The age-herald., 1897-12-04
Southern Iron and Steel.

In replying to an editorial in the Phil adelphia Press, ths Chattanooga Trades man says:
 The excellent character of southern pig Iron was long ago established in the northern and eastern states, among prac- '1cal workers in mills, foundries, etc., though the Penns ylVanIa manufactur- CTS or metal were slow to yield the point. Now 4t has taken but two years of trade, 10 establish ths southern iron as a fa- Yoalte, from Glasgow to Alexandria and calro. It Is exported to every continent or ufe old world, and to nearly a score of countries. Many good judges believe that this trads will steadily and not at all sboWly expand, as the years pass; put We set no great store by that par tfcular prospect of our foreign trade We had far rather see all the pig iron made in th= south worked into fofans of utility In southern foundries and mills, than that a single ton should go else Where. Such foreign trade is by no means very profitable, and beyond it's working off surplus, above what should bs normal mill and foundry consumption at home, 1t ought not be encouraged. That Is to say, furnaces ought not be built 'b5 make export iron.
 In an Elaborate article in the same bs- sue, the Tradesman makss the following
 
 Careful calculations show that basic steel is made at Birmingham at a cost of $l2 ton in billets, about S1 a ton less than the lowest cost at Piititsiburg or Cleveland. Th= mate rbals for making this brand of steel at Birmingham are all found within close range of the com verters. The iron is smelfed there, coal lux, everything but the scrap mixture and considerable of that-is home pro- duced. The pig iron costs an average of, say, $5.50 psr ton. All the conditions are decidedly favorable to permanancy and satisfactory profit Th- southern demand fer cotton ties and bridge mare- rlaI ought to keep two big steel estab- nshments busy.
 The southern foundry trade is a large item in the list of hsr industries It has grown rapidly since 1880, especially in gas and water pipe production, blows and castings for engineering. I know of no statistics of the melting capacity Of the foundries as a. wh-le, but good Judges say tha consumption of pig and scrap iron in tines concerns is more than 60O,000 tons annually The largest ton mage goes in;o pipes and stoves, with agricultural implements and machines second. The most extensive works in these lines are at Richmond. Wheeling, Chattanooga. Louisville, Birmingham, Atlanta and Columbus, Ga., and Hunts ville, Ala.
 III IofU Cile SOupn mace per Cenl. or ths Whole country'S product of pig iron: in 1880. IA per cent; in 1890, 16 per cent. The production of 1897 will be about g. 500,0 GOO toms, of which Alabama will make 1.250,000 tons, or fully one-half. The furnace, practice" in the south is equal, for obtaining the best results and econ- ornizing expenses, to that of the old iron districts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The superior construction of stacks, more complete utilization of heat, etc, enablsS southefn masters to make more ircm than they made ten years ago, though they now operate fswer plants than they did then.
 The southern export trade is well estalb- lashed. and will continue to grow. Ala bama and Tennessee produce iron at a cost of s1.50 to $2.50 ten less than 1t costs on the continent of Europe or in Great Britain. These two sitaltes-much the larger part going from Alabama sold in Great Britain 56000 graes toms of pig iron in ihe first eight months of 1897, and these facts are familiar to many
 These facts are familiar to many readers of The Age-Herald, but they should be kept before the country, and constantly published in different shapes, in editorials. special articles, statistical reports and pamphlets. It is possible that even the most casual mention of these matters may be the means of att tracting outside capital and enterprise
 Alabamians make the mistake of talk ing it for granted that the world knows in a general way something about their natural resources. On the contrary, it is a fact that thousands of intelligent capitalists in Europe know no more of Alabama, than th4 average southerner knows of Bosnia. And there are many such men in New England who have very happy ideas about our state and it's advantages.
 There is nothing like keeping thests things in print. It is the only way to impress them upon the public mind. The single publication of one convincing ar- ticle is not enough. Rep4tition is the only way to hammer facts and ideas into the minds of readers so that they will Co a.a1,t