Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-14
MEN FOR THE SOUTH.
An Alabama Manufacturer Comes to
PittSburg for Workmen.
ACCOUNTS EASILY COLLECTED.
Democrats in Southern States Who Favor
Protection.
NEWS FROM The CIRCLES OF LABOR

James G. Caldwell, President of the
birmingham (Ala.) Rolling Mill Company,
operators of the largest iron plant in the
South, is at the Monongahela House. He is
accompanied by John d. Dwyer, Superin-
tendent of the works. The two gentlemen
are here for workmen, and will take 40 or 80
men from Pittsburg tomorrow to work in
their mills. Mr.. Caldwell was seen at the
hotel yesterday by a reporter OF The DIS
PATCH. He is a genial conyersationalist,
is we'll posted on the in dustry in which he
is engaged, and talked freely about 1t to the
reporter. He said:
"We have the largest tron plant of the
South. We employ about 1000 men, and
our capacity is $50 tons per day. Our busi-
ness is good. But the same can be said OF
every industry in the South. Our people
are on the advance, and the South stands
the peer of any other section of the country.
There is one thing 1 would like to say about
the Southern people. There is a general
impression abroad that it is hard to collect
bills in the South.
HONEST BUSINESS MEN.
81 have been in the iron business for ten
years. During that time have done a bus
mess aggregating $1,000 900, and I'll ven-
ture to say that 1 have lost less than 81 500.
That shows the healthy condition of trade
down there as we'll as the honesty and sta
bility of the merchants.
AS Mr.. Caldwell's company had signed
the Amalgamated scale last July for the
first time in seven years, he was queried in
regard TO the condition of labor in the
South. He said:
I'VE can get along very well now with
the association. Before when we were in it
we had all sorts of trouble with the men,
They would raise disputes and fail to fill
Iheir agreements. Since MIR. Weihe and
Mr.. Martin have been in charge of the as
soclatOn 1t has been conducted in bust
nesSlike manner They are honest men, and
i contracts are not lived up to it is not their
fault. l regard il as an advantage to have
a union mill this year. Our workmen are
easier to Geal with. The only difficulty is
we cannot get enough of them without COM
ing North tor them"
SOUTHERN PRoTECTIoNIsTS.
"How do the Southern manufacturers re-
gard the tariff question by this tIme?" was
asked.
well, tn ev favor it as a rule. 1 am
Democrat, but believe protective tariff
TO be good thing. 1t has proven so to our
business"
What do you think of Blaine's reciprocity
project?''
Il don't like it. may not be thoroughly
posted as to Mr.. Blaine's intention, but 1 ]
think we can get along without such plan. /
Our trade with other countries does not |
amount tn much. Our company tried sew |
eral years ago to work up trade in Mexico, |
snd we hold some of it vet, but the |
,uties were so heavy that we were COM
slled TO drop it. Our trade is confined |
hiefy TO the South and West Our sharp |
est competition comes from Pittsburg. The |
Northern manufacturers do big business |
IN our section. We have little the ad- |
vantage over the Northern manufacturers in
The matter of fuel. We use artificial fuel |
gas and we get it cheaper than the Pitts
burg manufacturers can get the natural
gas. That is owing probably to the greed
81 your Northern gas companies"
Mr.. Caldwell has spent part OF his time on |
this trip examining a direct process for
making steel. Whether he intends to be-
come interested or not in the manufacture of
il could not be learned, but he is of the
opinion that the direct process can be made
success,