The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-05-29
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERNIRON,

The South Doesn't want to XIII the North
aud 70 Shares with England,
birmingham, Ala,, Age Herald,
Pig iron can be made in the South, 1t
is now admitted, as cheaply as in Eng
land, The freight charges on English
pig being for many part Of this country
higher than the freight charges on
Southern pig, the latter has nothing to
iear from competition, High or low tar.
iff, Southern pig Is bound to undersell
all other, the only trouble the high
tariff makes for Southern iron inter-
ests being In the fact that 1t insures
tho Pennsylvania and Ohio pig a
market when iron Is in great demand.
Strike off the tariff on iron, and those
States would hardly sell pound, owing
TO the high cost Of their raw materials,
while the South would supply the whole
country, except perhaps a lew points
where English pig would come In to
supply special needs. The harm the
tariff Ia doing Southern iron interests,
therefore, Is that 1t Is delaying their full
development. Asmatters are the South
Is rapidly going to the front The cut Of
pig recently by Pennsylvania firm to
$40 so Is q sign OF distress. We have
Mr.. Carnegie's authority for 1t that the
furnaces OF his latitude cannot afford TO
pay the prices demanded for orc and run
ut the rates now ruling for pig iron,"
He accordingly advises general stop.
page unless workmen will consent 70 q
20 per cent reduction Of wages. A bet
ter thing for him and his workmcn
would be to do as many others in his
position are doing-to go South.
The Montgomery AdVeriiser copies the
above from the Baltimore Sun and gives
1t q half column oil approving comment.
1t Is queer sort OF logic. Why should
the South wish to admit To the Ameri-
can market British pig iron that can COM
pete with the products Of Its furnaces In
the place OF Northern pig iron which, &C.
cording to the above, must give way To-
the cheaper iron Of the South? II the
South should invite England to come in
and help her conquer the American
trade then would the South some day be
like the ancient Britons who invited
Saxon invasion to defend them against
the Picts and Scots.
II tho Southern furnaces can't attain
the prestige that Is prophesied for them
by virtue OF the natural advantage they
have over the North, 1t will profit them
nothing TO admit foreign competition for
that purpose.
It is really puzzling why such papers
as the Sun and the Aduerttser should con-
tinue to insist on the reduction or re-
moyal Of tho duty on pig iron when they
admit that competition has brought the
price OF that commodity as low in this
country as the producers can possibly
afford to sell It. II the tariff does not
enhance the price OF pig iron 10 the con-
sumer, then It Isl tariff for revenue only,
and that the is platform on which these
papers have all the time stood.
But as the AOe-HerdM has more than
once asserted, Southern iron men enter
tain no thought of destroying the iron
industry OF the North. OF something
more than 100000 tons OF pig iron pro-
duCed in the United States last year,
100000 came from the North. The men
engaged in iron making there had long
experience in the business and turn out
a fine quality Of pig. They also have
unlimited capital aud the South is still
poor. It's folly to suppose that all the
furnaces producing these 6,00O, 900 tons
OF iron are going to be speedily brought
to close up, and, In our opinion, 1t would
be great calamity to the country II they
should.
What the iron trade Of the United
States needs is an extension OF It's terri
tory-not a cutting down OF It's product.
The South can, with the proper effort,
find profitable market for all Of her
iron in the countries to the south Of us
and leave the North in undisturbed
possession OF It's own field.