The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-01
MUST COME SOUTH SAYS MR. HOADLEY Alabama Offers Best 0ppertun- ities for Iron Producers EXPECTS HIGH PRICES He Declares That Vast Fields of the Southern States Have Been Little
 Worked-Reviews Some
 Possibilities.
EXPECTS HIGH PRICES

Asserting that one of the wisest means of preventing a curtailment in the produe- ton of iron and steel by such labor diff culties as have occurred in the Lake Supe- | rior district lies in the further develop ment of all the iron making districts of this country, Joseph H. Hoadley, presl- dent of the Alabama Consolidated Coal | and Iron company, maintains that too i great dependence should not be placed by the iron and steel makers in the future l upon any one section as a source of sup ply. In the southern section of the coun-
 try, and especially in Alabama there IS
 an immense body of ore. and the com 1 paratively limited development, in con trast with the magnitude of the opera. tions in the lake district, seems to MT. | Hoadley a grave mistake He believes | that the larger the development in the l ore fields of the south the safer will be the whole business structure in iron and steel and all other industries in America.
 "It is to be hoped said MT. Hoadley yesterday. that the report that the lake strike Is nearly over Is true. Even as matters stand, it is estimated that there will be a large decrease in Iron ore pro
 
 short while longer will of course, great ly inure to the temporary advantage of other districts by advancing prices of spot iron. and if there were such con- tinuation, I should not be surprised to see spot Iron sell at much higher prices.
 Period of Iron Consumption.
 But profitable as this would be to cer- tain sections temporarily, it probably is not at the present time a desirable thing for the best interests of the iron trade Sc enormous Is the consumption of iron
 not only in this country, but throughout the world, that though there occasionally
 may be brief lull 1t Is quite evident that we have entered a period of iron consumption which will fully tax the pro- ductive capacity of every iron making section of the globe The strike in the Lake Superior district even in the brief time that it has been in existence, has brought clearly to the front the danger which the iron and steel trade of thls country confronts in being so largely de- pendent at present upon that district for its supplies of ore. The best economic interests of the entire country suggest that safety for the iron and steel business
 and for all interests dependent upon iron
 and steel demands a larger development of Iron making In other sections In order
 to lessen the dependence of the country upon one territory. A general strike in
 the Lake Superior ore regions lasting for two or three months would result in fabulous prices for all iron made in the south, but its chief value would be in emphasizing to the country at large the importance of a broad development of all the iron making districts of America.
 Tt is safe to say that Alabama has as much iron ore as the Lake Superior dis trict Is known to possess. Perhaps it has In ba "a al plies will be exhausted long before the end of this century at the present increas- ing rate of consumption. The gigantic interests which are being developed in that section, based on iron and steel, are not in a position of being assured of a full supply of ore for use indefinitely In the south the comparatively limited de- velopment in contrast with the magnitude
 of what is being done in the Lake Su perior district taken in connection with the mammoth supply of ore in Alabama, for instance. insures a permanency of
 growth for century at least.
 Will Make Country Safe.
 '"The larger the development that can be brought about by the leading business interests of America in the southern ore districts the safer will be the whole busi-
 ness structure of the country. This will
 inure not simply to the benefit of the south, as might be regarded by some, but, on the contrary, it will inure to the en- rlchment of the entire country and to the maintenance of the broadest and saf- est material development of all sections. With ample capital for development of
 the iron and steel potentialities of the south, on the same enormous scale which is seen in the Lake Superior district, that section would be balance of power en- abling us to avoid the danger of an iron | and steel famine in time of strife else rhnpa fha ipta tI,Ig I pendent upon iron are too stupendous to permit the present conditions to last much longer.
 Tt is true. of course, that iron and steel making in the south Is developing rapidly. Alabama is making as much iron as Pennsylvania made In 1880 and twice
 as much iron as the United States made In 1860, but, with the demonstration of its advantages and the Tact that the Har- riman roads recently gave an order for 10000 tons of Birmingham rails purely on account of their quality as compared with the Bessemer rails made in the east. we ought to see within the next year or | two & tremendous expansion in the south ern industry Tn connection with the price of iron. 1t Is an interesting fact that while spot iron has been selling in Birmingham for the last five or six months at from S22 | to S26 ton. these prices have not In any way lessened the consumption. A few years ago it was claimed that If cotton should advance much beyond or cents | pound, consumption would be lessened 1 and the world would not consume even an 11,0O0 000-bae crop. but, when cotton advanced to 10 cents and 12 cents pound there was no haltng in consumption, but on the contrary, a great increase And those who became frightened when iron advanced in Birmingham to SIS and s20 and then to SPA or s25, for fear that this increase would reduce consumption and cause a reaction, now realize that their fears were groundless. | IMITATION OF PRECIOUS GEMS.