Year: 1863

NATIONAL RETRIBUTIONS-IRON vs.. COTTON


1t would be singular instance Of retribuve justice II
the present cv war which undertaken IN the inte
rest of the cotton trade should result not only IN pe oss
of that trade to the south but in securing 10 the Non
much more valuable commercial monopoy-the interna-
tional iron trade 1t seems however now cer.h 'na'
these two conse quences Of the rebellion must follow
While the blockade Southern ports is suspendg not
running the cultivation Of cotton in that section the me-
cssstiss and effects Of the developing rapidly and
Ia vast extent the iron manufacture of the North which
nj no mote period to give to the loyal States OF
ths American Union the coutro of the iron trade OF
world That such must be the ultimate result W DO sP-
parent to him who properly measures the Importance
these two facts viz that the uses and applications OF
iron to war purposes suggested or whose uy mas peeh
demonstrated by this contest, must vastly increase t u
mand for this material and, secondly that we possss
greater for its production than all tne oner
tons of the world combined The effects Oh these no"
uses Of iron ia war will not be either temporary OF oca
as might at frat be supposed Every new inVenuon VI
Improvement adopted by one country, especiay u MN
tary character becomes necessary to ana auoPeu W
other couptriesbelongs in fact the civilization OF the
spe For instance the increase OF our navy IN 90
large proportion Of iron and ron-cad vessels with their





bs followed as measure Of selfdefence, by the proper


onat increase and reconstruction of the English FRENCH
and Snsnish war marine and ultimately OF the naVies OF
tho woyd So aso American ingenuity Ia developing new
uses of iron by in military engineering as IN
the protection OF forts by iron plating which must soon DO
generally adopted and otherwise by ustratng the great
advantages OF this material of construction ior DaacKs
stor.bouses shipyards docks, marine and military hosP
tails, bridges aqueducts, &c. These new Improvements
in and consequent Of iron viii increase ts con-
sumption as it were in geometrical ratio, and must
soon create demand for its production winch Only Inc
LOYAL States of the Union can supply


The following speculatons upon the future OF the iron
trade we extract from paper upon the statistics and geo.
prapby of the production Of iron read by D. HEWITT
E.o before the American Geographical Society in 1856
Thew will be perused with strange interest at this time


have been at great pains trace the increase OF the
corsumption iron by the world and to form an accurate
d.a of its future demands have called your attenticn
to the fact that the resources OF ufest brt
have been 40 taxed to meet the existing demand as to In
crease the cost ron do not mean the prce) because
the miners are driven less favorable W
adequate supplies OF the raw mAer'a - u 10. aJ.
of three and half millions OF tons per annum mas made
each ton cost more than it did when the production was
onv two millions the addition Of another million must have


corresponding effect But the world VIII want ana must
bav the other million and Of them, and three OF them
and uDess other aid in the supPy the price VIII
rise far above present cost OF production seems 10
be the inevitable conclusiOu inoto Juss
stated that this day is not far distant II So
IL interesting to inquire from what quarter OF the
globe the surplus s to Come IN the main tnihk tnat
shall be able satisfy you that but one nation can NIL the
required elementary conditions and that country the
United States. . ),


But ABUNDANCE Of iron does not suffice for the
chesp production of iron. Mineral coal must be also
abundant and easily accessible In order to Indicate the
relative roston of the leading nations OF the globe IN this
have copied diagram from work on
coal allowing the aabe mnera coain each coun-
try by which appears that the United stand hrst on
the list that out s4 73 square miles Of coal area our
country has nearly three fourhs OF the whole
amount aud sixteen times much as Great Britain and
IRELAND 1t to be observed that this coal exists
in nearly every State Of the Unon or where II does not
ex readily accessible to the main deposits o iron ore
IN the nou-bearpp coal States At the most important
localities for the purpose Of making iron immene bodies
Of coal exist above the water level whereas IN England II
has to be yeined ard raised from the depths OF the earth
Measuring by the coal areas and iron ore beng equally
II il the true standard the United States can
produce fty millions of tons per annum with as little
drain upon natural resources as Great Britain can pro-
duce three and half millions Of TONS


The ,ame author informs that from l746 to 1855
tho nroaucton of iron has increased seventyod ut
amounts to seven millions of tons per annum.) III the
same rate of increase should prevail for hundred and
fifteen wears TO come, the annual make would reach
4sO 600 900 of tons and to be observed that the ratio
Of an increasing for each period of ten years
since I740, and not a decreasing ore"


About onehaf Of the present product consumed by
producers OF by those who do not produce it, and
forms the basis Of the international trade Assuming that
the same relations of production and consumption shall
continue and estimating the vaue OF iron at $50 per ton


s pigs bars and plates and every arthmetcan Can cacu
late for himself the future value OF the iron trade Whcn
about TO fall into hands Suhce 1t to say hat facts
and 6oures conduct the judgment to conclusions which
startle even the imagination by their grandeur