The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-09-03
The True policy for Virginia.

deiuSl0D OF AiiShdina betDS more i'To~
gressive, comparatively, than Pennsyl-
vania, in the iron making business, by
giving figures showing that in Pennsyl-
yania. in 1855, 1889 and 1890, respectively,
3. 5S9. 1876, ISL, PAP and /, 7l2,5li tons were
made. and that iii Alabama. fer the
same years 4s9, 492, T91,425 and Sa0,492
tons-showing that Alabama did not
make one fifth of the net tons that Penn
svlvailia did. So long as the Lake ores
are AT the command of the furnaces OF
PENNSYLVANIA, there will be large out
nu*s of pig iron from the established
nlanfs in that State. 1t is the Invested
capital in such enterprises there ana the
large number Of furnaces in operation,
and which to suspend would cause III.
mense loss, that prevent more money
and enterprise coming to the South than
otherwise would.
But it is net of this feature OF the case
that we wish to remark more particulars
Nv. 1t is to the suggestion that lrglnla
should give more attention to industries
to consume the products OF the fur-
naces already in existence. Mr. Pechln
assumes, and truthfully, that the fur
mace capacity is in advance OF the ore
DEVELOPMENT. and it is not SO much more
furnaces, as it is Industries to WORK INTO
higher forms the products of the fur>
naces. On this point Mr.. Pechin says
1.-The true index Of community's progress
and prosperity is not phe raw pig iron IL Is max
ing. OF cal, make, but what amount OF iron aid
steel it produces III finished forms. The making
of pig iron to be shipped away on Ii slender
margin OF profit, SO far IRON being n advantage
is d positive loss. The coal and ore are DehS
exhausted and the machinery worn out without
any adequate return.
AT the present thine neither Alabama nor Vir-
ginia need any more furnaces What they want
and must have to be prosperous, are the mills
and toundries and shops right at home to work
up all the pig iron, that they are now making or
can make. This is true development ana true
progress. First supply the home market with
manufactured goods, then seek neutral markets
and tlen competitive ones
..Alabamas !as, 800 tons of iron if sold at twelve
dollars IA ton, means SII,GcG,0to distributed. II
ut into even cheap castings it means $25' 100000
steel it means from s30,0a04000 to s53.o1,0o0"
The idea suggested applies with pc
culjar force to this section of the State
We have four or five blast furnaces in
operation turning out more than 1900
tons of pig metal weekly, and not one
industry to work it up into finished form.
The cream of onr wealth is thus carried
away. to give employment 10 skilled
workmen in other States, and to build
up industrial centers there instead OF at
home, where the raw material is found.
That we have unusual advantages here
for industries to work up pig metal 10
not disputed An argument USED by
Mr. Il. J. Bird, why he desired to locate
a Nail Mill and Muck bar Mill at Low
Moor was that he could get the raw
material 200 a ton less there than
where lie had been engaged in Ohio
From a paper now before us, issued by
w. s. Whitman, the intelligent Presl-
dent of the Old Dominion Stove Com
pany. now erecting a plant to make
stoves at Clifton Forge, he says: There
are two stove foundries in Virginia, one
in North Carolina, and none in South
Carolina These three States depend
almost entirely on Ohio and fennsyl-
vania to supply them with stoves A
foundry in Ohio selling stoves in these
States must haul them from 300 TO 500
miles. and the freight charges vary from
A TO Ss5 per ton. and the Pennsylvania
foundries at least as much. These foun-
dries use about so per cent. Virginia
iron in the manufacture of their pro-
ducts. and it costs them 81. per ton
freight on their iron to have it hauled
to the foundries These items alone will
pay Il handsome dividend on this plant.
We claim, in the matter of freights
alone, a saving Of IS per ton on every
ton of stoves produced. under what it is
now costing the Ohio and Pennsylvania
foundries to get into this market, and
we are in a position to shut them com
pletelv out of this market. Virginia
alone will use $4,000 stoves per year, and
if we can only sell nefourth of this
-
our stock after paying Our interest
charges. We can not only shut out for-
eign competition. but we can go right
INTO the States North and undersell the
foundries there We claim a saving in
cost Of iron and coke of SO 40 per ton.
Our freight rates to competing points
in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are the
same as local rates in these States. Rates,
for instance, from Cincinnati or Column
bus, Ohio, to Chicago il.,are So per ton,
against "a from Clifton Forge, giving us
a clear advantage in the Chicago market
of So 40 per ton. which market is recog-
nized as the largest i'll the United
States"
Here are the opinion and the figures
of I, practical worker and operator as to
to our production Of finished iron pros
duets. We refer TO il rs an illustration
of the general proposition that capital
invested in industries related to iron
such as stoves, cotton ties, horse shoes,
wire nails and a hundred other articles,
would not only yield handsomely on the
investments, but would immensely add
to the wealth of the section. Skilled
workinen would be employed, towns
would be built up, a home market for
farm and truck products created, and,
in short, a circle of wealth creating ope-
rations would be formed that would
keep the natural wealth at home to en-
rich our own people and section.
Attention should be more particularly
drawn to the line of industries here sug
gested. tits to be the great desideratum
of this part of Virginia. 70 make an in
dustrial center we must have diversified
industries, and they must be related to
the natural products of the section
where they are situated We have one
of the richest iron districts on the con-
tinent. Our furnaces are turning out
the best of pig metal, but it is shipped
away. to feed and encourage the class
of plants we are describing and give enl-
ployment to operatives there instead of
here. At Clifton Forge, Iron Gate, Low
Moor. Covington, and Goshen there are
exceptional advantages for such plants