The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-07-19
COAL, IRON AND STEEL

Better prices. q steady demand and I'm
quiries indicating that there 10 need
for q large quantity Of iron through
out the country, IN but part Of the pic
ture of strong pig iron market IN
this section OF the country. NO.
foundry iron 10 now selling at sis per
ton,N delivery after the third quarter
OF the year.
There Is no iron to be obtained 1t
all under $3.50 per ton and even at
that price Immediate delivery 10 sug-
gested to the consumers. Some small
lots, one and two car lots. are being de-
nvered on the same day the orders are
received. small premium being re-
ceived for thfs kind of business. Ala
bama furnace companies are making
no efforts, to secure business Tor oe-
livery during the last quarter. OF the
year for 1T il almost absolutely POSI-
tive that there will be . strong de-
mand for iron In the next. month or
two ana that the quotations win have
advanced between fifty cents and &1.so
over the sl5 mark.
A prominent iron man in this district
expresses ~the belief that by the mid
die Of October the iron prices In the
South will not be under ia per ton
Two or three from companies In this
territory still announce that they must
remain out OF the market for while.
the orders on their books being more
than they can comfortably stand for
with the present make. The produce
ton in this state will be increased At
once.
One furnace was put to making iron
during the past week, making three
makers started up this month.
with one having to be blown out FOR
repairs. Two more iron makers wtii
resume operations yet this month.
There Is ample supply Of raw material
for the furnaces. The work OF repair
ing several furnaces Is being rushed
now as the prospects are bright for
need for all the iron that can be turned
out.
There Is no accumulation Of iron
now In this district the shipments In
fact not only requiring the entire
make but some iron off the accpmu-
lated stock.
Charcoal iron has recently taken on
an advance and there Is a renewed de-
mand. The prices for this commodity
has gone up to $3.50 and $40 per ton
and some sales are being made. But
two furnaces In this state are produc-
ing charcoal iron at present. one at
shelby and the other at Rock Run. ana
the daily output Is under lib tons.
Car wheel woSSs throughout the South,
as well as elsewhere are receiving
orders that will require a large melt.
Railroads have begun buying In all
lines, and wheels has been q needed
article.
One concern manufacturing wheels
bought 500 tons of charcoal iron dur
ing the past week and sounded the
market for o considerable tonnage adj
ditfonal There is not much accumu-
lated charcoal iron. Another large car
wheel plant in April. when prices were
much under those now existing bought
quite literally In charcoal iron, believ-
ing that the needs for the year had
been covered. The iron was delivered
as needed.
The Improvement in conditions came
on more rapidly than was thought 1t
would, and as consequence already
IS per cent of the iron that was pur-
chased In the spring has been deliver
ed and melted and the balance will be
used before the third quarter of the
year starts In. Then the demand for
car wheels and other things will be
SO urgent that new supply will have
to be laid in.
The home melt in foundry iron IL
improving right along. There was
the Target cast iron pipe plants in Bes-
semer. twelve miles from here rthe past
week. lightning playing havoc with the
motor power. There will be some ex-
ira time put in to make up for the
few days lost time. There IL such q
demand for cast iron pipe and the
time of delivery so short that the con-
Germs cannot lose any time Whatever
In the way Of production.
the big steel plant OF the Tennessee
Coal, Iron and Railroad Company at
Ensley, near here. The two open
hearth furnaces in the plant produc-
ing steel have gotten down to work
and the output Is somewhat better.
One blast iron furnace at sEnsley has
been started up on basic iron. The
steel rail production has been slightly
increased, the orders on hand requir-
ing a little better delivery than has
been given. More men are being given
employment at the steel plant.
It is announced that in the fall some
thing like 700 to 500 Italians who re-
turned to their native land when the
depression started In. are coming back
to the Birmingham district to take up
work in the industry.
Options taken on something like
1000 acres of land In the vicinity of
the Tennessee Company's steel plant,
at Ensley. is believed to mean that the
Steel Corporation), has Intentions of
putting In the big developments that
have for some time been the subject of
a most interesting rumor. Reports
have 1t that appropriations are about
to be made by the big steel corpora
ton looking to the erection of~more
steel works here, tie works, struc-
tural steel plant and other works. The
idea is to increase the make Of steel
and then provide industries to turn 1t
out in the finished product, for which
there is a good market in the South
and the Southwest The officials Of
the Tennessee Compeny make no state
ments but the options having been
secured talk for themselves.
Considerable progress has been made
in PREPARATIONS for the resumption of
operations at the plants of the South
ern Iron and steel Company. formerly
the Southern Steel Company. Presi-
dent w. H Hassinger Is assembling
his forces a number of industrial men
who were connected with Mr.. Hasstn-
ger when he was with the Republic
Iron and Steel Company In few
weeks now the repairing Of plants Will
have been completed and the next step
will be the starting in of actual opera
lions OF the Industries.
The predictions are freely made that
the Industrial conditions in the South
will during the next six months take
on boom, the like of which has never
before been seen. There will be q
steady operation of present industries
and the development for the future
will be on a magnificent scale. giving
employment to many thousand men
and distributing millions of dollars.