The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-03-29
EDMUNDS TALKS ON TRADE EXPANSION Alabama is Destined to Great Things in Future WORLD WANTS MORE IRON Every Year It Becomes More Apparent That the Supply Will Not Be
 Sufficient for the De-
 mand.
WORLD WANTS MORE IRON

Richard H. Edmonds, editor Of the Bal timore Manufacturers Record, who ar rived in Birmingham Tuesday night. will leave for New Orleans this morning. MT. Edmonds is just recovering from the grip and will spend a week or two quietly in the Crescent City for the purpose of re- gaining his strength.
 MT. Edmonds Is, as all business men in the country know, not only an op- timist regarding the possibilities of the South from an industrial point of view, but an accepted authority on the mineral resources of the United States and the Birmingham district in particular
 ITO rightly measure the future of AL abama and the Birmingham district" said MT. Edmonds at the Hllman last night, it is necessary to understand something of the marvellous industrial advance not only of this country but of the entire world. And this advance is probably more clearly indicated by the growth of the coal and iron and steel trades than in any other way
 Forty years ago the whole country was making scarcely as much as one-half of the pig iron Alabama now produces. In 1860 when the United States was regard ed as one of the great nations of the earth the pig iron output was only S00,- 900 tons or just one-half of what Ala bama Is now annually making. And the output of bituminous coal was then 6,000, GOO tons as compared with Alabama's an- nual production now of 100000 tons. Since 1860 the population of the United States has not quite trebled, increasing from 31 100000 to S5,OO0O0O, the actual gain being about 175 per cent, but dur ing the same period our iron output has grown from S00,OOO tons to 240OO,OOO tons, or about 5000 per cent.
 Same In Other Countries.
 ITO large extent the same condition has prevailed in other iron-making eoun- tries, the ratio of gain in the production many times exceeding that of popula- tion; and throughout the world this mighty movement is still going on. In stead of showing any signs of halting it seems today to be more certain of vast expansion than ever before. From the 6O0O.OOO tons of btuminous coal mined in 1860, this industry has advanced until our output now exceeds 250 000,000 tons a year. Then we used about four-tifths of a ton of coal per capita, now we are con- suming largely over tons, and this ac- celebrating rate of progress steadily grows.
 Prediction Ten Years Hence. "It seems entirely safe to predict that ten years hence we shall be mining at least 50O 00O,OOO tons annually and to handle such a traffic this means an expan- sion of railroad facilities such as we can scarcely now appreciate. Our pig iron output has, on the average. doubled every ten years for the last half cen tury, and stupendous as the figures are, it is not unreasonable to believe that the next ten years will show a growth almost on that scale, though we cannot quite believe that in 1916 we shall be turning out AS, ,000,00O tons.
 This, however, is not moro unreason- able than would have been a prediction ten years ago when we were making about 9,000,O00 tons that 1905 would give US but few thousand less than 24,0000OO tons. At the present rate of production only, and without any increase, the world would consume more iron ore in the next ten years than the aggregate consumption since the beginning of history. It is in the light of these facts that the iron masters of this county and Europe are deeply concerned as to the future sup plies of iron ore A few weeks ago MT. J. Stephen Jeans, secretary of the Bristol Iron Trade association, a world wide au- thority on iron and steel matters wrote me that the supply of known ores throughout the world was hardly equal to the actual needs of the next half cen tury and that as civilization itself is based on iron, it is not improbable but than iron ores, will. in the near future, come to be regarded as of such priceless value that no nation will permit their eXportation to other countries.
 More Widely Recognized.
 Now, Alabama is becoming every day more widely recognized as predestined to be one of the worlds greatest iron and steel centers. It is quite safe to