Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-11
ITS PRIME NECESSITY.
THE GREAT ADVANTAGES TO PITTsBURe
OLA SHIP CANAL

! In Fact the Whole of Western Pennsylvania
Would Be Largely Benefited by It
Transportation Rates on Coke and Iron
Would Largely Drop.
The following communication from one
thoroughly acquainted with the subject ap-
| pears in the current issue of the Sharpsville
Advertiser:
| OF the consumers of pig metal now using
| large quantities of Southern irons there are
| few who give those irons preference over
| Lake irons, for any reason other than that the
Southern irons are, nominally at least, cheaper
| than the Lake irons. There are few of those
| consumers who would not pay little more for
! a good Lake iron than for the best of the
| Southern metal. But for work in which they
| can use the Southern metal they will not pay
| for Lake metal very much more than Southern
| metal prices.
In order that the iron-making district of
| Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio (the
/ product of which is almost exclusively from
/ Lake Superior ores and Connellsville coke)
/ may recover the markets it has lost, and per-
| manently keep its hold of them, the cost of pro-
| duction of pig metal in that district must be
/ reduced SO that Bessemer may be sold with
| living margin of profit, at price below Sl3 per
! ton.
That this condition of affairs would be
reached, at or about the present time, we long
! ago predicted. But we were calculating that
before this time the ''fire in the rear' would be
stronger from West Virginia, Virginia, north
| west North Carolina and Georgia than from
Alabama.
The Alabama Boom Ended.
Powerful and persistent blooming of the
Alabama district, OF which we had no Fremont
tion, has, however. for time changed the
course of events, and the production of pig
iron in Alabama in 1890 was far greater than
J that of the above named four States combiued,
Alabama having turned out in that year S04, 5S8
net TONS and the said four States no more than
492 493 net tons. But Alabama has nearly, il
not quite touched high water mark, while Vir-
| GINA coming up on the scale, and she, with
! the other three States above grouped with her,
| will eventually produce farwmore than the
Alabama district Virginia has increased her
production from Isl l84 net tons in 1885, 10
800 $50 net tons in 1850. and here the increase
| will be- for years to come. persistent.
Thus far, however, the product of the entire
"South"-Alabama,T Tennessee, Georgia, North
Carolina Virginia and Kentucky-does not
equal that of Allegheny county alone. The
Southern group produced in 1890 no more than
/ ,697 net tons of coke and bitumInous metal,
while Allegheny county produced ], ,4B7, ,7S6 net
tons of coke metal.
We have not taken charcoal iron into ac-
count in this paper. The charcoal iron indus
try is of large importance in various ways. but
il occupies a field of its own. Incorporation of
the statistics of this industry with those of the
coke and anthracite industries is inexpedient.
Advantage of a Ship Canal
Charcoal iron, then, being out of the calcula-
ton, The champion district (Allegheny county
and our two valleys, the Mahoning and She
nango). produced in 1890, s35 per cent of the
entire pig iron output Of the United States.
Pennsylvania and Ohio produced 5767 per cent
of the whole output of 1890, and Pennsylvania
alone produced 4543 per cent of the whole out
put.
valleys was 1.224,S5 net tons of which the
do fnns Tha fx1rn
valleys made SO, $50 tons more than Alabama
and Virginia combined. We are in the front
rank yet: but in order to keep there we must
rednce the cost of producing iron, at least to
the degree above indicated.
We need TO make iron at cost, per ton, TO
labor, 81 80; administration and taxes, Soc; ore
Sc 75; coke, So so; lime. etc., 55c; total
Sl2 And this without unduly calling for re-
due ion on prices Of stock. But we cannot do
this without our ship canal. In 1890 the average
freight charge on ore (aggregatlng the Ash
land Marquette and Escanaba business and
including dock charges) to Pittsburg. was
81 1S1s per ton; to the valleys, 81 1888 per
ton.
Were the ship canal in existence even with
a through toll" of 20c per ton to Sharpsville,
the rate from upper lake ports to Pittsburg
would not exceed 81 50. and to Sharpsvlne 81 80
per ton. So the freight on the ore for ton of
metal would be. to Pittsburg 81 5S3s and to
metal.
Canal Should Be Free.
The reduction from present cost would be
&c. g cents per ton of metal for Sharpsville and
e6.4c per ton of metal for Pittsburg. The
Pittsburg reduction would be 26.S cents, per ton
of metal, greater than the Sharpsville reduc-
tion. The freight on the ore for a ton of metal
to Pittsburg would be 4211zc greater than the
freight to Sharpsville; at present it is 6S3z
| cents greater.
But the canal should be "rree;" and it will be
| If the communities interested promptly take
| joint action to that end. With free canal"
the through rate on ore from upper lake ports
| to Pittsburg will not exceed 81 80 per ton and
| to Sharpsvllle 81 % per ton. Then the freight
on the ore for ton of metal will be: To Pitts
| burg s. 251s, and to Sharpsville 81 99Js Re-
duction from present rates (per ton of metal)
S5.Sc to Sharpsville and 81 % to Pittsburg.
By adoption of proper cars and appurten-
ances for delivering and handling stock to and
at furnaces, saving, upon present practice, of
atleast l5 cents per ton of metal may be-effected
By the very simple expedient of taking out of
the blast-air, before it goes into the blowing
tubs, all water that may be removed by con-
production per diem) may be effected, equiva.
| lent, with coke at So per ton in the furnace)
to 30 cents per ton of mental produced
Would Reduce Coke Rates.
The saving effected by the desiccatIon of the
blast air, with furnace making, in present
practice, 100 tons per diem, will repay the cost
of the desiccating plant in about seven months
The above specified reductions of cost to be
effected by the canal, and the other means here
named. amounts to 81 3OS per ton of metal
made. The canal would operate furthermore
to materially modify rates on COKE and TO re-
duce cost Of transportation of pig metal; the
latter result working as directly for the benefit
of the furnaces as it would were it an actual re-
ductior of cost OF production.
We trust that The people of Western Penn
sylvania and Eastern Ohio will presently wake
| up to the fact that the Lake Erie and Ohio
River Ship Canal is positively necessary to the
maintenance of their district in its position as
the seat of the principal ron-makIng industry
of this country. We hardly need to say that il
it maintains that position it will soon take rank
as the principal iron-making district of the
world.
And the people of the great Northwest, in
terested in maintaining markets for their ores
and in securing cheap transportation for their
fuel, which they must import, will earnestly
second any movement made for establishment
Of this canal: this very necessary supplement
to the Sault Ste. Marie Canal
~ m A