The age-herald., 1900-12-06
THE WILLIAMSON
 FURNACE BANKED Was CauSedby an Engine Break
 ing Down MAY RESUME OPERATIONS Employees Claim the Company Is Behind With Its Pay Roll-Deals for the
 Sale of the Lease are Pending.
MAY RESUME OPERATIONS

The Williamson furnace at Fourteenth street and the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, has been banked and the time for starting it up again is indefinite. It was given out yesterday by the company oper- ating 1t that the furnace had been closed down temporarily on account of one of the engines becoming disabled. and that it might be blown in again within week. and then it might not be blown In before Janu- ary 1.
 It was stated by some of the men em- ployed att hefurnace by the Jones Valley Iron Company, lessees and operators of the Williamson furnace, that the company had failed to meet its pay roll when due and that for that reason they had quit work. It is stated the company owes it's employees about $35O0 The company pays off its em- ployes on the 20th of each month, and T. B. Perry, secretary of the Jones Valley Iron Company, states that the November pay roll was met promptly, but that the company had some trouble with dts laborers last week because it would not cash their checks
 MT. Perry stated that the company had been financially embarrassed reeently and that the uncertainty of the date for the resumption of work was partly due to that condition. He was positive that the furnace would again be operated within a short time,
 History of the Company.
 The Jones Valley Iron Company was or ganized over year ago for the purpose of operating the Williamson furnace. II. W. Perry is president of the company and T. B. Perry secretary. The furnace was put in operation early in the present year, and has been fin blast continuously since. Rogers, Brown and Company have a con- tract to take all of the output of the fur mace at a stipulated price for a certain length of time. They have been taking all the iron tine company made, and that now on the yards at the furnace belongs to them. The price paid for the iron by Rog- CTS, Brown and Company, it is under stood was several dollars a ton above the local quotations for the past four or five months, but the Jones Valley Iron Com pany was at a considerable disadvantage on account of the failure of contractors to supply the materials called for. This fail- ure forced the company to buy coke in Kentucky during the spring and a paFt of the summer at a figure which made 1t almost impossible for the company to real ize any profit on its product It is stated that several carloads of coke thus pur- chased COST exceeding $5 per ton. It Is stated that iron ore contractors failed to furnish ore when needed, thus necessitating the purchase of ore wherever it could be had, and at such prices as might be de- manded. These conditions it is said, run the cost of making iron up to figure al- most if not quite equal to the price for which 1t was sold.
 The furnace was temporarily banked last week on account of a strike among the negro laborers. but this trouble was set tied and the furnace started up again last Sunday. Tuesday afternoon one of the en- zines broke down and the furnace had to be banked again. This was the situation yesterday morning when the employees re- turned for work.