The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-08-15

Iron is made cheaper In Birmingham than
In Pittsburg l can't tell the difference
l can't tell the difference in cost except
by guess between making ton of BESSIE
mer and a ton of No. 2 FOUNDRY. | think
1t is 81 to IS. l think 1t costs about $3.50
to make a ton of Bessemer iron In Pitts
burg. / don't know what Mr.. Mcqueen
said it would cost here to make a ton of
No. 2 furnace But If Mr.. Mcqueen can
make a ton of No. 2 for $3.50 he can beat
me. If you take an instance where the
manufactures has to buy all his material
the market varies and he figures his cost
differently from the man who produces
his own material. The manufacturer in
this district has everything that goes into
a ton of IRON as raw material. The man.
ufacturer here has an advantage. I don't
think we can make iron more than 50
cheaper than it is made by the best
equipped of the Pttshurg furnaces. The
United States Steel company buys some
iron In this district. We have been able
to sell iron In Pittsburg but don't think
we can do 1t now.
The northern manufacturer has improve
ments that the. southern manufacturers
have not been able to put in The northern
labor Is better and better paid. There are
two reasons why the northern furnaces
make cheaper product under the same
conditions. We don't pay twice a month
We don't pay once a day. We pay uni
formly once month. I don't know what
is done In the north in this connection.
Pick and Machines.
AS to the differential between pick and
machine work l will say that our Lewis
burg mines are the only ones In this
district using machines. We introduced
them experimentally at Lewlsburg We
adj Will Nv
which we paid on a tonnage basis. 1t
went to July 1 and has been on the same
basis since resumption. l agreed that
there should be a differential of seven
cents ton. that is the machine gets
seven cents ton. This agreement was
subject to revision. (Col. Bush shows a
map of the Lewisburg seam and the
working of the machine. He made a
lengthy explanation of the workings to
Judge Gray and the other members of
the commission.)
Col. Bush resumed:
Thus far. according to the experience
Of the company seven cents is not
enough to cover the expense to the
company. I agreed to this because In
one district In Illinois 1t was seven cents.
Generally the differental is greater
against the chain machine than against
the air machine. We took seven cents
at the suggestion of the miners union
officials. We have tried to work on it,
Prejudice Against Machines.
The pick miner is prejudiced against
the Introduction Of the machine. The of
hcial of the miners have tried to allay
the friction but unsuccessfully | think
the differential for the punch or air
machine should not be less than ten
cents. We pay miners who operates the
machine and loads thirty cents a ton.
He has one helper at 1898 who shoots
down top, and three other helpers at 81. rs
per day. The man who gets out the
coal and timbers the mine gets thirty
cents. The machine gets seven cents
The operators wish to put the ma
chine mining on a day wage-scale where
conditions demand 1t. One man would
not work on tonnage basis and the
union has refused to allow them to work