The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1905-12-13
PIITsBURG.
Thumb Nail Sketches About a
Great City.

of American industry, in Its grlI
of monopoly, all the great bust
ness of the city had but one rail-
road outlet. But the monopoly
is broken and the city now has
another outlet. The contest be-
tween the Wabash and Pennsyl-
wanna Cos. was one of the most
dramatic battles in the annals OF
business warfare. It was fought
out in city councils, in IegisIa-
lures, in courts. The struggle OF
the owners of the Wabash, the
new road, was carried on against
apparently insuperable natural
obstacles, also, for the topograpa
zeal conditions of the country
through which any new road
could be built were considered
impracticable even by expert en-
gineers. However it has been
done. Financial opposition was
overcome, franchises secured, nat
ural difficulties mastured. The
second road is now in full opera
ton. The story of the contest is
as thrilling as the history of any
other kind of war, and it illus
trates the forces that make and
mar great business undertakings
in these days of eager competit-
ion-the forces of personalities of
money, local politics and engin-
eering.
Pittsburg itself Independent of
Allegheny City and suburban
smaller cities, has population of
somewhat more than 375, ,OOO,and
is the business hum and financial
clearing house of more than $780,
600 people. Plttsburg's banking
business is exceeding only by five
other cities in the country The
city holds first place in the worlds
production of iron, steel, tin plate,
iron and steel pipes, steel cars, air
brakes, electrical machinery, brass,
coal and coke, fire brick, plate
glass, window glass, tumblers, ta-
bleware, petroleum, pickles, white
lead and cork. Within the Pitts
burg district are 5000 manufact-
uring establishments, with inves-
ted capital in excess of $3.50, ,OOO,-
600, turning out every year prod
ucts valued at $3.50, ,OOO, 900, Civ
ing employment to more than
255, 900 persons. This Smoky
City is the center of 100000
sqnare miles of bituminous coal
lands as compared with Great
Britain's 1000 square miles. In
1902 this district produced 712,-
900 tons of steel rails and the
present output ls you may be GER
tain is far in excess of this figures.
Industries here have never en-
joyed such an era of prosperity as
at present. The mills are all over
crowded with orders and being
worked to greatest capacity day
and night. In the production of
coke,plate glass, structural shapes,
tubing, tin plate and crueible
steel this great city exceeds that
of all the rest of the United
States. 1t originates a freight
tonnage five times as great as that
of New York or London and
greater than the combined ton
mage of New York and Phila-
delphia and Chicago. There were
shipped out of this city in the
year 1902, 76,94O,OOO tons of
freight by rail and by water, car
ried on the bosom of the majestic
Ohio, down by the gates of Point
Pleasant 9,686,780 tons. To care
for this immense freight traffic, a
year ago, as above stated, there
was but one great railway sys-
tenn, the Pennsylvania, suple-
mented by two smaller lines to
the great lakes-the P. & l.. E. -
part of the Vanderbilt system and
the Bessemer railroad, controlled
by the o. S. steel corporation
designed to carry iron ore from
Lake Erie to Homestead, a sub
urb. The Pennsylvania lines
east of Pittsburg handles 10000
tons of freight daily for every
mile of track of the main line. 1t
is given out That the earnings in
1908 of that portion of the sys-
tom auoounfad 70 41S5 nm NJ,