The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-09
A STEP FORWARD
DEVELOPMENT OF IRON AND STEEL.
 INTERESTS or ALABAMA.
Important to the South Was This Transfer of Ownership of T. c. I. Company to U. S. Steel
 Corporation.

Baltimore. Nov. 7.--(Special )-Re- ferring to the importance to the South of the passing of the control of the Tennessee Coal. Iron and Railroad Com- pany to the United States Steel Cor poration, The Manufacturers Record in this weeks issue says:
 Two years ago, when the control of the Tennesse eCoal. Iron and Rail- road Company passed from the owner ship of the people who had dominated 1t for many years to a pool composed of John W. Gates and his associates. a great ste2 forward was made for the development of the iron and steel in- terests of Alabama. The new owner ship immediately commenced to carry out on large scale. plans for an in- creased output of iron and the doub- ling of their steel rail capacity. in- volving an outlay of good many mii- lions of. dollars.
 Important to the South as was this transfer of ownership. it is of still greater importance that another step forward has been made. Now that the Steel Corporation has secured control of the Tennessee Company, the world will be assured of the development of the iron and steel interests of Ala bama on scale commensurate with the natural advantages of that State. Back ed by the vast resources in money brains and energy of the Steel Corpor- ation, the Alabama district. with its practically limitless resources of coal and iron, ought to leap forward into a far more commanding position than ever before in th2 worlds metaliur- gical affairs.
 For good business reasons. as well as public policy. will compel the Steel Corporation to make the most of the advantages of Alabama for iron and 4 President Topping, of the Tennessee Company. placed the known iron-ore resources of that company at 700, ,000,- 900 tons and the coal at 2.00O, ,00O, 900 tons. This is about as much iron-ore and several times as much coal as the Steel Corporation owned when it was organized. Here is a wealth of re- source in raw material needing but the magic wand of ample capital to enable one of the foremost centers of the worlds iron and steel production
 with the Steel Corporation owning these vast properties in Alabama. il will be reasonable to expect that if will carry forward on a much larger scale than the former owners could possibly do, the fullest utilization of this wealth of raw material. and the development of the properties of the Tennessee Company, through the ent. rance -ipto the Alabama district of the Steel Corporation, will unquestionably bprove of very great advantage not only to all other iron and coal properties in that State, but in the whole central South i"
 Pointing to expansion of the coal mining industry in another part of the South, in Virginia and West Virginia through which it's lines extends, are the preparations of the Virginia Railway for handling coal at Sewells Point. Nor folk. Va. The railway Is pushing work upon it's pier there, thousand feet long, sixty-five feet wide. sixty nine feet high at the outsidei and sew enty-fiVe feet high at the inside end. The facilities at the pier will permit the handling of fifty tons of coal every two minutes or 4.500.000 tons in a year of 300 working days, or. by running two shifts. 5000. 900 tons.
 Already 4,500.000 tonsl of coal are now being handled annually at Norfolk by other railroads and the people of that city confidently believe that within three years, with these increased facil- tiles. the amount will be increased to 10. 100000 tons annually.