St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-26
Sketches Prominent in the Fuel Business VINO
Do the Brunt of Trade, and Whose Word Is Their
Bond.

1he cold and long winter season en-
ioyed by st. Paul and the state at large
naturally give marked prominence TO
the fuel business. 1t is remarkable the
amount of wood aud coal yearly sold in
st. Paul, and. in few short years, the
proportions to which this trade has
grown. Among the most prominent
men found i'll the businessmen who
have been engaged therein a great num-
Der of years, and whose names have
thereby become a kind of by-wOrd in
the city-may be mentioned John Dow
ian and Edward Corning. Both gentle
men control most extensive business
to-day; commencing many years back in
the business in small way. This is a
distinctive characteristic Of the large
business houses found in st. Paul to-
day; in the sixties or seventies they were
all established ''in a small way" While
no doubt the great growth OF the city
has much to do with their upbuilding;
their increased and profitable returns;
yet even under such conditions success
could not be attained without energetic.
sound commercial management. The
fuel merchants here stand high and
well in the community. and while prices
are well maintained'' in point OF cheap
ness, they Will compare favorably with
cities like situated. The transportation
Of the coal from Eastern states and
from Illinois has much to do
in the fixing of its price. An
objection frequently urged by strangers.
who are considering the possibilities of
st. Paul as future manufacturing CEN
ter, is based in the supposed high price
Of fuel liz this city. There are, how
ever, hundreds of lines Of manufacture
ing, and those, too. employing the
largest number of skilled wOrkmen in
proportion to the capital used, wherein
The cost of fuel is very insignificant
percentage OF the manufacturing eX-
penSe. There are other lines, wherein tie
waste of the manufacturing processes
can be utilized as fuel to an extent largely
reducing the outlay in that direction.
But even in those industries which count
the fuel bill among the vital elements OF
cost, st. Paul is rapidly coming to the
front as a successful competitor with
localities like Pittsburg, Cincinnati and
st. Louis, which are supposed to be
much more fayorably situated. The
freights on anthracite coal from the
mines in Pennsylvania, and on bitumin-
GUS coal from the mines in Illinois and
Iowa are being reduced by competition
and by improved methods of handling
with each successive year. A satisfactory
grade of coat. costing only S225 per ton,
is now used by many st. Paul manufac-
tuners. Even where more expensive
grades of coal are required. it must be
remembered that the freightage Oh the
coal from the East Is far less than on
the heavy articles, in the manufacture
of which its use plays an important part.
Charcoal can be furnished in st. Paul at
a lower price than in Cleveland or Chi
cago. The wood supply is unlimited in
quantity, and prices are lower than any
Eastern city can secure. In fact, st.
Paul can buy. on an average, wood and
all kinds of coal at lower prices than
chicago.
These are facts not generally known
among our citizens. and the wider and
more frequent they are published the
sooner much ignorance on this subject
will be disSipated.
The mining and mineral resources OF
the northern half of Minnesota OpeRout
a wide and almost bOundleSS field for
the fuel merchants Of st. Pau! and Mill
nesota. The erection of blast furnaces
and steel works in the upper counties OF
the slate is merely d question of time.
The territory in which the iron ore
formation is found in Minnesota
amounts to 1.700,000 acres. The Mesabi
range extends distance of $50 miles,
and the VermiIlion range over 100 miles.
This range has been most extensively
worked, its immense outcrOpping OF
surface ore first attracting attention.
The shipments of seven years, commenc-
ing seven years. totaled 3,207,9S6.
Prof. WIncheli. state geolOgiSt of Min
nesota, states that the two ranges are
one and the same, and that they meet
under Lake S..->>---:::0T, and this opinion
is aca<Tted geUerally by biologists and
practical men. Every month that active
explorations are carried on brings to
light discoveries Of new beds of ore.
The fact of the matter is that the work
of developing both ranges is still
in its infancy. 1t requires a live
ly Imagination to picture what
will be done to these ranges
within the next five years. The cost of
shipping ore from the developed mines
is from rs cents TO 81 per ton; the cost
of shipping to the Lake Erie ports is
F1.25 per ton. 1t costs about Sl.55 per
ton to mine the hard ores, and not over
s1.25 a ton 10 mine the soft granular
ores in this region. The average per
cent of metallic iron in the Vermillion
ores is from 90 to 20. The only limit in
sight to the value and developments of
these deposits is the demand for the
material they furnish.
One particular advantage Minnesota
ore producers have over others is that
the high grade of tie ore makes it in
valuable for mixing with inferior ores.
We are still far from comprehending
their immense value, industrially as
well as financially. The presence of
this law material close to the head of
navigation on Lake Superior, within
reach of a cheap fuel supply by
the northern lake route, at
The very base of supplies, so
: TO speak, for the vast territory which
stretches from the great lakes to the
Rocky Mountains, is a fact that sug-
gestS wonderful possibilities for the
future. The increasing de mand of
modern life and modern industry from
iron and steel Will be satisfied here.
All manufactures which require iron ore
as their raw material Will find here
their seat ana center, and it
is beyond question that the COM
plete development of these two great
iron ranges of Northern and North
Eastern Minnesota Will not only trans
fer great part of the heavy manufact-
uIing business Of The country to this
section, but viii aid materially in max
ing our industries both diversified aud