The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1886-12-23

vi COkc. AuuluB Illc JMO VIC Auu bhaO
the total Of ore and fuel required for
these furnaces per year is l,056,0O0
tons. The coal mines all along the
route from Richardson, KY, to Hun
ter's valley, in Scott county, Virginia,
will supply the fuel and the hematite
and specular ores needed, but the
greater bulk and weight used will be |
carried from the Bessemer ore mines
OF Cranberry, but $50 miles away.
This enormous tonnage will require
$40 trains of 20 cars each for 300 days,
or for the whole period 264O trains of
$500 cars.
The Ashland furnaces now in blast
are running on low grade ore, from
which they make soft pig iron that
is put TO the same uses as the Scotch
pig. A singular proof of the great
need they have Of the Cranberry ores
is furnished by the Norton Iron Works,
OF Ashland. This company has a
paid-up capital OF $793,000. 1t oper-
ates blast furnace, rolling mill, nail
mill, keg factory and coal miles EN-
ploying 700 men. 1t has a furnace
66x16 feet, and four Whitwell hot
blast stoves each 50x16 feet. 1t makes
$4,000 tons Of iron annually, consum-
ing $4,000 tons of ore and $4,000 tons
Of coal. All the while it buys Iron
Mountain pig from Missouri for its
nail mill, and sells its own pig to
manufacturers elsewhere. Mr.. John
Russell, president, and Mr.. D. b.
Meacham, secretary of this company,
both told your correspondent that as
soon as there was certainty OF get
ting the Cranberry ores they would
erect Bessemer steel plant and
would double their present capacity.
Mr. John Means, president of the Ash
| land Coal & Iron Railway Company,
made similar statement. His COM
pany has paid-up capital of $1,464,-
: 500. 1t operates railroad, a blast
furnace and coal mine. 1t has one
furnace stack 62x16 feet, and is erect
ing another of the same dimensions.
1t has four Whitwell hot.blast stoves,
: each 52x16 feet, and is building three
l more. "Give this district Cranberry
ore and coke as soon as you can," said
! MIR. D Putnam, Jr., superintendent oi
e this company, "and you will have tC
! make a second track at once to keep
+ pace with the increase OF the Hanging
}, Rock demands"
e The figures given in the foregoing
r are but a fraction of what this section
n would consume if it could get the irol
/. and coke. When iron commanded
o high prices the blast furnaces drew
S their supply from Marquette, LAX
C Superior, $50 miles away. Sine,
u cheap production, caused by the es
Is tablishment Of furnaces in Tennesse'
( and Alabama and the use Of natura
1t gas elsewhere, the majority have beer
compelled to suspend operations, an,
l. their plants, costing millions of do
oi lars, have been idle These furnaces
d numbering thirty-seven stacks, whel
Is running to their full capacity, pre-
a duct 2,235 tons of pig daily, which
lie added to the Ashland and Ironton out
h put, make total of 1895 tons of pi,
T. or for 800 days the enormous produC
le ton OF 89S, 500 tons. The ore suppl
le for these 46 stacks for year would b
le 1,797 900 tons, and the coke 1,123,0C
n. tons, the whole requiring 2416 trair
ID of twenty cars daily for 800 days. b
81, sides the above are large number {
ut charcoal furnaces, for which we coul
n, get no estimate. These are not mytl
ge ical or guess figures; they represer
y, actual condition and needs OF til
ct furnaces in the Hanging Rock di
al trict. The plants are here with enoug
Of money behind them to put all into fu
it blast as soon as fuel and ore are O
h. tainable at prices they can afford
n pay. AS the Chatteroi railroad HI
been built southwark 30 miles, al
NJ the morrow gauge is running mort
On ward to johnson City, there are b.
he 160 miles Of construction to be dol
at to complete the connection betwet
as the mines and the furnaces, and
I'd, bring to all these furnaces whatev
ng fuel and ore they may need. No ra
to road accountant is needed to pro
he that the earnings of the road whi
he has this traffic will be enormous, al
he that, too, without estimating receiE
I'm from any other business than th
be furnished by the blast furnaces. Th
lat there will be more is easy to 81
en- Camel and splint Goals, marble, lul
on Der and farm products will help
ag- swell the volume of freights. Spari
lat ly settled as is the back country no
its exports reach considerable fgu
,us A statement recently prepared for t
The National Bureau OF Statistics gi,