The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-24
RUHR OCCUPATION
 WORRIES SWEDEN
Enmity To France Aroused In Arctic Areas Of North
 Sweden

K1RUNA, North of Arctic Circle. Sweden, Dec 2s.-(By Associated Press.)-France's occupation of the Ruhr, and the resultant collapse of the Swedish iron ore trade with Ger many. have brought hardship to Sweden's great northern inronfields and aroused enmity to France in the large Arctic areas of north Sweden and Norway which depend upon the payrolls of the iron districts for their existence.
 In 1922 the Kiruna field used to send three shiploads of ore daily to the Norwegian port of Narvig. At the present time there is scarcely ship load a week. Germany formerly took the greater part of this ore. She has the furnaces to handle it, but her purchases have ceased since the furry in the Ruhr.
 England and France have no fur naces suitable to the reduction of the Swedish ore. The Bethlehem Steel company has furnaces which are capable of using this ore, and some of it goes to America. Sweden ex- ported nearly 5,500,000 metric tons Of iron ore in 1922, and over 80 per cent of this went to Germany. As early as 1913 Germany bought over 3,o00,- 900 tons of Swedish iron ore for the Ruhr furnaces.
 Ore Line Road.
 The railway which runs from Lulea, on the Gulf of Bothnia, to Narvig, north of the Arctic Circle in Norway, lives on the ore traffic. It hauls ex- port ore from kiruna to Narvig, and from Gellivare and other mines fur- ther south to Lulea. But the latter port freezes, and in midwinter the export ore reaches tidewater entirely through the Norwegian port, Narvill.
 Ore and wood products are prac- tically the only freight which this great section of Lapland affords it's single railway, which is entirely cleo trified and is the most northern elec- tric railway in the world. Cities of 10000 people have sprung up here in the heart of Lapland at Kiruna and Geflivare, where mountains of iron ore are being demolished py gigantic electric shovels and rushed to tidewater in steel dumpcars. These load directly into steamers at Lulea and Narvig, after the manner that the Mesaba range pours it's ore into steamers at Superior. Wis, for the use of furnaces in Indiana or Pennsyl- vania.
 The crews at these great ore cen ters now have only three or four days of work a week and are feeling the pinch which threatens to become wore unless France and Germany reach some agreement on the Ruhr situation.
 Britain Gets Share.
 Great Britain has about ,000, 900 tons of iron ore stored at Narvig. In addition there are about 1000, ,00O tons more which belong to various commercial organizations. This ac- cumulated before the armistice. Great Britain bought her part to keep it from going to Germany, but the British furnaces cannot use 1t, and apparently it has been impossible 70 find markets elsewhere.
 Spain and Morocco yield an abun- dance of ore which is adapted to British and French furnaces as they are now equipped. If German fur naces do not speedily come into the market again for the Swedish ores, and if Great Britain does not alter its steel industry to handle Swedish ore. the outlook for the Swedish iron mines is far from promising
 Sweden, furthermore, is facing new competition from Chile. Strangely enough, Swedish builders are con structing some gigantic ore ships for the Bethlehem Steel company, which are to be used in carrying Chilean ore to the United States. These vessels have several times the ca pacity of the average ore ship which has been operating from Narvig and Lulea, and can handle the product more cheaDly