Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-02
REBUILDING FRISCO!
NAY HAVE MATERIAL MrLu-
ENcH ON THE IRON TRADE.

Special CsbleEram to The Star.
LONDON, June 2-Reports indicate that
the rebuilding OF San Francisco vim have
very material influence on the iron trade.
Just now the people Of this country feel
the effect Is one of the most interesting
industrial problems. After the burning of
Baltimore there was some very adverse
criticism OF steel frame building, based on
a too cursory survey of the ruins OF that
city. But since the shaking and burning of
San Francisco all the testimony has been
IN favor OF the steel framing. which. of
late years. has replaced the wood and adobe
buildings formerly almost universal in Cal
ifornia The manner in which the steel
framing has come through both earth
quake ana fire may or may not justify
all that is claimed for 1t in lands which
are subject to earthshakings, but 1t certain
ly ensures that steel will be the material
OF which the new San Francisco will MAIN
begun to palpitate in anticipation of the
coming great call for steel The market
for pig iron warrants Is no longer as II
used to be, the barometer o, trade, but It
remains the index of the iron trade
What really caused the short sellers of iron
warrants to close their accounts In a hur-
ry, and induced others to buy, is the pros
pect OF an enormous demand for iron and
steel for San Francisco. The shipment of
pig iron to San Francisco from British
ports is matter of regular practice year
by year, for England can deliver pig iron
by water in California at lower freight
cost than smelters In the eastern or
southern states can deliver by rail- CALI
forntan orders for British pig iron will not
be the creation of the San Francisco dis
aster, but 1t is noteworthy that cable mes
sages have already been receiv-u pressing
for prompt shipment of parcels bought for
that market long before the earthquake.
Need of Structural Steel.
hell Co
want more pig iron than usual this year,
but that which she will chiefly want, and in
the speediest possible manner, is structur-
al steel. Now, one question is, Can the
American steel manufacturers meet all the
prospective demands, which will be urgent,
from San Francisco in addition to the bust
ness they have already undertaken? And
another. question is, Can they deliver struc-
tural steel as cheaply in San Francisco as
England can?
There can be little doubt among those
who have studied the question that the use
and consequently the manufacture, of ba-
sic steel will have to be greatly increased in
this country. All the deposits of hehnatite
iron ore within available reach of a suita-
bic seaboard are already being mined for
all they are worth. Some new seams have
recently been discovered in Cumberland
but the addition they can make to our sup
ply is comparatively. insignificant. If We
cannot get more hematite ore we must
steel, because undoubtedly the demand for
steel has increased and is increasing. That
material we can find in ordinary iron
If we are willing to use basic instead Of
Bessemer steel.
Large Amount Of Material.
The large amounnt of material that will
be required for the rebuilding of San Fran
cisco will probably give great impetus to.
the use of basic steel all over the world.
However that may be, the destruction of
the great California city promises to be
the making of a record year in the steel
industry of the world.
According to statistics which have been
prepared here relating to persons employed
in mines and quarries. close upon 100000
were SO engaged at home and abroad in
1871. OF this total, roughly speaking.
fifth were employed in the united king
dom and one third in the British empire. 1t
should be noted, however, that no statis-
tics published by several countries;
for example. Brazil, China, Persia and
Turkey, In which mining is carried on. for
the ore mines and quarries of the United
States, and the figure in this table probably
falls considerably short of the real total,
More than half the total number are en-
ployed in getting coal alone Great Britain
employing more than S33 600; the United
States $4,000; Germany $4,000; France
1T1s0oo; Belgium 13S0Go; Austria 10000
and India nearly 93 COO