New-York tribune., 1891-02-07
WEST VIRGINIA.
A STATE THAT LACKS CONVENIENT
CENTRAL CITY.

rFKoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE 1RiBCSel
Wheeling, w. Va, jan 3O.-ln spite OF her
vast resources, West Virginia is unfortunate in
,be lack of a great city centrally situated and
able 10 consume her products III manufactures, or
10 act as a clearing house for their distribution
abroad Charleston, the capital, is small town
in n rural district, and a mere way station on
single line of railroad. Wheeling is Always de-
scribed by the local boomers" as the "metropo-
lis and in point of size, wealth and commerce,
this title is deserved. But Wheeling bears no
such relation TO the State as Cleveland Dears 10
Ohio or Richmond to Virginia or LOUISVILLE 10
Kentucky or Nashville TO Tennessee. Dig gray
building in the principal street is set down III 'ie
guides as the old Capitol, in which the Leg sidtc
met before it was found that the " western ran
handle" was so remote from the political centre
as TO make desirable change in the seat oil GOV
ernment and a conversion of the big gray build
ing into city and county offices. This, OF couISe'
was not Whceling's fault, but her misfortune
Wheeling men are the first TO concede that the re-
moval of the capital was beneht, since IL carIeu
new life into the heart Of the State and suppheo
q strong educational stimulus where it was most
needed
A. the same time, TO a student of the New
South. it is obvious that Wheehngs lmPo:tlh'e
as factor in the States industrial progress must
cal position. Standing on the right bank OF 'he
river the Indians called Beautiful with Ohlo
on one side and PENNSYLVANIA on the other, her
relation is naturally more intimate with the COM
merce of those great cOmmonwealths than thaU oI
the territory of which, politically, she forms
part Her people are mostly OF Northern oIlSlh'
Her principal highways lead away from the oouOA'
The small towns that have sprung up around heI
and form her actual suburbs are III NoItleiu
State. and in them an important snare OF hel
canital is invested. Before coming here hdu
expected to find the city alive with eNci'emehV
over the new iron mines that were Delhg openo'
in the mountains the new coal seams tna' are
startling prospectors by their Araolan Nlgh's
revelations the wonderful timber Delts thht nave
only lust been put under contribution, ana 'hc
oil and gas wells that a few miles away hoiu oi'c
popuace agog .,,- VI .,,s
What is Wheeling doing to utilize all TINS
wealth ~ | asked an Intelligent gentleman TINS
afternoon. who has been In business here 1or
thirty years
oh she's letting the world know all about
!, be replicd. and he pulled out a newspaper
budpet. filed with admontions to the outsider III
Epojisb French Swedish, Welsh and German, TO
.cone and make your home In young ana rich
State" and containing valuable ana lh'eresuhs
compendium Of the reasons why IL wouio De
folly to neglect them.
"Rut what has Wheeling done to demonstrate
the value of what she extols :?
She's organized Board of Immigration anu
Development
But docs she use the iron or the "oou VI 'lo
oil in her own manufactures :"
The intelligent gentleman h1ted MS eyebrows
The answer TO this question, wheeling nien h'o"
is not altogether satisfactory. Inc Ohaiioel VI
Commerce has published little nook' oia@on'o
with red and gold on the cover, which describes
with exhaustive detail the varied industries 'h''
arc prosecuted in the shadow of her tall factory
cb;mnevs. You can read dazzling accounts oil the
oi,r,s snnremacy as a nail centre a glass centre
rd q pottery centre-accounts that are inc
moro interesting by reason OF their tTuth. NltIIn
q tew miles of the old Capitol you can See III
nrocess of evolution all imaglnable ariicles VI
human consumption from stockings To SUoNe-p'P''
gloves TO bed-spTlngs, ana noWer-poIe " O'i"
naone glasses and O'Clock tea setS lou Can iooi"
that the glass blown here Is as good as 'l"'
blown in Bohemia, that it is sold as lar away
az Australia, that the china ana porcelaih WIZ
cold medals at great exhibitions, ana 'ha'
stonparc in the production OF nalis heIc IHc"I0
to,nnorarv PARALYSIS of that entire industry
Rut the raw material all comes from abroad Inc
iron ore is brought from Lake SUPERIOR 1Ae
o,tir, coke comes from Connellsyille, the glass
nd from Greenland or Newfoundland. the potter
oIov from England and New-Jersey, and tobacco
en-, old VIRGINIA Parkersburg, some distance
o. tho south. on the Ohio River, is the actual
outlet for all the oil, though solitary enleIS
is maintained here Even the natural gas colleS
from PENNSYLVANIA though the prchs III 'nc
buildnrs are made of the local muu' anu ''o
local limestone consumed in the huAh9 ol S'e0"
and local woods are used III cabinet decor"Oon'
From these facts the casual opseINeI hienU
:. i,,oIinod IA draw hasty and erroneous con-
clusions At first sight 1t would seem Vn"' V"'
sider. would do well to examine into the true value
of the raw material that West NlTglnlahS 'heni-
selves decline 10 handle though they are % eager
.. ,rois, II to others Yet their refusal implies
ro,nino more than that the material does AoU
bannen 10 be adapted 10 their own use uhder eA-
;sfinc conditions In the potteries, lor llSt'nCo'
there is every reason why the KIDS Sno"4U "
supplied with American clay, excepting 'h"O ho
American clay is thought fine enough lor Uhe Pio
duction of the better grades OF ware es'dplloheu
as their speciality. The native mud on the o'ler
hand is we'll fitted for use IN pOt'eiles sechihs
a diNercnt class of custom, just as the native
coke though inferior to the ConnelsFiIe aucic
for smelling, is useful enough in the foundry and
will no doubt be extensively dealt In When fdll-
road competition begins Tie principal steel pro-
ducer in Wheeling assures me- however, that the
native coke may ultimately be adopted Tor use
in the Bessemer cOnverters. The virtue OF the
Connellsville product is threefold-quantlty OF
fixed carbon freedom from sulphur or phosphorus
and structural strength, enabling it TO stand the
pressure Of ore in the converter without becoming
crushed and caked in a mass. Careful analysis
shows that in the first and most important oil
these qualifications the native coke actually eN-
GELS. and when greater care is observed In the
selection of the coal and more skill employed III
washing out the sulphur, il is believed the most
encouraging results will follow AS to the TIM
ber the difficulty of transportation is again the
bugbear, and so far as Wheeling is concerned, is
likely 10 remain so for some time To come. Of
cnal tbere is AN abundance close at hand