The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-01-27
WALL PAPER AND PAINT STORE. NEAR The FAY HOTEL
aegie Steel company, the Thomas
furnace company,.the Isabella Fur.

negie Steel company, the Thomas
furnace company,.the Isabella Fur.
mace company, limited, and the
Oliver Iron & Steel company.
These cargoes went out late in the
season, the ore froze in dock pockets,
and the whole operation was at
temped~with the utmost difficulty
and encouragement; but since
then there has been constant and
steady growth, until last year this
range shipped 52:8 per, cent of all.
ore, sent forward :: from Lake
Superior. :.
These pioneer cargoes were of
the grade known as "Mountain
1ron." They were shipped in two
boats belonging to the American
Steel Barge company, and the total
was 4,1O4 tons. 1t may be noted
that all the companies which re-
ceived the shipment are now owned
by the United States Steel corpora
ton. -
When. the Mesaba was first
opened it was generally considered
that but small percentage of it's
ores could be used in the blast
furnace charge, on account of the
fact that these ores, instead of
being hard and granular, like those
of most of the other regions, were
fine and in some cases almost like
dust. They packed in the furnaces
and there were occasionally dan
gerous and even fatal explosions.
But, under the stimulus of low
kcosts for these ores, the difficulties
have been overcome, and their use
has rapidly extended, until today
more than half the steel made in
the great centers of Penns ylvania,
New York and Ohio is from ores
mined upon the Mesaba range. It
was only after strenuous cam
paigns of education, Of costly ,exz
pertinent, through serious financial
difficulty, and at the risk of worse,
that the steel makers of the iron
centers Of America were induced
to favor the new district, and the
struggle of those early days are
little appreciated by any not in
timately associated with them.
Had it not been for the Mesaba
range, no such expansion in the
American trade as has taken place
in the past few years would have
been practicable. Indeed, were it
possible to conceive this mining
district now eliminated from the
map, no. more material calamity
could befall the y nited States,
which would at once retire her
position in the steel trade of
the world. WITHOUT the Mesaba
there could not have been produced
the amount of high grade ore
necessary to meet the requirments
of America, and though these
might have been met without the
Mesaba, it could only have been by
the use of far leaner ores than now
have been utilized. These would
have so far increased costs that the
people of the United States could
never have reached their record
breaking consumption of the past
few years.
The Mesab a is not only the largest
producer, but It contains the big
gest mines to be found. It has
several that are. limited in their
annual capacity only by the. de-
mands of the steel trade and the
ability Of railways to take away
what they mine. Mines on the
Mesaba have produced as much as
$1,000 tons a day for weeks at time,
and might maintain this extra
ordinary production for seasons
could railways, ships and receiving
docks care for the, avalanche of
tonnage. In 1903 there were fifteen
mines on Lake Superior that pro-
duced more than $4,000 tons each.
Up to 1894 there had never been a
mime in the world that had pro-
duced az much as 100000 tons in Ia
single year.--Dwight +. Wood.
bridge, - z3,~.< ~ ~ - - =.
Doubles Capacity for Weish;as Ore. !
The Duluth, Missabe 4 Northern.
road shows continued evidence Of