Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-04-01
FORT PAYNE, ALA.
How the Place was Doomed and what
IL Had to Build upon.

Ii Had 10 Build upon.
The Engineering and Mining Journal of
New York, leading trade paper of high
rank, is publishing a series of articles on
Failures in Doomed Towns, the allusion
being to the booming methods used by
spectators in working up their schemes in
various parts of the South, into which so
many Northern men were inveigled. In
the issue of March 26 is an article on Fort
Payne, Ala. The writer shows how thin
and poor were the veins of iron ore on
which the hopes of Fort Payne were based.
While these veins showed a reasonably
good thickness as they cropped out in va
rious places, they invariably were found to
run down to a thickness of only few
inches, and they proved so lean in iron they
could only be worked at a loss. While
analyses of few picked samples showed as
high as ~ per cent of iron, other SAMPLER
gathered by officers of the company TO
prove the excellence GU of the ore, showed
only from 1920 to lj.23 per cent of iron,
the remainder being silica and carbonate of
lime Circulars issued by the boomers
stated that pig iron was being made at Bir-
mingham at from s. to $3.50 per ton, and
it was claimed that it could be made in
Fort Payne for $40 a ton. The actual
results showed, however, that the pig iron
cost over SIS a ton at the furnace, and
that the average selling price did not eX-
coed Sl0.2j. No other figures are necessa-
~ to show where the profit came in
The ores mined and used averaged only
% per cent of iron. 1t was necessary to
build railroad to reach the coal mines,
and an engineer was engaged to survey the
route and estimate the cost. He was told
hot IA firR.af to NOT
600. His conscience not being elastic
enough TO allow him to do this, another en-
gineer was engaged, who figured the cost
at $4,000 for the 10 miles of road. includ-
ing everything. When the road was done
the entire cost had exceeded S250,000. To
show the methods adopted by the boomers,
and what was done with the money of IN
vestors, largely that of the Fort Payne
Coal and Iron company, this writer says:
When excursions We're brought to the place all
manner of eXpedients used To prevent the
visitors from seeing the actual condition of things
/ When an excursion went To the mines. the custom
to fill all the coal cars and keep them in the
/ mine until the people arrived then to rush them
/ out. thus giving the impression that coal was be
! ing continually mined al this rate When the last
| excursion visited the place the manager OF the
/ furnace had orders 10 blow ont soon as they
! were gone and. in fact, commenced while they
/ We're there: they were shown around the plant
/ and told how Cheaply il was making pig iron, and
had barely left the town the next daS when il was
! shut down with no prospect of being started
again.
An exhibition hall was one of the main places
/ through which visitors were shown: they were
told that all the products there We're made in the
/ town, but the persons in charge OF the place knew
otherW lse; piece of terra-cutta drain pipe said
| To have been made there was picked out OF lot
] shipped to the town 10y a Chattanooga firm: a
| handsome fan made of different woods came
from large lumber concern in the same city: and
/ various pieces of ore, pig iron steel. coke and
( other things were o: equally doubtful origin. II
was pe haps natural that. with So few resources
mineral or otherwise, on their property the urigi-
majors should use all means within reach to make
! good showing, but il is to be regretted that
some Of the people who have been deceived have
/ not made an effort in how far they were le-
/ gally responsible,
OF the recent or present attempt to place
100000 in bonds on the property of the
coal ana iron company the writer SAYS that
the property is undoubtedly worth this
sum, but the trouble is that il will barely
cover the Indebtedness, and leave no mar
gin for working capital. A report is being
circulated that an English syndicate is con
sidering the loan to the company of a large
amount of money, and that an expert will
come over to examine the property, but
mo man of any ability as business man
or engineer, unless the consideration was the
entire surrender of all the property of the
coal and iron and other companies The
conclusion is that ''the town can ever b,
more than a small feeder to Chattanooga
and with so many unfavorable condition.
to work against it will in all probability re
main as 1t is, monument over dead hopes
and thoroughly bad management"