The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-14
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
China's Awakening


 To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 The regular shipments of 6000ton cargoes of high grade pig iron from China to San Francisco and other ports on the Pacific coast serve to draw attention to the ominously rapid de- velopment of the Chinese iron and steel industry. It is doubtful If this in dustry, which dates from 1891, has re- ceived the attention 1t deserves; but now that Chinese producers are enter ing into active competition not only in the United States, but in Japan, as we'll as in China, the true state of af- fairs may be brought home with un pleasant directness. Recent develop ments have no doubt been stimulated by the fall in silver affecting the ex- change between the United States and China, 16 taels which two or three years ago were equivalent to $1352, being now only worth $9.6S. So low are the costs of production that the Han yang Iron and Steel company, Hankow, which is so far the sole producer of international importance, is able to quote for pig iron $9.6S per ton f. O. D. tree OH podruJ, UT Slo.9o poi ton c. i. f. (cost. insurance, freighD, which means that the price quoted in- cludes, in addition to the price of the gbods, the cost of insuring it in transit and the cost of transport to New York which is appreciably below the figure at which Pittsburg manufacturers can afford to sell. The exports of pig iron to the United States began during the great trade boom of 1907, and it is significant that immediately trade re- wives shipments are resumed on sub stantial scale.
 As already indicated, the Hanyang Iron and Steel works were established about 19 years ago. At first they were somewhat slow of getting into work ing order. chiefly owing to the diff culty of securing skilled workmen. The works were erected under the super intendence of British engineers, and native workmen were sent to Belgium for 12 months training. Even when the works were got under way many diff faculties were encountered, mainly as a result of the mismanagement of na- tive officials, who, while entrusting the technical management to European ex- perts jealously guarded the admins trative control from foreign interfer- ence. Financial embarrassments retard- ed the development of the undertak- ing until 1904, when 1t passed into the hands of the railway director, Shenk- kung- pao. That gentleman displayed praisworthy energy and enterprise in hac ci by remodeling the plant and adopt ing western methods. Now the works are turning out fully 500 tons of pig iron and 250 tons of steel rails per day, which, 1t is expected, will be more than doubled when the plant in course of erection has been completed. Already 40o0 native workmen are regularly em- ployed, many of them having attained a high degree of efficiency
 A careful survey of. the conditions under which Chinese producers are working leads inevitably to the con clusion that they have great future before them. Hankow, where the works of the Hanyang company are situated, stands on the Yangtse, China's great waterway, little more than 700 miles from the sea. From April to October the river is navigable by big ocean steamers, and during the winter months by boats with from g to 12 feet draught. Both coal and iron ore are found in great quantities within dis tance of 200 miles from Hankow, ane' are readily available for river trans port. The former is brought down il native boats, which are constructed for one voyage only and then sold as tim Der. The iron ore, which contains over 60 per cent of iron, Is carried in stee barges lowed by tugs. Labor both a the riverside and at the works is cheap. The coolies engaged in loading and unloading the ore work for cent per shift, while at the works wages vary from 10 cents per day in case oi unskilled laborers to s1.25 per day for