The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-10
IN MINERAL MARTS
FANCY PRICES BEING PAID FOR
 IRON,
All Mines and Furnaces Are Bending Every Energy to Meet Great De-
 mands for Products of Ala banna.

T. l the manufacturers cannot accept con- tracts for anything like early deliv- cry except that good prices are ob- | tained when small lots are squeezed out There Is a good demand for iron. even on delivery well into next year. Positively no apprehension prevails that the mart will weaken on the
 turn of the new year. An announce ment by one of the larger companies i in the Birmingham district that more | than ninety thousands tons of iron have been disposed of for delivery dur ing the first quarter of the coming year. Is but a sign that there Is ] strength to the market and that all l the iron that can be manufactured will find a demand.
 1 The amount reported sold is about I two months production and more by I the company in question so that if 1t | is desired by the end of the year sales can be on books for half the years probable production Some iron, No 2 | foundry iron, immediate delivery. has been sold as high as SIT per ton, the l Alabama Consolidated Coal and Iron | Company making a small ale recently Regular customers are meeting with success in finding iron to tide them over. but they are paying good prices
 Iron is still in three classes as far as quotations go, that is such product as | is to be delivered within thirty days, commands SIS per ton, No 2 foundry, and more, too Iron that will not be delivered until near the end of the year brings $15.50, while iron to be
 delivered next year commands S1a and s15 50 per ton, on No. foundry i basia.
 The production is being improved in Alabama. one furnace, No. fur mace. of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and
 Railroad Company of Bessemer to | blow in next week. Before the end of the month furnace at Trussville
 and one at Holt, in Tuscaloosa county. l will be manufacturing iron. Two oth- | CT furnaces are nearing completion
 and will be put in operation as quick l ly as possible.
 The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Rail- road Company has all but two of their furnaces iu blast now In this State. l This company several weeks ago sold large quantities of iron and indica-
 tions point to an anxiety to fill orders
 just as quickly as possible. Consid- erable iron was sold by this company at the low prices which prevailed a | few months ago.
 1 Home consumption continues to com mand attention by the iron manufac- turers. These customers are sincere and their needs are being cared for right along. Not only are consumers right in the Birmingham district con- sidered the home consumers but those 1 in Atlanta New Orleans and other points throughout the South. North ern and Western consumers buy fre-
 quently here, but they first investigate conditions in their respective locali-
 ties and if everything is as favorable
 the South is not called upon the sup ply the product
 There is no indication that the home consumption is likely to abate in the near future Cast iron pipe, soil pipe, foundries and machine shops and other industries are all busy. There is steady demand for the various prod ucts and good prices obtain. An in terested manager when asked as to the conditions and the prospects among
 the consumers in the Birmingham dis trict said: Really. there Is no tell 1 ing just how long the present pros porous conditions are to continue.
 There appears to be no end to the business and the orders are still to
 be had in almost any old quantity" In steel circles happy conditions
 prevail The plants at Gadsden and
 Ensley are all running on full time, the labor question being the only thing giving any alarm. The Tennes-
 see Coal. Iron and Railroad Company has place for every ton of steel that
 can be manufactured and for this req
 son the plants are working steadily and the men are being urged to put forward the best effort
 The absorption of the Lacey Buck Iron Company and the Chattanooga Coal and Iron Company. as was pre-
 dicted. by the Southern Steel Compa-
 ny, places the latter among the first
 corporations of the South. The cap
 ital stock of the Southern Steel Com
 pany now is s25,000. 000 Moses Taylor 1 of New York is president, with E. T.
 Schuler, G. H. Schuler and F. c. Buck
 of Birmingham holding strong posi-
 tions in the directorate and being
 the practical men in the operations of
 the industries, It Is understood that there will be developments in prop
 critics already owned, while other deals
 are said to be under way. The steel
 products of the Southern Steel Com
 pany arc finding a ready sale. The
 absorptions just noted will increase | the possibilities of the concern greatly.
 All contracts on the books of the two smaller companies will. of course. fs protected
 The coal business in Alabama is in
 a most healthy condition. All the
 coal that could be mined through the
 summer has found a ready demand and orders are now being received for the
 winter deliveries. TheNe will be need
 for every ton that possibly can be
 mined To meet an increasing demand 1 the Sloss- -Sheffield Steel and Iron Com pany is preparing to opeu up theirCar- diff mines which have been shut fo-
 nearly two and a half years. ever 1 since the strike of the union miners l began. IL is understood that employ
 ment will be given to all miners who 1 apply for work, the union miners to ] be accommodated as much as possible. | 1t being understood that the union
 will not be recognized.
 The production in Alabama for tho
 year should increase at least one mil
 lion tons as compared to the output
 in 1905. The production during the
 last three months of the year should
 improve something like 1.500 to 5000
 tons day. number of foreign la-
 borers are still being brought In and
 no few of them are being distributed
 to the coal mines.
 Coke Is finding a ready larket also
 and good prices are commanded. The
 announcement that the coke supply is
 inadequate in this district and that the l iron production is being held down Is | denied in some circles and more than
 one iron company is able to sell coke
 on tho open market.
 A casual inquiry in industrial fields
 in Alabama eliqits the information that 1 almost all concerns have had most
 prosperous year. despite the fact that l for three or four months there were I Co