The Dispatch. [volume] (Provo City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1891-03-14
THE IRON QUESTION.

The failure of the Chamber Of Com
merce to hold its session Thursday
night, on account of so many of the
members being out of town and other
attractions that night, has delayed the
consideration of several valuable
reports now in the hands of the
secretary. Prominent among these is
the report of the committee on manu-
factures, which, we understand, con-
tains some very pertinent suggestions,
and valuable recommendations. The
Chamber of Commerce has demon
strated that, with united action on the
part of its members, much good for the
benefit of Provo and Utah county in
general can beeccomplished. We sin
cerely hope that this may be the case
in acting upon the suggestions con-
tained in the report of the committee
referred to. Spring is here, and
no better time could be desired
than right now to commence active
work on some enterprise that will give
employment to the laboring men in
our midst, and the hundreds more who
will come. We have on several oc
casions alluded to the feasibility and
practicability of establishing iron
works in this county, and we think
that steps to this end should be taken
by the Chamber Of Commerce. There
are uneXcelled beds of iron right at
our very doors, and any amount of
fuXeS for use in its manufacture.
These iron fields are owned by the Utah
Valley Iron & Manufacturing Co, and
can, we are informed, be purchased, or
at least sufficient stock bought to save
them passing into the hands of eastern
capitalists. These iron fields must be
owned by the people of this valley, and
Twill be suicidal on their part il they
dilIy-dalIy much longer, because there.
are no thumb-screws on the owners of
these beds, and if an opportunity for
their sale arises, there is no telling but
what they will go. Already we under
stand certain propositions have been
made, and inasmuch as the quality of
the iron is the finest in the land, and
easy TO get at. undoubtedly something
will be soon done about it, Pueblo
has had her eye upon our iron for some
time past, and say there is no reason
why empty cars should return to CO.
orado from Utah without bringing in
some returns to the railroad. This
shown up to the railroad officials viii
of course lead them to give very low
rate on iron ore, should the deposits 20
into outside hands. s.
Now then, in view of these facts.
and they are not imposSibilitieS by any
means why cannot the Chamber of
Commerce take some action in the
premises at the next session? We
have no doubt but what they will.
The immense value to our city and
Territory of the development of this
iron industry, we need not pause to
name; but there is another aspect of
this iron industry that interests, and
should command the efforts Of not
the capitalists, not the manufacturer.
nor the owner of real estate additions
but of those men whose labor un-
derlies all these and builds them up.
the laborers. Consider a moment what
there IS in ton of iron labor. 1t can
only be the value Of the iron and the
coal in the mines; all the rest is labor.
Even the transportation needed to get
the ore and the coal and the coke to
the furnaces is but a form of labor
How much is the raw material worth
while yet unnined? Has it any value
for mankind whatsoever? None. But
let the hand of labor touch it and
every home in the land is benefited.
and the valueless iron ore leaps ahead
of the precious metals, The value last
yeat, l8a, on steel rails alone manu-
factured ins the United States.
was $4,000, 9O0. That is to say the
steel rails made in\ our country last
year were worth morsx II an all the sill
yer dug from ali the miile.ss of the Re-
public. and twenii five years agoostere1
was not one steel rail- made in Amer
lea. We say this irnH Industry for
Provo and Utah county, possesses a
vital interest for the man who earns
his daily bread by his daily toll Why,
bar of iron worth i've lollars wrought
into horseshoes is werti 1000;
wrought into needles S30000; wrought
into penknife blades is worth SO. 00a. 90;
wrought into watch springs is worth
s25O,0OO.00. The hand that adds and
increases these values is the hand Of
the laborer. The opening of a furnace
means opportunity and benefit TO
every wage earned in the county, yes.
In Utah, for there is not an iron
furnace in all this territory. 1t NEAR s
that all the kindred iron industries