The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-19
RICHARD H. EDMONDS ANSWERS CHI R G E s
 REGARDING GRADE OF BIRMINGHAM ELI
tContinued from Page Five,

tion where found has nothing to do
 with the quality of the iron produced" Referring to the members of the navy board, and their supposition that no armor plate can be made except it be made from "red ores" MT. Edmonds himself says:
 These men are doubtless not at all
 familiar with the actual details of iron and steel making. It is altogether probable that none of them have ever had any practical or even thorough theoretical experience in the iron and steel business. Evidently they are not at all familiar with the character of ores found in the south and elsewhere, nor with the method of producing
 steel of high grade regardless of the character of the ore. They are appar-
 ently not familiar with the fact that
 the production of basic steel nthis country is rapidly increasing while the production of Bessemer steel is rela- lively decreasing, and that basic steel can be produced from all of the ores of the south.
 ''The Lake Superior district which was once the standby of the Bessemer steel
 making interests no longer has domi- nant position. because even the users of Lake Superior ores have been supplant- ing their Bessemer steel plants with ba- sic plants.
 Germany was the first country to largely develop the basic steel industry because it's ores were not suitable for Bessemer steel but nobody for a moment suggests that Germany does not make the highest grade of steel for armor plate and for all other purposes.
 THEIR RIGHTFUL HERITAGE "In the early days of the Bessemer steel business those who controlled that IA .~Ak I. IL
 basic steel process for the express pur- pose of preventing the development of Ithe basic industry in competition with their own Bessemers plants. Not until these patents had expired did the non Bessemer ores of the country come into their rightful heritage. Today the best steel made in the United States and the highest grade steel rails commanding higher price than Bessemer rails are made by the basic process which Is open to everybody, and which entirely does away with the dominance of the industry once held by Lake Superior Bessemer ores.
 l@ 'The members of this committee are no. culpable because they have not known these facts since their line of study and work has not led them into knowledge of steelmaking, but they will be cupable if in their personal ignorance on the sub ject they fail to call to theirs aid the best experts which can be had. And these experts must be representative men knowing the ores of the south thoroughly
 and knowing what is being done in the production of high grade steel in the south These experts should be men sworn to give the exact facts and abge to show what Is now being done in the south, and what is being done with simi- lar ores in Germany, England and else where. The biased testimony of interests identified with the Lake Superior ores or with foreign ores should not be accepted and the testimony of these men when called to report their views should, like the testimony of others, be given under oath.
 "The matter is of such vital import ance that no man should be called into l this investigation or into report on the subject as experts of the board who lis not willing voluntarily to give his tes- | tsmony under oath since there is prob ably no law to require this.
 lDO NOT CHARGE ANTAGONIST 'We do not for moment charge this committee with the intentional antagon- ism to the south or the southwest, but [ we are compelled to charge 1t with the lack of knowledge if the inquiry set forth is an expression of its information on the subject.
 We believe that in the broad interest