The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-09
IRON MAKER, COKE. PLANT AND MINES.
 ID RESUME WORK.
Central Iron and Coal Com pany to Start Again After Years IdleneSS-Iron
 Market Stronger

Responding to the turn made in the iron market and desiring to re- enter the iron game, the Central Iron and Coal company, operating blast furnace at Holt, in Tusca- loosa county, has begun prepara- tions to resume manufacture of pig iron.
 It will also put 40 of It's so by product ovens in commission and re- open Kellerman mines.
 Incidentally, the city of Tuscaloosa, will again have supply of by product gas, which was cut off last April.
 The blast furnace has been out of commission for almost a year. The company has sold out all the iron which 1t had on yards and is without ton to offer the merchant iron market, or the Central Foundry pipe shops. which gets iron from the Holt furnace.
 Orders for resumption at Holt were received by wire yesterday from headquarters. Speaking of resumr- ton, Manager Brierton outlined the schedule as follows:
 Blast furnace will resume as soon as it can be gotten in shape. Tie date scheduled for resumption is Mon day. September 19.
 Forty of the so by-product ovens will be lighted right away. The company has a lot of coke on hand. hence need not wait on full opera tions at the by-product works to be- gin at furnace. Kellerman coal mines. from which the company draws its main coal supply, will resume, Sep tember 26.
 Tuscaloosa to Get Gas
 Tuscaloosa, which has been without its by-product gas supply since last April, will again have this gas furn- ished.
 Resumption at Holt means work for 500 men and come as good news after the long months of idleness.
 The iron market, which went to SIS in actual sales, is very hard at S19 with tendency to advance, al- though southern makers show little disposition to hurry matters. Hcw- ever the low state of stocks and thetr ill-assortment have created an acute situation tending to make the mel ter much more interested In the Hhdr ket than he has been.
 "Melters are inquiring for their fourth quarter requirements said prominent iron operator. "Heretofore they havesbeen content with getting what they needed right away in car lots. Now they are figuring on their supply for the rest of the year.
 "Volume of inquires received by our firm is greater than 1t has been since the depression began almost a year ago."
 No Iron On Yards
 The Central Iron and Coal is not the only Alabama iron makers cater ing to the merchant trade that las practically no iron on yards. In fact, only two interests have any consid- erable amount on hand and stocks of one of these are bare of several grades. Eight iron makers have only 12, 900 to 13,000 tons between thenl and three are cleaned out Underr production in the iron bus1- ness has produced that condition. ac- cording to experts, which tends to change a buyers into sellers mar ket as has occurred in cotton goods and other commodities.
 On the other hand, iron masters declare they will be slow in raising the price of iron because they do not wish to unbalance the stability now setting in.
 Alabama company expects to re- sume about October 15, according to present schedule. General tendency is not to hasten resumption.