Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-11-21

Virginia blast furnaces to the ranks of
acitlwe pig iron producers, and says:
nus has been made possible and
even easy OF Accomplishment by the ex-
..Iaordinary advance in the price of pig
.ioh' ana the comparatively insignifi-
cant increase in the cost of prodiiction
una the Unsuitable demand for every
ION OF iron that can be made. There Is
PROBABLY no furnace in the United
states In workable condition that could
nor make and sell pig iron at profit
,nalr the conditions which now prevail
= ne revival of the Virginia furnaces,
however, should not be Viewed in that
iisht, Tor what has been done has been
undertaken with foresight and system
anu US part OF q very comprehensive
pun 10 carry out in practical business
way the purposes which were over
thrown by speculation early in the SOS.
The extensive undertakings of the
Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company,
IN It's resuscitation and consolidation of
dormant furnace plants. its important
operations In ore. coal and coke and it's
roiIroad enterprises, form the most con-
spicuous and most interesting feature
ol the Virginia iron industry at pres
ent, and the probable result of it all Is
the subject of no little conjecture and
prophecy among those who have some
knowledge OF the conditions which
must be met
THE COMPANIES UNDERTAKING
briefly stated, the undertakings Of
ms company embrace the following:
Twelve coke blast furnaces in Vir-
glnia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
fnree charcoal furnaces in Tennes-
see and Virginia.
One basic open-hearth steel plant at
Ky
one rolling mill and horseshoe fac
DRY at Max Meadows, Va.
one cast-iron pipe foundry at Rad
ord Va.
One hundred and thirty-two thous-
ana acres of coal land in Virginia,
with mines having an approximate
daily output of 5000 TONS
rive hundred coke ovens in Virginia.
Two hundred and twelve thousand
acres OF ore lands in Virginin, Tennes-
see and kentucky, with some thirty
workings, having an approximate daily
utput of 1000 tons.
Extensive limestone and dolomlte
uarres.
Five foundries and machine shops
or general work.
One hundred and thirty-four miles
OF standard-guage railroad, with pas
senger and freight equipment and In
regular operation.
This property is the basis of an au-
thorized capitalization of $40, 900 900 in
qual portions OF stock and bonds"
Ihis Virginia enterprise is typical Of
the general movement which has de-
veloped through the iron regions OF the
South from the Tennessee and Alabama
centre. Even in Alabama the story of
Iron has. according to the views of ex-
perts. only begun to be told. The fur
naces In the Birmingham district have
practically sold their output for the rest
or this year and the first half of 1900
ana 1t is estimated that undertakings
now on foot will possibly double the
capacity Of the furnaces In that field
within the next five years.
With It's iron resources being deyel-
oped under the spur of persistent in
creased demand, with cotton bringing
from $40 to SIS more bale than 1t did
at this time last year, with cotton mills
busy with orders for this country and
foreign nations, with plans unfolding
for the transformation of water powers
into electrical energy, with phosphate
deposits being rapidly uncovered in new
and old fields. with the lumber business
expanding. and with the railroads
scrambling for cars to meet transport
tation necessities, the South Is on an
upward trend, with nothing in sight at
present likely to interrupt its steady,
healthy progress.
NEW ENTERPRISES.
The usual weekly reports of new IN
dustrial enterprises, as made to the
Manufacturers Record, included the
following items:
Fifty thousand dollar iron mining
company, cotton seed oil mill In Ala
bama-
Fifty thousand dollar ice and cold
storage plant, $4,000 manufacturing
company.
One hundred ton cotton seed oil mill
In Arkansas.
One hundred and fifty thousand dol
Sacrihcad ~