The age-herald., 1898-03-11
ANNUAL REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS Of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad
 Company BY PRESIDENT NAT BAXTER The Establishment of a Basic Steel Plant
 in This City HAS NOW BECOME A NECESSITY The Growth of the Export Trade iR Pig Iron Has Been an Interesting Feature of the Yer.
 Birmingham Third in Importance.
HAS NOW BECOME A NECESSITY

At the annual meeting of the stockhold-
 CTS of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail-
 road company, held at Tracey City, Tenn. on Tuesday last, the report of Pres dent Nat Baxter was submitted
 The report is an able document, dealing with the condition of the iron and coal trade in this country and especially in the territory covered by the Tennessee com pany.s comprehensive review of the de- velopments made by the company during the past year is also given. The report in substance is as follows:
 Since the last national election the events proved that in the iron trade manufactur- CTS were in greater haste to provide ma terial than their customers We're to con sume it. The pig iron market was depress- ed by a marked overproduction of material, and this depression was emphasized by the dissolution of industrial combinations bear ing the iron and steel trades. In le9i the market became unusually sensitive, be- cause of the dissolution of old combna- tions and of the formation of new plans of opposition of the greatest producers in the trade.
 The condition of the market was such that it became a necessary alternative either to reduce the make of pig iron or to dispose of it at such prices as the mar ket would give. Having on hand l630J5 tons of pig iron the management of the company deemed it best to dispose Of 1t, and by turning it into money, reduce g eat ly the interest charges. The company is now carrying a normal stock of pig iron equal to two weeks make of the furnaces
 now in blast, and has sales equivalent to five months production upon it's order book The output of material for the year le9i has been as follows:
 Tons.
 Coal ..... ... .. .....................S,45 S,457 2l3 Coke ................." 9lo " Pig iron ................' o4l3W During the year the manag ment has en-
 tered into a contract with the Semet-Sol way company, of Syracuse, N. Y., in pur-
 suance of which it has located at the Ems
 ley furnaces the first bi-product coke oven plant to be built in the south, upon which it is expending 40O0o0 This plant is far advanced in construction, and. the first part of it can be put to work in a few weeks. Under this contract, without the eXpendl- ture of any money by this company Tor the purpose of construction, it will obtain the benefit of a supply of 400 tons of coke per day. which 1t needs for it's business, as its increased output of pig iron and conse- uuent consumption of coke has gradually absorbed for it's own use almost the entire product of it's own coke ovens, notwith- standing the large output. The aodltlon' therefore, of the supply from the Semet- Solyay ovens will enable the company to re-enter the market for foundry and fur- mace coke in the south and southwest On- | der this contract the company will also op- l tain larger yield of coke from its coal, | and will receive free of charge several mil | lions cubic feet of gas per day available either for heating stoves and boilers at the furnaces or for use in a steel plant II the | same should be constructed there.
 The company being the owners or the | Ensley Land company, which was lncor- porajted in 1887. with the purpose or buald- l ing a town, it has been decided by the man. agement to develop a town at Ensley, anu within the past few weeks $20OOO worth oi lots have been sold and arrangements maiie for the location of foundry and machine shop and fire brick works in the town, with the prospect of its active develop ment along the Hines heretofore con1ean- | plated.
 The maintenance and growth of the eE- port trade in pig iron has been an inter esting feature of the year. The entire snip ment from Birmingham, Ala, to foreign countries outside of the American contan- ent from July 1, 1896. to January l, lSSS amounted to 1896 toms, or an average or a,bout IS 333 tons per month thus showing
 that Birmingham has become the bhard largest point in the world for the export of pig iron, being surpassed only by Mlo- dleshoro England, anil Glasgow, Scotland, in the order named. The company produces one-half of the coal and of all the iron in tine state of Alabama, and 1t sells aipout one-half of all the iron in the state Of Ala, hanna and it sells about one-haf of all the iron marketed abroad. This movement represents about 30 per cent. of the entire production of pig iron in the state or ASa- bama, and at this date gives every prospect of pe1,manence. This is the more interest ing because of the obvious conclusion that if an article of so low an initial value as mig iron can be exported over une Worfo and bear the relatively high freight rates inposed upon it, then the manufactureo ~to TIT hear the necessary freight charges and be exported from Birmingham as soon as at shaM have become the centre Of their pro- tl11ction. In this connection 1t IS proper 10 state that during the year some or nnis company's customers have exported cast iron pipe to England, Costa Rica and Hawaii, and greatly increased exports or the same article are probable Ill the future.
 During the year a section of the rivers and harbors committee of congress has vis- Sted Birmingham, examining the work hhat is necessary to permit of the water car riage from Birmingham to the sea poun or coal and pig iron and at this moment, un-
 der direction of congress, an ens1neerans corps is preparing plans and estima1es TOT the necessary projects to accomplish this end. and thus facilitate and promote the growth of the export trade. The contan-
 Ilation of the government appropration for the improvement of the Warrior river,
 even without certain projects now under
 discussion, will enable the company to lay
 down coal at tide water for $15O per ton
 of equal quality with the north of England
 steam coal put on board steameIs III
 Enplish north country ports at $25o per
 ton. The importance of this upon the ex-
 port trade cannot well be estimated Dur
 ing the year shipments of the company's
 iron have been made to England, Scotland,
 Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Russia,
 C,ermany. Italy Austria, Australia and
 Japan.
 The most interesting and important sub-
 feet in connection with the company's bus
 mess is the growth of the production of
 steel in the United States as whole, and