The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-23
WONDERFUL MON rRoDUor1oN.
George @. Stone Discusses Mime
sofas Great Mineral Wealth.

OEe8E mineral w e31tns
George c. Stone writing from St. Paul to
the New York Sun, concerning the iron busi-
ness, has to say about Minnesota deposits
and resources:
The demand for steel for the building Of
large vessels upon the lakes Is very great;
the shipyards are unable TO build them as
fast as the growing commerce requires, as
nothing but the larger class Of vessels is
profitable. What were considered large YES
sells in 1863 are now obsolete, and many Of
them are now being brought to the ocean
for coast service. where they are needed A
vessel carrying 800 tons was then a standard
vessel This season the John Fritz took a
cargo Of $3.50 gross tons of iron ore to a
lower lake port, and one vessel took from
chicago a cargo Of 266, $50 bushels of corn.
IN the past vessel carrying 10000 bushels
would have been considered standard yes
sell One Of the largest steel producing man
ufacturers in the United States making a
product of 2.5N0,GO0 tons annually, declares
that he would contract with a responsible
shipbuiiding plant. for ocean marine, for a
term OF years. under which ne would agree
to furnish the materials for several dollars
per ton less than any shipbuilding plant in
Europe could obtain them. 1t is unnecessary
to refer to the building of steel elevators
warehouses; bridges and other improvements
into which steel is now so rapidly entering,
or to the building of railroad cars, for
which there is great need. It Is said that
the pennsylvania railroad has just given an
order for eco steel railroad cars. It would
seem as If there was no limit to the re-
qutrements of steel in the near future.
The development of what is known as the
Lake Superior district began in the Mar
quette district, Michigan, and the first dis
covery OF iron ore in Michigan, by white
men, was made in September, 1874, and the
nrst shipment OF iron ore in 1850, but until
about 1877 the mining or iron ore was con-
fined to the immediate vicinity of Marquette
Then followed the developments on the Me-
nominee range in Michigan and Wisconsin,
the Gogebic range in Michigan and Wisconsin,
next the VermiHion range in Minnesota and
last the Mesabi range in Minnesota. The
shipments from those districts for the wears
1893. 1897 and 1898 were,
c 1893; 1897.
Tons. Tons.
Marquette range, Michigan. i, S32, $50 2,711 sos
Men9m NEE range, Michigan
and Wisconsin ............1 400 646 935 500
Gogebic range, Michigan and
Vermi;lion range, Minnesota. 81 45S 127S, 1872
me shipments from all these ranges for
the year 1898. from the best information now
obtainable, will be as follows:
Py lake .13 300, 900 gross tons
by railroad ............... 100000 gross tons
Making a total of . IA, 900 coo gross tons
VI TINS quantity, there will be shipped
o,0O,WO gross tons from the Minnesota iron
ranges and 1t would have been larger except
I9r the scarcity of labor. In the early wears
the lake freight paid on iron ore to Cleveland
was more than the ore sells for today Lake
heights this season have been as low as 80
cents per ton as high as ST. and at the
present time are about 70 cents.
The wonderful growth in the output from
minnesota is without parallel In the iron
development in the United States Our
wno-e production of iron ore in 1897 IS estI
mated at I51S.046 gross tons. Minnesota in
which no iron ore was known to exist twentv-
nVe years ago, is now the largest producer Of
any state in the Union, and it's inexhaustibIe
deposits upon the Mesabt range are mined
so cheaply that in some cases the ore is be-
ing taken out Of open cuts and loaded on
the cars with q steam shovel at a cost In
handHng OF less than % cents a ton. The
non-besSemer ore of the Mesabi range was
sold and delivered at Cleveland and other
lake ports this season at 81 rs to S1S5 per
ton, and the No l hard ore of the Vermillion
range at from 1913 to 1886 per ton and tbe
non-Bessemer at about 80 TO-
The United States is today the largest and
cheapest producer of iron in the word
shipping pig iron even to England and selling
steer rails and other products to China
Japan, etc; we have even sold steel rails 10
go TO England. English trade journals eX-
pect an enormous increase in the demand for
iron and steel during the next few wears he
cause Of the opening up Of China and the de-
Yelopment Of Africa, and they express the
opinion that the United States will he The
nation best able to meet the extraordinary
demand.