The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-12-11
THE IRON INDUSTRY OF VIRGINIA.

To tho Editor of The Times: What is
the matter with Che many furnaces aioug
tie Norfolk and Westerne The iron
market IL improving, consum ption is
heavy, prices range from 50 TO $40 and
still! have half dczer or more of the fur
naces of Virginia are lying idle. What
is the cause of this condition. To the
outsider it looks that when the Pulaski
ana Crozier furnaces are able to make
iron, in fact have been able all the time
TO compete in tho open market. the other
furnaces are or should be able 70 run.
we know that the Bristol furn, ce has
been In litigation for long time, but
new as this matter is settled it is to be
hoped that the concern of Bri.tol capital
lists VIII put the plant in operation. Bris-
toI, we predict, can make iron as cheap
as any other furnace in the South. The
average mileage to bring the ore to the
furnce will hardly be above sixty miles,
IN one case less than twenty. five miles,
and If the iron deposits near Abingdon
should yield good returns the distance is
even less.
The Max Meadow furnace gets it's sup.
ply OF iron partly from mine to which a
railroad has been built, but it would take
money to put same in shape and as the
distance by rail to the Cripple Creek re-
gion is about thirty five miles it seems to
be only question of grit and energy aud
wise management to get. this furnace on
paving basis. That the magnificent
plant in Graham should stay idle is
strange, the more as the ..resources to the
coal fields and.. the opening of the section
reached.by the Big Stony railroad, with
rich deposits of ore, should suggest that
practical furnace men should look into
this business
The writer is not we'll enough posted
as to the Radford furnace, but he under
stands that the ore supply depends Oh the
building OF branch road, eleven miles
long.
Is not a strange case to see the double
furnace of the CroZier Company flourish,
while the West End furnace ia Roanoke
aud the Salem furnace seem not TO he en-
abled to get on sound basis. These tw O
furnaces can draw the raw material from
the same sections that the CroZer fur
mace, sand it looks as if the success OF
those plants depends solely on wise
management.
The I3uena Vista furnace will he in
blast.soOu, but the Shenandoah furnace,
we believe, is idle. Considering the up-
ward rlovements.in the markets: consd-
ering the amount of capital spent in these
plants and the sources our furnaces car
| draw the raw ma ,erial from still consiuer.
ties in thessState are,not opened, it looks
to me that parties interested in the vel
fare OF the Southwest rud the Sheuan-
doah Valley ought TO take up the question
of iron making in Virginia. All the
towns from Bristol and Bluefield TO Roa
noke and Lynchbttrg aud Norfolk and NJ
the Shenandoah Valley, are--interested il
this matter.
But we do not accomplish anything by
getting up resolutions. What we should
do is to get the boards of.trades in our
Virginia towns to put up'money; then le
them employ aobusinesssma to look int
the iron situation, and IL his truthful re
port favors the movement, then Ice tn,
world know What paying business we cal
offer
= We will have II common interest in GU
furnaces, and let us DO somethi ny. Per
haps our citizens are willing to start
public subscription through TIE South
ives, and the Valley to get on a move, bu
believe that the boards OF trade, an,
there are nearly a doUen of such organi
cations in the territory mentioned, Shout,
take hold of the matter p &