine their
own coal and ore, make their own coke,
yet out their own limestone. Every
thing is done by contract, even
tteir pig is taken out Of the casting
house, assorted, weighed and loaded
in'O the ears ready for shipping by con.
tract Mr.. Geo. Edwards, formerly OF
Wheeling, has this job, 80 at the end
of every twenty-fOur hours they eau
tell almost to cent what every ton OF
metal cost them to make it. They have
about go men employed in all their
different departments. They are good
diseiplinaIians, and first class tiDAnciers,
having learned these important qlliih-
cations 10 success in bssIness from their
honOred father. The ore they are now
working is the red and brown hematlte.
The nalives-Oh what fools, setting all
their lives IN q gold mine aud
Starving TO Death
called the red hematite paint rock"
and used il for painting. /. Is u very
bright red. IL seems between 10 and
% per CeLt of pure metal. There are
three veins or strata almost together,
with q substance similar 10 fire clay be-
tween, all cropping out near the top OF
the mountain. They follow the course
OF the mountain for maEy miles, from
northeast to southwest, or l might say
the mountain follows the ore, IS the
Dirt and a stratum of limestone sixty or
more feet in thickness seems to have
been thrown up on each side OF the ore.
Ii dips at an angle of about 10 degrees,
and on this account is easily mined by
| driving enterances into the side OF the
mountain and letting the ore drop
| down. The first vein is five feet thick,
| the next or middle vein is IL to IL feet
! thick, aud the third / feet thick. They
are only working the II foot vein, they
! 10 not need the other two and are lesv-
| ing them for generations yet unborn.
| This ore costs them less than 50 cents
per ton delivered in their stock house,
| thelimestOne 50 cents per ton, and the
! coke something over 3 90 per ton. In
| making 100 tons OF pig metal they use
| about 50 tons limestone, $50 tons coke
and 225 to 80 tons ore. They own four
railroad engines and all necessary
| freight cars, aHd handle about 900 tons
! of material every day. They turn out
/ from 20 ~ 100 tons of as good foundry
! iron as can be found anywhere. They
sre talking Of building another furnace,
| ard perhaps sometime
a Rolling and Nall MIL,
as they have the material aud rolling
| stock 10 easily supply another furnace
! They have already invested over $780,
| OCO in this property AMI [ am satisfied
| would not take 300 per cent in cash for
| their investment. Outside OF this
! company MessrS. Jos. II. and w. II.
| Woodward own 1000 acres OF "biaok
band" ore and LOO acres of coal lands
only q short distance from Wheeling,
which is considered as valuable as the
eompany's property and cost them
comparatively very little, as they pur-
chased some years ago. Tney were
offered short time ago $4,000 cash
for their !, 100 acres OfGOal land. have
gathered these facts as best l could
nom those employed about the furnace,
as the Messrs. WOOdwardS do not talk
much about their operations, and | am
| satisfied they can ruu and make money
when every other furnacs III the coun-
try will be shut down. They came TO
Alabams, went straight forward attend
| ing TO their own business, made but few
il any mistakes in locating their fur
nsce, railroad, etc, and are well salts
! fiep with their new home and their ln-
yestmentS. OF course some OF