The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-12-17

oSAletCO1 cOOSpIl ~. ~ AictliollC
War Production Board to release mas
terials for Bureau of Mines sponge
iron plant at Laramie.
Sponge Iron Campaign On
All over the United States small
foundries, small businessmen, and
workmen are talking and acting on the
idea of opening up iron mines and re-
storing iron and steel production on Il
more natural basis of competition by
means of the sponge iron process. In
dependent experts have developed this
process to the point where small plants
will be able to maintain local industry
in competition with the expensive i'll
vestments of the steel trust
With small sponge iron plants of
their own, in areas which permit ship
ment of melting stock to the cooper
ating fOundrieS at Il minimum ship
ping cost, foundres are organizing 20
assure a continuous supply of melting
stock of improved quality. They can
produce without scrap iron, which is
getting scarce, and they can do much
more to produce for war requirements.
They can protect themselves from the
squeezes of big business control of
iron melting stock. The sponge iron
process can use low grade iron and
low grade fuels-lgnite, coal, natural
or by-prOduct gaSeS-and by process
of baking the ore at low temperature
of 200 degrees, produces economical
ly Il melting stock which eliminates
the necessity for pig iron and scrap.
Westerners Lead Fight
Representative Richard j. Welch of
California is one of group of West
ern Representatives and Senators who
are leading fight in Congress to
break up the consolidation of steel in
tereStS in the East, to develop some
of the iron resources of the West, and
to hold intact some of the Shipbuilding
facilities on the West Coast which
have been developed during the war.
Unless something is done along this
line, members of Congress believe that
the postwar unemployment problem on
the Coast will be very serious.
"Forty years ago. said Represen-
tative Welch, "a great but independent
shipbuilding industry thrived on the
Pacific Coast that produced such ships
as the Oregon. During World War l,
Pacific Coast shipbuilding established
what was then worlds record for eff
ticient construction. Eastern steel
masters, through a leading exponent in
public Office, have sought to Stitle the
inevitable development of our basic in
dustrieS.
Discrimination Charged
when our government handed the
steel industry nearly a billion dollars
for expansion of its facilities Il year
ago these interests saw to it that Il
negligibly small percentage of this
amount was spent in the West.
Instead of allocating the funds for
areas of the uncongeSted West where
untold quantities of iron ore are avail
able, where natural gas, hydroelectric
power and coke-producing coal so nee
essary in the manufacture of steel are
also available, over SSOO,OOOOG or
ment money was spent to expand their
steel plants in the East
Failed i'm Obligation"
"One-fourth of the population of the
United States and One-half of the
country's entire area are west of the
Missouri River. The steel industry has
failed in its obligations to the Ameri-
can people and the Federal Govern
ment must at this time step in and i'll
sure a speedy development of western
resources which include not only iron
Gre but many other stategic metals so
necessary for the winning of this war. J."
Ia Hic Cor,ana1ndincrO Officer