The age-herald. [volume], August 01, 1897, Page 10, Image 10

About The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902

Image provided by: University of Alabama Libraries, Tuscaloosa, AL

                
m PROCESS OF
| STEEL MAKING.
:5: _
*__ r ^
' Hot It Is and Hov Converted From
*-■ ►
Pig Iron
■ ■ —
r P IWJ) BY HR. JAMES BOVRON
®l (Arresting Article On a Subject Which All
| * Alabama and the South Is
Interested In.
ilsrteel? . h-—i—r— i
4ft of people -witnessed the first
Bteel In Birmingham last week I
i StraW’ enthusiastic over It. Yet few
-ft* understand the processor making,
aft eg* making, what steel really Is.
•WHial Is eteel?” was asked of Mr.
*• BowTOn, of the Tennessee Coal
Iron company, a gentleman thor
wwveiwavt with all products of
i sShea and productions therefrom—an
H*Marttys. __
M*tre)sp2'^ ^.ft^hcBtlon, Mr. Bawron
..-Jnnbrfbutert this:
L ^*l^nare Is no subject that has so deeply
pifcAested the dtlzena of Birmingham
the present month as the pro
as -.
•o -*- - XT'TOOW '_v
ISnotton of steel, and It ha# occurred to the
writer that a short statement In popular
language divested of abstruse technical i
■npresslans might be interesting to many
readers of the State Herald.
“To give the technical answer to the
question of the caption, steel is refined
Iron reeeirbu.rls.ed. To give a popular
•nswer to the question., it Is a combina
tion artificially produced of pure iron
with carbon.
"Common pig iron made every day ip
this district Is r.ot, as most people may
suppose, pure iron or even approximately
pure. It contains, as a rule, 7 to g tier
cent, of metalloids or Impur’ti s; tamely,
carbon, silicon, ’manganese, phosphorus,
and sulphur. All th se elements exc.pt
the carbon are Injurious to steel and their !
presence in the steel would make it
worthless by reason of brittleness. It
is therefore necessary to remove them
from the iron. This can be done sub
stantially in the ordinary process of pud
dling or in the old-fashioned bloomery.
In such cases the approximately pure
wrought iron produced either from the
FIRST RUN OF STEEL IN BIRMINGHAM.
"puddling furnace or from the bloomery.
- could be and used to be manufactur-rd
- into steel by bars of the iron being Sand
r_wlched with charcoal and heated to
gether, during which process the iron ab
• sorbed rair!><>n from the intermediate lay
ers of charcoal and was t'hus converted
into stet?. As an interesting method of
how ‘history- repeats Itself, I may draw
attention to the fact that tills early pro- j
"... cess is that one now used for the Harvey- j
■*—ising or hardening the face of the armor
_plates made for the government battlr
ships, the niokelM rl bring produced suf
• ftei-tuly low in carbon to admit of its be-'
‘"'Ing rolled and otherwise treated for the
T -*haq>e3 Anally required, and the face of
■ the plate being afterwards harden .1 by
-v-rdieing raised to a high heat and left to
«>1 in contact with a mass of charcoal,
V - which parts with ids carbon Into tb? plate,
• thus giving the face of the plate a glassy
hardness to break up the shot, and the
-■* ■Jack c*f the plate toughness to hold it to
jT gether and prevent the impact of th? can
T,. "Jpon baJ? from making a crack right
- through the piate.
•- -"phe process of manufacturing steel by
the cymentatlon m “bod was obviously
Ttoo slow and expensive, and the produc
tion and use of steel remained greatly
T restricted until the invention of Sir
Henry Bessemer, which made him a roar*
‘..-•f scientific reputation, of politic A.f me.
of personal wealth, and saved mu Id
millions of dollars to the world at large
by enabling steel rails to he produced
,d«o cheaply ds to supers “d- iron rdils, and
tr> lead to a great reduction in the cost
of |ion struct lug and maintaining rall
' “Iroads and transporting passengers and
“ freight. Bessemer’s groat invention wa»
“T" that of purifying melted inn by blowing
• • ;•£
air through it and thus bringing parti
cles of oxygen in contact with every
part of the metalfoTds or impurities drat
mentioned and tpi burning them up. Ox
ygen is performing the same invaluable
si nice in the animal or min ral world,
h'rofci to jo 100 times per minute we are
breathing out the air which we nave in
haKd in .a ptfre "c ndition, laden at its
jijelt with carbonio acid, the .' suit of the
contact qjf Oklfc P ]h our Iuces v.ith the
psyt laliy carbonized blood met there.
In the same way this ben. fie nt agent
is purifying ev ry room in our house
\vh n w- open the windows for ventila
tion; is purifying the streams from the
result of sewerage pollution which after
traveling twelve or fift in mil s along
the shallow, brawling stream, bubbling
ov* r grav 1 and obs, ructions and becom
ing exposed to the air in spray will have
lost all their hurtful contents. So in
like manner (the injctlon of oxygen Into
molten Iron v.ill remove every impurity
and. hurtful cl meet. It act's :;a a gr^ut
divorce court, pronouncing the decrees
of instant separation between iron and
Its associated silicon or carbon, or man
ganese or phosphorus. The Bessemer
inv-ntion ndfltlcd iron to be ]iurilied
froth its metalloids in quantities vary
ingiwith the sfze of the converter from 10
tfins or less up to thirty tons in a period
of 25 to 30 minutes, and this moth 1
become, and continued for years, the
principal. onefcn For the past_ljir.ee or
four dirAre^-'iuov—e'n”the open hearth
■process has been overtaking the Besse
mer fqr two reasons:
1st. The superior quality of its pro
duct. . i I
2d. Tb» gradual disappearance in the
differ nee of the cost of the'two meth
ods. . Tfie open hearth process consists
Iff mMtlng the iron in a large, shallow
furnace or dish, the size of which may
vary .from five tons to 100 tons content.
The oxidation- of the metalloids is ef
fected In the open hearth process not
by blowing the oxygen through the mass
as in Bessemeripractio’, but by introdu
cing oxide of iron in the shape of iron
qre. The metallic part of the iron ore
adds hitself to the molten iron in the
batli .and the oxygen goes to work in its
usual energetic way in capturing what
ever stray carbon, silicon or phosphorus
It may find lying around loose and car
rying the same'to l hi- surface by reason
of the lower specific gravity which the
oxidized method possesses. It is this pro
cess that has been adopted by the Bir
mingham Rolling Mill company, with
such important results to the present
and future business interests of Phis
growing and Important city.
"The iron manufactured at the other
side of the railroad track at the Alice
furnace-ds'-pdled into the open hearth fur
nace and melted there. A sufficient
afmbunit of oxide of iron is fed into the
furnace to cut loose the Impurities and a
sufficient amount of free or loose lime is
also enlarged, the purooae of which is to
afford a safe house or retreat for those
enemies when driven out of the
iron. The proverb recommend* the bu.'d
ing of a golden bridge for the fleeing
■enemy. There is no fear of the carbon
coining buck when it is expelled from the
Iron, as it is turned kilo gas and passes
-off by combustion., but the silicon and
phosphorus which are dislodged by the
oxygen would .fust as easiliy in the ebulli
tion of tlhe boiling roe La" recombine with
particles of iron but for .the safe home
which is afforded to thorn by the lime
floating on top: the combinations of silb
cafe of lime and of phosphate of lime be
ing sufficiently stable to neshtt the effects
of the boiling and bubbling in the fur
nace. Arad so the process goes ori, until
at 'the end of a .sufficient period of time
the experienced eye of the meltcr, judg
ing by the granulation of a small sam
ple of Steel as drawn by a ladle from the
furnace, quenched in water, and broken
~x~-tt--1—- ■ ■' *' '■ . ~-s~—... -g i J
with a hammer, decides that the metal
has beien thoroughly purified, and he-has
then at his command a large quantity of
pure soft steel ready to be tapped out
through the trough into the ladle and
potlred ini to Ingots or slabs ready to be
conveyed away Into the rolling mill for
the production of plates, oottoti ties, wire
or other Shapes as required by the mar
ket. If It should be desired to make toll
-or tool steel out of this soft steel, it le ac
complish eat by adding in the ladle, before
admitting the steel, an exact quantity of
rarbon so weighed ar.d calculated as to
tv.arbonlse the metal and bring back
again just (he degree of hardness that
may have been itaslred
JAMES BOWRON.
TWELVE HOURS SUFFICIENT,
It is a reasonable regulation of a nail
road company to keep Its station op n
only from 7 o’eloek In the morning to 7
o'clock a.t night In a village In which
there are but fifty Inhabitants? This
question has just been answered tin the
affirmative in th courts of ludiana'at
circuit and upon, appeal!. A passenger
had bought a return ticket, which he was
required to have stamped at such a sta
tion' before It would be receivable for his
homeward trip. He neglected to apply at
the station for this purpose until after 7
p. in.. When t)he office had been closed for
the day, and bp Insisted that under these
circumstances the conductor wrs bound
to accept his ticket unstamped, as it was
unreasonable mot to keep the s aflon open,
longer. The counts, however, v.-ere
unanimous at the opinion that twelve
hours a day afforded the passenger an
iinude opportunity to present h4s ticket,
and that the railroad could pot be requir
ed . to keep Vlb station at auoh a. village
open day and night—Now, York Sun.
, v~-.. t. -v -v-ila’ift
IN THE RAILROAD WORLD
Southern Roads Are Hauling"
More Freight, but
EARNINGS NOT SO GREAT
Condition of Alabama Railroads-Matters of
Interest to Stockholders and shipcers—
Are Rates Too High cr Too Low?
By FBA.NK WELDON.
From a railroad point of view there arc*
traffic signs of a business revival. They
do not point to a free, unlimited ar.d in
dependent prosperity, but simply to betttr
timeer. Every one who predicts, give3 as
the reason for the faith that is in him
the fact that-the farmers have fine crops
this year. lrr the v/rrt, the wheat and
corn fields have yielded their full one hun
dred fold. In th* touth, the cotton crop
will be enormous.
Basing their, hope on these conditions,
the interior merchants have ordered more
goods than ever before of the merchants
at the jobbing centers, and these mer
chants have, in turn, bought heavily, or
arc preparing to buy heavily, of the eant
fT-fy ^talers and manufacture". '
Railway managers keep their fingers on
the commercial pulse all the time. They
arc not like a doctor, who comes cnce a
day and f ete his patient’s pulse and looks
at his tongue, and then go off and
charge him two dollars. Your railway
manager keeps his fingers cm th?- public
wrist and looks Into its trade mouth every
hour of the day every day In the year. The
fingers of a railroad management are the
soliciting and commercial agents. These
fingers are always outstretched, ready to
close around any business which they can
hold. These fingers and eyes tel! the
brains up at the general officer that the
j country’s commercial system is toning up.
Health and strength are coming back. Tho
body has had a long spell of sickness. It
was very feeble for three or four years
and a. general collapse was imminent. It
had many doctors of various schools. All
of them prescribed and the victim—I mean
the patient—steadily grew worse. But now
congress lias adjourned, and the sick man
has decided to get well himself.
Th-crc is no interest in this country which
needs a business revival more than our
railroads. The lines in the south have
just about .held their own the past year.
They economized in every way, and in
spite of decreased revenue, most of them
show a small increase in net earnings.
This, however, was too often made at the
expenev* of the physical condition of tho
properties, and where one dollar Is saved
in that way now. two will have to be ex
pended eventually.
The Gross Earnings
The Southern railway’s gross earnings
for the year ending June 30, 1897, were
$167,000 lc-ss than in the previous year, but
the expense* were cut down so that the
system showed a net ga. 1 of $188,000 for
the last year over 1896. I have not the
Louisville and Nashville’s figures at hand,
but my impression is that tliere was a
gain in the gross as well as in the net
The Central of Georgia, which is partly an
Alabama system, made a small increase
in its not, although the gross earnings
| were off from the previous year. The Ala
bama Great Southern lost $28,546 in gross
i earnings for the year, but gained $1,624 in
its net.
So" the statistics show that the trans
portation companies just about held their
own. So far as I have seen, no southern
rail line either made or lost much money
during the past fiscal year. Now the man
agers are feeling better over the prospect
of a year coming in which they can partly
recoup their past losses. The Indications
are that they will get an Increased vol
ume of traffic. But will they make any
more money out of It? That depends part
ly on the roads themselves and partly on
the rttte-making powers over which they
have n-o control. In Georgia and the Caro
lines agitators are trying to have the
rates reduced by the commissions. It Is
significant that these movements against
the earnings spring from politicians and
j others who have an income contingent
upon a warfare against the roads. In
North .Carolina, the fight recently made
was notoriously prompted by the politi
cians. In South Carolina, there is po4i- j
tics behind much of the agitation, and in
Georgia there is some politics and some
other things. The Georgia commission will
take up next Wednesday an application
for a reduction of 25 per cent in cotton
rates. The head pushers in the agitation
are neither farmers nor consumers. They j
are not gven shippers of cotton, and so far !
as I know they never were. The middle
men are giving the movement what hack
ing it has. Lost spring an application
was. made for a general reduction of all
rates in Georgia, and the hostility which
developed broke off a deal which was o<n
for the purchase of a railroad by Nc*w
York capitalists who had plans for invest
ing a large sum of money in the state.
They looked into the situation and became
alarmed. Later the state railroad com
mission declined to grant the petition, but
It was then too late to save the deal, which
had been called off.
The New Alabama Railroad
W. M. Mitchell is trying to raise sub
scriptions for a rpad to extend from At
lanta to Selma, with the hope of continuing
it on to New Orleans some day. Every
where he goes he is met with the objection
that the commissions or the legisla
tures are liable to do something which
will hurt a railroad investment. This has
not been the disposition of the commis
sions—certainly not of late—but the con
tinual warfare on the roads deters local
investments, and if the home people will
not subscribe for a new line through vir
gin territory, it cannot be expected that
New York or foreign capital will take hold
of such a project. The people as a mass
are not hostile to tlw roads, but there are
always some individuals who hope to profit
by the agitation for lower rates or greater
restrictions on transportation lines.
More Tonnage, Less Profits.
They do no* take into account the fact
that natural competition is steadily bring
ing rates down. It is a fact .that while
the railroads of tho United States are
handling a larger tonnage than ’they did a
few years ago, they are making less money.
They are in the position of a I merchant
who does one-third more business, but
makes less money on it year after y^ar.
In 1895 the income of all the railroads in
the United States fell 'off $50,000,000 fi^om
the year before. In 1896 they lost $50,601000
more. There was a decrease of $l00,0o),000
in .two years. In 1S88 the railroads of the
country averaged 1 cent per ton for mile
for freight. A drayman would charge from
50 cents to $1 for hauling a ton a mile. In
UP) the roods received only 8 2-5 mills for
hauling a ton a mile. For the past year
the rates ha.ve averaged scarcely more
than 8 mills. There has been a fall of 20
per cent in rates in 'the last nine yea^s and
of 50 per cent in the last 20 years. This
is not guess work, but is clearly shewn by
the statistics of the interstate commerce
commission.
While the price of about everything ex
cept gold has shrunk, the price of transpor
tation bos declined factor than the aver
age commodity. One pound of cotton will
f ay for hauling a bale1 of cotton os far as
t ever would, if not a greater distance.
While 4t .takes two bales of cotton to pay
the debts which one would have paid a
few years book, the railroads have to haul
three bates to make a* much not revenue
"t v. - J &Jf': ■■■tM-V
.as they obtafnci from hauling one bale
-ten cr fifteen yt iraagc. The coat of haul
fag hr.. r.*ot fatten*'p.t the came-relative
.pace with tKc dc-din.* in ratts. While the
•ntcreet which the .railroads ljgv<vIQpay
Has btcn decreased iby refunding their
-dt|bts. they have lest thirty dollars in reve
nue where thfy have Laved oue dollar In
interest charge. It would taka three times
aa much buVIner-* now to pay off these
mortgages as would have been required in
l&i).
Tax Valuations
With the exception of the mines, fur
naces and cotton factories, Alabama’s rall
rc ads have mad? a greater percentage on
increase In their tax valuations than any
other important Interest in the state. Ala
bama’s ra’lroacls were returned this year
for taxation at $15.iei,C0O. Twenty years
ago they we re probably returned at $lo,00;>,
OR Georgia’s railroads were returned for
^9,00*3,COC1 in 1870, and now they arc returned
at $43,1190.000. There his bren a gain of
$34,OCQ,OCO in elghtc<n years, or 475 per cent.
Georgia’s farms were taxed at $90,000,000
in P79, and thi3 year they will be taxed at
$120,000,000. They i how an Increase of only
33 1-3 per cfnt In valuation The railroads
have increased in value- fourteen times
fuster than the agricultural land©. Geor
gia’s railroads are pf-ying about cne-tenth
of the total tax. The roads In other south
ern states pay in about the same propor
tion.
Cl os 3 to the Wind.
All the railroads in the south are sailing
close to th wind. They are just making
a bare living and that is all—just paying
fixed charge, (and operating expenses.
There la nothing left over to be distributed
among the stockholders. And yet the
reads In the Gi-orgla-Alabama group are
mxt'to the lowest in point of capitalization
per mile In the United States. Our group
of states includes Alabama, Georgia, Flor
ida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky.
This is the classification of the interstate
ecmir.eree comini&sicn. Taking everything,
bond", itnu t’cauTig nVu^ -d^oKs. the
capitalization of cur road9 averages $45.
76H per mile, and 86 per cent of these paid
no dividend on their stock in 18H5. The
statistics hdvc not been compiled olTicially
fer the last i< wo years, but it is safe to ray
that the non dividend-paying roads in the
south have not decreased in number. The
railroadn in New York, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Delaware and Maryland are capi
talized at *120,192 per mile, and fifty per
cent of them pay dividends. On a basic of
$45,COO a mile, there would be dividends for
all the roads up there, but if our roads
were capitalized at $120,000 a mile, there
would be no dividends for any, and not
even all the bonds would pay interest.
We hear aj great deal about our railroads
being ov*r capitalized. If this were true,
it could not 1>© charged that they were
paying dividends on watered stock. This
charge is often made, but It is erroneous.
The roads are nc-t doing it. They arf not
paying intcnfpt on $20,000 a mile as a rule.
As a matter of fact, the railroads in the
scuth could not be replaced for $15,000 a
mile, with their valuable terminals, rights
of way into and through the towns and
cities, with tbcdr Iron and steel bridges,
heavy stc ?I rails, large and powerful en
gines and elegant cars. We have railroads
which are really worth 25 per cent more
than the «tock and bonds outstanding
against them.
About Watered Btcck.
Let us examine the charge that the peo
ple are being taxed to pay interest on wa
tered stock. One of the railroads against
which this charge is made is the Central
Railway of Georgia, which penetrates Ala
bama. This system is capitalized at $33,
333 per mile in round numbers. Of this,
per mile is a funded debt, on which
it has lo pay interest or go Into a receiver
ship. Well, it Is just making that interest,
and neither the Income* bonds nor the com
mon stock is paying a cent. Could the
Central be replaced for $50,000,000? Well,
haia.y. 1 heaid Jay Gould say once, after
looking over the system, that its wharves
alone at Savannah were worth $7,000,000.
Then figure in the terminals at Birming
ham, Columbus, Atlanta, Macon, Augusta
and the other cities which it touches, and
count the tracks, equipment and fran
chises.
Take the Southern railway, and we find
that its average bonded debt is about $19,
000 per mile in Georgia and Alabama. The
average bonded debt of all reads in the
United States is $31,048 per mile, and the
average in the Alabama group is $23,153
per mile. Certainly no on? will maintain
that the Southern’s lines in Alabahia, with
their terminals, rights of way, franchises
and equipment could be replaced for $19,
000 per mile or for anything like that sum.
The same mileage now- operated by the
Southern svsteni earned $290,000 more in
V.m than in IS.%- This was a loss of 11 per
cent in gross earnings, despite the fact
that the system handled 3 per cent more
business in 189© than in 1891. There was a
loss of 15 per cent in net earnings between
1891 and 1890, and the percentage of loss
was greater for the year ending June 30,
1897. The average rate per ton per mile
on the Southern railway system In 1891 was
1U cents, or 11G mills. In 1896 it was one
mill and a half lower, or a decline of 13.G
per cent in five years. The Southern is. not
paying a cent of interest on its stock, but
the stockholders have paid an assessment
of $10 a share out of their own pockets into
the treasury.
Rates are falling all the time through
the forces of natural competition, and they
are falling so rapidly that the time is com
ing when all the roads will be in receiver
ships again unless this downward ten
dency can be* arrested.
Last year the Southern railway paid
$584,061 taxes in eight states. That was an
inen-ase of $93,000 in five years. This is on
practically the same mileage, tod. So while
♦ he earning power Is decreasing, the ex
penses are gro-wing.
The Plant system is another which runs
through l>oth Alabama and Georgia. Its
bonded debt in Georgia is $15,663 per mile,
and the property cost $25,000 per mile. This
system actually lost $86,000 !<ast year by
operating Its Georgia lines, and my recol
lection is that the Alabama division did
not make much more than operating ex
penses
The Georgia and Alabama had a deficit
in 1896 of $02,196 in Its interest account, to
say nothing of its stock.
The gross earnings of the Alabama Great
Southern for the year ending June 30 hist
•were $28,546.85 less than In the previous
year.
Cannot Stand Reduced Rates.
The Southern roads cannot stand reduc
tions in rates. They are just making ex
penses and interest on their bonds. They
have the lowest rates now in the world,
considering the population along their line.
The North Carolina commission refused to
reduce cotton rates because the roads
could not stand a loss in revenue. No
more can the roads in Georgia stand a re
duction in rates on cotton. And It happens
that the North Carolina rates are almost
identically the same as the Georgia rates.
If the commissions protect the roads,
•they will be able to get along very well
the coming year, If they do not get to
fighting among themselves. Every road Is
a free lance now. There are no agree
ments to maintain rates, and if one road
goes to cutting the others have to follow
suit in self defense. They have a situation
to face among themselves. The managers
realize its gravity and are trying to Im
press upon each other the necessity for
conservative methods. General demoraliza
tion would be as ruinous as an order from
the commissions to reduce rates. In a
war. the small or weak lines usually got
the bos* of it for a time, at least. If the
cutting gets deep, the little fellows cannot
stand a loss so long as the larger systems
can stand it, but they manage to pick up
a good many dollars in one way or another
which otherwise they would never get their
hands on.
The leading managers of southern rail
road properties Fay that rates will b? sta
ble. and that if the commissions will not
oppress them, they will be able to pull
through another year in satisfactory shape.
All thev a»k is to be allowed to share’in th.*
hotter times along with the farmers, mer
chants and manufacturers. ‘
Their prayer to the commissions is like
the one* put up by the man who was fight
ing the bear “Oh. Lord, if you ar° no‘t
going to help me in this fight, pleas don’t
turn agin me.”
If the roads are left free-handed they
will work out of the financial depression
along with other Industrie®, and when the
farmers and the railroads are prosperous,
times are good all over the country.
KINDNESS REMEMBERED.
“John,” she said thoughtfully, “tomor
,row ts the birthday of that little Jones
boy next door.”
"What of It?” he demanded.
“Oh, nothing much," she replied; “on
ly I happen d to recall that Mr. Jones
gave our Willie a drum on his birthday."
"Well, do you think I feel under any
obligations to him for that?” he aslted
Irritably. “If you do you are mistaken.
If I owe him anything It's a grudge."
“Of course," she answered sweetly.
"That’s why I thought that perhaps you
might want to give the Jones boy a big
brass trumpet"—Chicago Post
rr
THE ALABAMA_GOLD MINES
Several Now in Operation and
New Ones Opening.
AN EXPERT-ON THE SUBJECT
’ he Yellow Veins and Pockets Which Are Being
I
Developed in the State—Some Inter
esting Gossip Bboirt Mines.
Alaska has gold. * 'i u’ i' ’"Cf
Alabama has gold, too.
Alaska is loe bound nine months In
the year.
Alabamians never suffer from cold, the
fruits grow and the'flowers blossom from
January to December.
I’e"ple are flocking to Alaska, many
to starve, others to grow rich. In no
other country in the world could gold be |
saved under similar climatic conditions,
but experts say the mines of the Klon
dyke regions will yield millions.
Klondyke is said to have originated
from the old Indian word Trondak, which
is inteipreted "A land of flsh.”
Alabama's wealth does not lay in one
source. She is a state of minerals. Gold,
iron, coal and copper abound in her ap
parently worthless vermilKon hills. Her
iron and coal have been developed and
as far back as 1845 mines were operated
profitably in Cleburne, Clay. Tallapoosa
and other counties.
“Gold is still being mined, but we can
not hope to rival the west with her vast
fields of ore, on account of the dlsadvan- I
tagcs we must overcome In saving the
metal."
This statement was made by Mr. J,
Winston Smith, whose blood quickens
nt th/e mention of a gold mine, Just as the
BportsmaJn starts at the yelp of the hound
when ha hits the itnali.
“Gold mines were operated in Alabama
at a profit betw en he years 1845 and 1849.
Many of these mines are being operated
now. Probably the most valuable prop
erly in the state is the Stone Hill cot: m
copper mine, which saw Its palmy days
between the yearstl873 and 1876. During
these years large quantities of black
oxide was shipped to the Pope-Cole com
pany, Baltimore, Md„ at a big profit.
“Afterwards It was undertaken to smelt
the copper arid furnaoets wefle ererited, hut
on eocoumt of tlhe Inaccessibility to coke
and limerock foir a flux, smelting proved
a failure, and alt this time copper also
began: to decline In value.
When/ Mr. Smi'ilh was found a>t his office
ho was explaining some specimens of or at
jviore Exp-n» ve
“You can readily comprehend our dis
advantages," continued the geirtlemaint
“whem I explain further. Thb gold of this
west i« not mixed in with Iron pyrites, ad
It la In this section. The gold of the west
is saved by tlhe free milling process, while
we are forced1 to a moire expansive pnooias
‘’About threw yeans ago 'Mr. W. D. Det
niek, of Heflin, secured a lease and option
on the property, and has been, operating
it since, chipping title ore to Newark, N.
J.. for treatment, which .ha claUnjs.ls done
ait coinsIdicna'ble proflit, not withstanding It
cqpts him $4 p ir ton Bo gdt it to the near
est railroad station. He gets a reburn of
gold, copper ainid silver, the ore carrying
all these nuetials in considerable qua®ti
tles. When R. J. Wood shipped are be
tween 1873 aired 1876 he got a return foir
only tifie copper contained In, the ora,'*
Mills Now in Operation.
“Do tlhe mills yet run at a profit? Yes,
several mines are now in operation that
yield a profit. A mill is running at Pime
tuqky, ir.i Randolph county. The Ivey
mine in Clay county is turning out ihs
precious metal, and the Idaho mine, be
ing operated by the Huntington mills, is
in operatic,lit, The Piinletucky ore is in a
Binall vein, but of a vory high grade. In
Clay county 'tlhe ore iB found to large
quantities, but is of a Ibw grade.
“Are lands yielding a large quanJttty
of ore, even though cf a low grade, pre
ferable to investors?" inquired the re
porter.
“This is always the cast.'' answered Mr.
Smith. “A low grad* ore containing
gold regularly is the most profitable.
“In the summer of 1895 much enthusi
asm was created by the finding of 510.QOO
in two packets at ‘the Arbacooehe* mines
in Cleburne county. These rich pockets
have been found at Intervals since 1849,
but the mine is doing little for its owners
now.”
Suspended for Improvements.
“There is a fifteen stamp and on eight
stamp mill In operation a't Susanna,
mines In Tallapoosa county. Operation*
have, however, been suspended until! con
centrators can 'be put in. This will be
done in order to save what is termed re
bellious gold.
“Developments are also being made on
the Houston-Wise property in Cleburne
county. The shaft has been run down
135 feet and the operators report that
they are satisfied with results so Par, al
though sn machinery boa been, put in
for reducing the gold.
“Whait do I think about Alaska?
There is big money in Alaska for some
body and lots of disappointments in s.oro
for otb- rs. There will 'hardly he- a whale
sale influx of gold hunters to Alaska, but
it is safe to say mills wtil be c per,it d to
advantage for many years."
RUSSIA’S BIG PIPE LINE,
The hundred-mile pipe line of the Na
tural Gas company, of Pittsburg, Is at
present the longest in the world, but a
line is building in the Caucasus from
Michailove to Ratoum. which is 214 Rus
sian verst, or almost 150 miles long. It
will be finished within a few weeks, and
its estimated cost will exceed 5,000.000
rubles (53,000,000.)
ENDORSED BY PHY
SICIANS.
For medicinal purposes try
a bottle of Win. Wise’s famous
J. Morton Rye, six years old;
full quarts for 75c; quality
guaranted. 2Q9-21I 19th St.
Phone 544.
*8 ' ~ >
EXTREMES
Presented by the Grades of Two North Carolina i
Railroads.
■ - 1
"For Its length the champion railroad lra
this country for tunnels, s eep giades,
lofty trestles and sharp curves," -aid m
railroad builder, "is tbs Cranberry rail
road, which extends from Johnson City.
Term., to the Cranberry iron mines im
North Carolina, a distance of thlr'.y-fivo
miles. It runs through a region of m >un
tains, ravines and swift, crooked streams. 1
There are six long tunnels, cut througr*!
solid rock, and a score or mor^of trcstba
spanning deep, wide gorges, some of th> rrt;
at a height of nearly 200 feet above tin*
bol.itoms of (the chasms. Grades of 150 feet
to the mile ar- common. The road waa
•begun as a standard gauge road, bu 1ft'
was found Impossible to build it of that
gauge owing to the heavy grades and tha
sharp curves, some of which ilnTJsa
double on themselves, and it was change-!*
to a narrow gauge. Even then it cosh
over Ji.0,000 a mil to build.
"While the Cranberry railroad is per
haps the crooked.s, and steepest railroad
of its kind in the country, another Nor Lh
Carolina road is the straigh-test and ino^t
‘Pvel. This is .the Carolina Central, part
o' the Seaboard Air Litre system, which
for 125 miles has not the sltgh est curve
nor as much as a foot of cutting, with na
gtade as much as a foot‘to the mile.—New)
York Sun.__
Gladness Comes
With a better understanding of the
transient nature of the many phys
ical ills, which vanish before proper ef
forts—gentle efforts—pleasant efforts—
rightly directed- There is comfort in
the knowledge, that so many forms of
sickness are not due to any actual dis
ease, but simply to a constipated condi
tion of the system, which the pleasnnt
family laxative, Syrup of Figs, prompt
ly removes. That is why it is the only
remedy with millionsef families, andia
everywhere esteemed so highly by all
who value good,health. Its bejiencial
effects are due to the fact, that it is the
one remedy whloh promotes internal
cleanliness without debilitating the
organs on which it acts. It is therefore
all important, in order to get its bene
ficial effects, to note when you pur
chase, that you have the genuine arti
cle, which is manufactured by the Cali
fornia Fig Syrup Co. only and sold by
all reputable druggists.
If in the enjoyment of good health,
and the system Is regular, laxatives oi
other remedies are then not needed. II
afflicted with any actual disease, one
may be commended to the most skillful
physicians, but if In need of a laxative,
one should have the befit, ana with the
well-lnforined everywhere, Syrup ol
Figs stands highest dud to most largely
used and gives mest gerftvrsd eatisfaoua&
HRMINGHMRJHDUSTHE&
Patronize Home Industries am}
Build Up Birmingham, 1
Baskets and Butter Trays.
Bates manufacturing co.. monol
factum split baskets, wire end buttS
trays, 1702 First avenue. 'Phone 212.
__ Boiler Works, y jJ
BIRMI t^IAlT^OTLER^OnK8?,rnai2^
ufacturers or all klnd9 of boilers, furtfl
acep and. sheet-iron Work. Get their prtoaf
before plAo'.ng yopr order. Office aria
works, 24th st., avenue- A and Powell awr
enue. ’Phone 1132. Repair work promplla t
attended to. j
Bridge and Boiler Works. Jsj
~~ ’~l — i — — — — — ~ ~ ~ — — — i - - - - i~i —> ruraM
Alabama bridge and boiler
WORKS, W. M. Nalls, J. H. McCune.
proprietors. Avenue A and Twenty-second
street Structural work, furnaces, boileri
bridges. ^
Brass and Bronze Foundry.
THE O. L. ANDERSON CO., (limited),
brass and brcmse foundry, corner Twen
ty-fourth street and First avenue. Bolling
mill and blast furnace work a specialty.
'Phone, 882.
Bridge and Structural Work,
C OUTHERN BRIDGE CO., B. H. Harda
O way Prest.; B. O. Watkins, Vlce-Prest.i
W. R. Btarbuck, See’y and Treas,: manu
facturers and builders iron and steel struct
ural work. Highway bridges a specialty.
Brooms and Alabama Rolled Oats.
M’MILLAN-LEE CO., manufacturers of
brooms and packers of Alabama rolled
oats. 2106-7 Morris avenue.
Cotton-Seed Mill. *
PERRYMAN & CO., manufacturers of the
Enterprise cot'on seed mill, dealers in
pulleys, belting^ and mill supplies. 172S
First avenue.
Engines and Foundry Work,
HARDIE-TYMES FOUNDRY AND MA
CHINE CO., manufacturers of engines,
boilers and mining machinery, furnace
work, all kinds castings and repair work.
First avenue and Twenty-sixth street.
Founders and Machinists.
HOOD MACHINE CO., founders and ma
chinists, repairers of machinery. Heavy
i forgings, car wheels and axles of all kinds.
I Builders of electric locomotives. First
avenue and Fifteenth street. ’Phone.^OD.
WILLIAMSON IRON CO., foundry, ma,
chine and boiler shop. First avenue and
Fifteenth street. ’Phone, 208.
:___"-tL-:_a
Harness and Saddlery Maker.
AC. RECKLING, manufacturer of Ha»
. ness and Saddlery. Buggy trimming
done to order. 215 19th St. ’Phone 206.
A> CHOIlXiiM
Uuttod States Mall Steamships
Bail from New York Evory Saturday lot
Glasgow via Londonderry.
R.Mes lor Saloon Peas n.ge—City of Hornet
$7.»; other steamers, $5(». Second Cabin-*
Home, $12.50; Fttrnesbia, *57.80; other
F»tf limits, $35. Steerage Passage— Roraei
$25.80; ruinesala, $24;50; other ateattef^
$23.50. l or new illustrated Book of Tour*
and inrtlier In’orwatlon. apply to
HKNDIIVON BROTHERS,,
( moral Agent*. 7 Bowling Green, N. x;; 0#
CK v. JO:• NSTON,Agent, JJnion Depot, off
!? k \ u v H 'UPi , 18 J4 First Avenue, Btrmln^.
4 i t *: \ia- inly