Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-30

years. In 1900 less than one per
cent. of the demand of the country
for steel was satisfied by domestic
production. In 1902 about Is per
cent. was produced at home; by
1911 this had risen to 80 per cent.
and in 1913 to 33 per cent. At the
beginning of the war, home produc-
tion just eQualed imports.
Private contributions to the pro-
gress before the war were not i'm
portant,s Only three noteworthy
concerns existed - the Kamaishi
mine, at one time under the control
of the government; the SenninZan
and Wanishi mines. These followed
along the lines which government
enterprise had pioneered. initiating
very little and barely being able to
make both ends meet.
The advent of the war made clear
as never before the prime import
ance of iron and steel. and at the
same time gave extraordinary slim
ulus to private enterprise in the
form of enormous profits. The
former of these facts made a pecu-
liar appeal to the government,
which exerted strenuous efforts to
increase the country's producing ca
pacity. In 1917 a law was passed
for the encouragement of the iron
and steel industry. The new legis-
lation provided that companies pro-
ducing more than $4,000 tons of
steel annually should have special
privileges for acquiring land for steel
mills; the free importation of raw
materials, tools and machinery; eX-
emption from taxes and other at
tractive privileges. Private enter
prise was quick to respond. Prac-
tically all of the firms extended
their operations and new companies
were promoted by the score. In
March, this year, the total capital
invested in new concerns was esti-
mated to be about 165 million dol
lars, exclusive of investments by the
government in its enterprise. The
government on its own account also
planned very considerable extensions
of which part are already COM
pleted.
Had to Train Workers
The products of the government
steel works in the past have been
devoted largely to government pur-
poses, supplying in particular the
Navy Department Recently, how
ever, some of its products have been
disposed of to the public, chiefly for
shipbuilding, which. industry is be-
ing assisted by the government.
At the outset the government
works had very few skilled work
men, and every step it took was
threatened with failure; more than
once the project was cG the point
of being abandoned. There did not
exist body of mechanics from
whom recruits could be drawn. 1t
was necessary to train the men, or
il would be more correct to say that
the men had to train themselves as
best they could. Even more diff
cult than the problem of mere skill
was that of developing pride of me-
chanical achievement The govern
ment works now employ about fif-
teen thousand workers showing a
high degree of efficiency.
About three hundred thousand
tons of ore from Tayeh mine in
China, together with fifty thousand
tons of pig iron from the Hanyang
Iron and Steel Works, also in China,
is shipped each year to the Japanese
government steel works in dis
charge of financial obligations to
the latter. The Tayeh mine on the
Yangtse River belongs to the Han
Yen-Ping Iron Works, one of the
largest in the Far East, located at
Hanyang, near Hankow. 1t was
started some years ago as a Chinese
government concern, but as the re-
suit of numerous difficulties it fell
into financial dependence on Jap
anese interests, which have ad-
vanced large sums to it. the obliga-
tons now standing at about 37h
million dollars. Large extensions
which are now under way will short
ly make it possible for Japan an
nually to secure one hundred and
thirty thousand tons of pig iron and
one-half million tons of high per-
centage ore from this source.
Could Supply U. S. Only Year
Japan's imports average twice as
much iron ore as is produced within
the country. The reason is that ia
pans deposits are not extensive. AL
together they are estimated at about
40 million tons. When it is consid-
cred that the iron industry of the
United States would exhaust ia
pans total known deposits of ore
within a single year, it Is evident
that the country must depend more
and more upon ores from other
sources.
Korea has deposits which have
been estimated at as high as 250
,I& 1O0 YY1illinn