El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-08-25

Z steel plant at Ensley. on the outskirts
I Of Birmingham, I want to say q word
about the steel industry and its euor-
nous importance at this critical time
I I'm our history. Not only here, but in
/ every steel and iron region of the
United States the plants are working
AT their full capacity Many OF them
are guarded by soldiers, for they are
engaged upon work which is directly
or indirectly on behalf of the govern
ment.
Within the past few years there has
been q great increase in steel mann
. facturc- and our product has been
growing rapidly since the war broke
out iu Europe. We have the greatest
iron and steel resources Of the world.
and al the time the war began We
were smelling about four times as
much iron as Great Britain, three OF
four times as much as France and
more than twice as much as the Ger
man empire. Last year we produced
more than 5000 600 tons of iuEOts.
which was more than half of the pro-
ductiou of the whole world. II Cas
enough TO make 10000, 600 tons OF
steel and IL has been turned into
rails. armOr plate and structural ma
terioI a large part of it went into
harbed wire millions Of tons INTO
sheets and black plates for Timing
and millions Of tons into tubes Of
various kinds
ANEAlaA4A AHAEaAAg AMEEEAhEua
Just now we need great deal OF
steel for shinyards and also for the
army and navy. There Is an addi-
tional demand for motor trucks and
steel cars. and also for barbed wire
for entanglements along the lines OF
the trenches. In one week the govern
ment orders included 1000 tons OF
sheets TO be made into camp equip
ment and powder tanks and We have
to supply railroad material not only
for the United States. but also for our
allies including the Russians They
are making steel shells at several
plants within a short distance of Bir-
mingham, and the great munitions
plants are eating up steel by the thOI-
sands or tons. The prospect is that
there VIII be a steady expansion Of
the iron and steel industry as long as
the war lasts. and at its close the de
uand for The products will continue
on account Of the rehabilitation of
Europe and the exports demanded by
the cessation OF steel shipments dur
ing the war 10 many parts Of the
world Indeed. there Is no industry
I'm the United States that cuts so great
a figure today as that Of iron and
steel
And now let me show you some
thing Of the iron and steel resources
Of the south SO far the bulk Of these
products has come from the north and
northwest. The south is now prducirE
more than one eight of the pig iron
and the steel manufacture is rapidly
growing The southern states have.
il is estimated. about - per cent of
the CokinE coal of the country. and
the United States geological survey
has figured that its iron resources are
in the usiEhborhood Of three billion
tons. OF which almost one third is al
ready available
Wonderful Ore Reserves.
In this Birmingham district alone
there are ore reserves Of nearly $780,
100000 tons ready for use. and an
equal amount can be brought forth
for the future. There is another dis
trict near here. which is known as
the Chattanooga adsdeu region. IN
which the avsiIa BILE ore reserves are
over SIS 0OH. 900 tons. with an ultimate
product more tnau five times ss large.
Great beds OF iron are scattered
throughout the southern Appalachian
mountains and there are valuable de-
posits in Missouri Arkansas. Okla +
homa and Texas. Tn three counties I
iu Texas there are $4,000 acres OF orc /
lands which are said TO contain l0H.- .
100000 tons OF first class smelling ore
and they are now shipping iron from
Port Bolivar on Galveston bay
some Big Industries
To give YOU some idea Of what The
south is doing in iron and steel. I have
gone through some Of the great plants
here at Birmingham Take, for in
since that Of the Tennessee Coal Iron
uated at Ensley, not far from the city.