The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-07-09
The Iron Center

4Ai''o'siiia VII change places with Pennsylvania
as producing more iron ore in 1890 than the Old
Keystone State,
This Significant statement means nothing
more nor less than that the South will be the fu-
lure IRON producing center of the United States.
ana as cofollary to the above statement, in no
part OF the United States has the Industrial prog
ross been more satisfactory than in the South.
which demonstrates that the material devotion.
ment IN the States south OF Mason and Dixon's
me mas been such as not only to challenge but
20 attract the attention of the world.
SAID superintendent Porter when Interviewed
on The subject; Yes, it's fact that our statis-
Tics Will show the South to be producing as much
IRON ore now as the whole country produced in
1870 And the same is true as regards Dig iron
aud bitum1nous COAL In my opinion the changes
that viii come about within the next few n,ont his
III the manufacture Of iron Will make the South
the great fon producing center qf the United
Stabes
ms VIII not affect Pennsylvania, for we have
abuhdahb proof that In all of these migrationS
$50 called the old center takes up another class
OF manufactures. which is generally an ad-
vanced product of the same article In England
the old centers of iron manufacture were Shelf
Held and Birmingham, but when South Wales
and Barrow took che lead the former cities en-
gagged in the production Of steel and other
things.
The three future centers of iron manufacture
will be Puget Sound the Pacific Coast; Bir-
mlnghan, East Tennessee and North Carolina
IN the South, and the Pittsburgh regionin the
North Schooled in adversely the South is al
ready beginning to realize the blessings which
follow from turning the sword Into plough
share; and the truth of President Harrison's
statement in mis- inaugural address is now most
apparent, that the emancipation proclamation
was heafd IN the dark depths of the ocean as
well as the cerulean depths of the sky
To fully comprehend the remarkable change
that will be announced by the Forthcoming bull
letin it is necessary to remember that in 1850
ten years ago, Pennsylvania produced 2.1s5,675
tons OF iron ore against a production of 1871 876
IN Alabama being nearly IL times as much in
the Keystone State as in Its Southern rival In
1880 Michigan was the second State with 1897
7R tons, and New York third with ,262 127 while
Alabama was seventh ON the list, and poor
seventh at that.
In 1880 there were only II establishments in
Alabama as against 1858 in Pennsylvania and the
capital invested was $5e3 442 in the former State
and Si62l, 10f in the latter. The total number of
persons employed In Alabama ten years ago was
only I3s and the total of wages paid amounted
to just sl23,342.
We have no reason to doubt the coed
and honest intentions of the Census Bu- |
reau or the object of that department in
making these reports. But, at the same
time, we think they are greatly mistaken
in their location of the future iron-mak-
ing center of the country. To the fact
that no concerted effort has ever been
made to spread abroad a knowledge of
the mineral resources of this immediate
section Of Virginia, is due the ignorance
of its existence which must prevail in
official quarters, where the above report
was made up. We, however, risk moth
ing in saying that there is no known
district in the Union where richer or
more valuable mineral deposits can be
found than within a radius of thirty
miles of Clifton Forge. We do not be-
lieve that there is a single State in the
Union whose combined advantages are
so great for making cheap pig iron as
right here, quantity and quality OF out
put considered. Take the Rich Patch
range and the Douthatt survey, which is
only a continuation of the same ores.
and contiguous properties, contain
ing an area of thirty miles square. and
there is no similar area of territory car
rying equal mineral wealth and where
ore can be mined at less cost. Attention
has been, only to a limited extent, called
to the resources of this district, while
Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia have
knar aIy vorficoI 70 md II + l., /
iron center OF the country. Were the
real facts known, we believe that Vir-
ginia west of the Blue Ridge and several
counties in West Virginia contain as
much mineral wealth, if not more, as all
three of the States named. 1t is, too, in
more concentrated form; accessible by
rail, or closely approached by laterals,
where main stems do not accommodate
it. 1t is no discredit to the States emu
merated as the future iron center of the
country to express this opinion. 1t is
only another evidence of the vast re-
sources of the South; the fabulous wealth
that is to be developed, and the I'M
bounded prosperity and affluence that
await in the near future. The mineral
region, of which Clifton Forge is the nat
ural center, is without parallel in this
country, and this will be demonstrated
in less than decade.
1t is no reflection upon the Census Of
flee to say that it will do injustice to Vir-
ginia in the report it will make, accord
ing to the estimates sent out. 1t is in
part the fault of our people. We have
been asleep over natural wealth unsur-
passed on the globe. Our people are ig-
norant of what they have They have
never made an attempt to advertise their
natural resources. 1t is by accident
when attention is called to them; and
even then the information that can be
impaired is so limited, that it does not
convey an adequate impression of what
is here to invite capital and enterprise.
But we will grow out of this. By degrees
the facts will become known; the essen
tial agencies will be at hand for devel-
opment and in a few years official state.
right here in Virginia, there is more to
develop and more to be made out of the
DEVELOPMENT of the iron interest than
any other portion of the whole country.
Important Statement
A dispatch from London, dated June
sStf, makes the following important an
nuuncement. 1t is pregnant of great
results for the industrial progress of this
country. The true policy of the United
States is to manufacture everything we
consume. There is 10 good reason why
we cannot manufacture all the tin-plate
we now import, thus keeping at home
S30. 0OO. OOO which is sent abroad to build
up foreign industries and give employ
ment to foreign labor. Ninety five per