The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-16
CEMENT BOON IN PENNSYLVANI4.
Great Activity in Some of the Eastern Coun-
ties-LehiGh's Lost Iron Trade Made Up.

READING. Pa. Jan. 15.-The most extraor-
binary activity ever known among the cement
mills OF the East Is now taking place. Mill
after mill Is going up prospectors are out daily
hunting for cement rock along the hills eI-
tending from Northampton county through
Lehigh to Berks: farms that a few years ago
were without bidders at $50 an acre. now sell
readily at $l35 an acre: where old style iron
mills and blast furnaces have gone into decay.
mammoth cement mills have been erected.
and at least 5000 men have employment and
several millions Of dollars have been invested
within the past few years.
Three gigantic mills are being erected in
Lehigh county. The dozen mills now going
nearly day and night are unable to supply the
demand. and forlthis reason the cement boom
OF east Pennsylvania has gained it's wonderful
impetus In the past few months. Some of the
more conservative capitalists fear that the
business may be overdone as the iron output
was overdone some ten years ago. which re-
suited so disastrously to many.
For years the vast deposits OF argilaceous
limestone rock in the above counties remained
untouched. The State geologists in their off,
cial reports explicitly predicted that some day
this rock would be tho basis of unprecedented
activity in the business, world. 4 few small
mills started. but accom- plished nothing. Finally
Il New England man came along. sampled and
tested the rock, and under his scientific treat
HUH u IL -tlu w VI hintIltun L DIlluIlu
cement was produced. At once the business
grew. To-day the Atlas Company has a capac-
ny Of very ti9oq soon Sarrs turn a 6 day. 2. BbS 6S SF4eIs; mile tRs
A1 HmbiS. bo ! ;S9Sii fne G fPanti asy Rs;rd psSs' a G%i
Lehigh, having smaller capacity. had a grand
total OF 4.O0O,6OO barrels for the year 1893.
Hill after hill OF cement rock. that Il few years
blown 10 pieces, hauled away in cars. to huge
mills. crushed. put into, kilns and cIinkered,
shipped TO the great markets Of tho Atlantic
coast. One company. finding the freight car
famine i91erferiGg With its business, has lust
cement mill has a single COOPER shop that turns
out 800 barrels a day. All the machinery has
been specially built to do tho work automati-
TO compete with foreign cement the most
trodpced, so, that Q car of rock is hoisted bodily,
SIRInksredi bs crushed mns%sd nHuly YER, ZEE ~ al by maj
automatically Thc mills are so very large and
the machinery so, expensive that very large
organized as farm after farm Is being bought
containing deposits ofthis cement rock, some
other ingredients must be used. hut this is not
remuneratiye. Where the rock is of the proper
Kind In the best cement i made directly from u
pei, cent, and during lSs' it is predicted, they
The American use of cement has Increased
wonderfully. Cement Is used in hundreds OF
ways not thought of in previous years. some
farmers put III fence posts WIN cement, All
modern foundations have cement bases. Miles
Of asphalt streets have cement or concrete
bases. The United States Government is an
enormous user Of cement. Shipments arc
made for the Atlantic coast Notifications clear
to Florida.
None OF the American product is exported as
yet. The duty on imported cement Is x cents
per 100 pounds. or - cents n barrel, but Amer
leans prefer American cement. The cement
rock lies principally on the surface. and the de-
posits are apparently, ineNhaustible, The out
look Is exceedingly cheerful, and the lost iron
ora and iron fFA1A nj thNt end nN Tho | ahinh
Valley is more than made up by the present
cement boom.