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!• LOYD’S BADXITE BEDS
LARGEST IN AMERICA.
Millions of Tons of The Ore to Be Had Wittiiii
A Radius of Thirty Miles of Rome
and Mined at Sma'l Cost.
Facts and Figures Hitherto
Unpublisli <1
Used in Argnm nts in the United States
Senate and House for a Protic lie
Duty Under Dingley Bill,
THE VARIED USES OF ALUBIRUM.
History and Description Os Its Man
ufacture, and Progress Made in
America.—lts Use Is But
in Its Infancy,
By Houstonn R. Harper.
The only bauxite mines of any ex
tent hi the United States are located
within thirty miles of Rome.
In Floyd county, where this valua- j
ble ore, from which aluminum is
made, was first discovered there are
three large mines in successful opera
tion.
Millions of tons are to be found in
Whitfield, Gordon, Bartow, Chattoo
ga, Polk and possibly other counties
besides Floyd, and also in Cherokee
county, Ala. The only other bauxite
beds in the United States are said to
be in Arkansas, but the quality is too
poor to be cf much use.
The world’s principal supply of
bauxite has hitherto come from
France, but with a small protection
duty, as Congres man John W. Mad
dox and Senator Steve Clay showed to
congress this “infant’’ industry of
Northwest Georgia would become one
of the mightiest in our great nation.
The product of the mines in the
Rome region is officially reported as
follows:
Year. ‘ To ° B
1890 1 844
1891 3 393
1898
1893 9 179
11 066
1895 1? 969
18.364
For 1897 the product promises to
show a great increase over last yean
In the facts submitted to congress
through the Dingly bill investigations
is was shown the French bauxite was
brought here as ballast at JI 80 per
ton. This is unloaded at Philadelphia,
Baltimore or New York, and delivered
to furnaces at a small advance cost
for handling and freight.
The cost of freight from Rome to
Pittsburg and Boston, where the
main reduction furnaces are located,
is J 4 and $5 per ton respectively. This
shows the necessity for the protection
of this “infant” industry from foreign
competition.
At present the importation is about
25,000 tons per annum. A cousidera-
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THE ROME CHEMICAL WORKS.
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ble amount of -the Floyd county orc
has been exported, because for certain
special purposes it is more easily]
treated than* the French bauxite.'
For some chemical processes certain
grades of bauxite found near Rome'
are superior to any in the world. Tte’
great cost of rail and ocean freights,
however, is riot encouraging to tkpcyf
tation. ,
The numerous and marvelous uses
for aluminum promise to revolutionize
the world. Aluminum is as strong as
iron and light as wood. Cartridge
bulls, canteens and all military equip
ment for European soldiers are to be
made from this new metal. Further
on we deal with this subject exten
sively.
In this wonderful new metal North
west Georgia promises to supply this
nation, if not the world, and it may
yet become a stupendous industry in
this section.
HISTORY OF BAUXITE,
First Mined in the United States Near
Rome,
Bauxite was first mined in this coun
try in the year 1889, when 728 tons were
produced in Northwestern Georgia, not
far from the city of Rome, and that dis
trict (embracing also the adjoining ter
ritory in Northeastern Alabama), con
tinues to be the Bauxite region of the
United States. The ore has been found
in other parts of the country, but is not
mined elsewhere than in the region re
ferred to; its development there, how
ever, has been such that for some years
past very much more ore has been avail
able than the market would take. Four
companies are now engaged in mining:
The Republic Mining and Manufactur
ing company was the first and com
menced shipments in 1889; the Southern
Bauxite Mining and Manufacturing
company, in 1891; the Georgia Baux
' ite Mining aud Manufacturing com-
I pany in 1892, and the American Baux-
I ite company recently. In addition
I some little ore has been shipped by in
dividuals.
The business has generally been but
slightly remunerative on account of the
low price at which the ore has been sold
and the limited quantity which the
market would take. lu fact the condi
tion of the business has been such that
but little ore except that which was of a
very high charac'er and from mines
which could be cheaply operated has
been ss tisfartorily marketed.
Before and since the development of
the Georgia-Alabama region, bauxite
has reached this country from the south
of France and from Ireland. Almost
all the bauxite now imported comes
from France. It is mined near the
Mediterranean coast by very cheap labor,
and is put on board ship at Marseilles
or near by ports at extremely low figures.
Both steamers and sailing vessels com
ing to this country for cargoes are anxi
ous for such heavy freights, and take it,
in some conditions of the shipping
market, almost at ballast rates ; when
other conditions rule, the rates are
higher but rarely veay high, Ore has
'THE ROME TRIBUNE. TRADE "EDITION,
been brought over as low as JI or less
per ton.
The Georgia-Alabama mines are so
far inland, that rail freights must re
presmt a laige pr- portion of the cos .
The French shfpp r can reach Philadel
phia nr New York, oonsi lering freiu" t>
alone, at an average of perhaps JI 50 or
J 2 per ton leis than the American ship
per—and there is a much greater differ
ei oe in his reaching B sron. These
fr-iirht differences, e-peo’nlly when
almost ballast rates are ruling, make
the competition a hard one for the
American miner, and yet every Ameri
can consumer has a real interest that
the home region should furnish a reli
able ard steady supply instead of his
being dependent as formerly on a dis
tant foreign source with all the flloc u
atibns in freights, etc., incident thereto
(In the house bill bauxite is given the
same duty and is embraced in the same
paragraph as common unwtought clay,
JI OO.perton, but the senate hill puts'
bauxite on the free list and allows the
duty to re.tnain on the common clay
Pertain' y a duty of JI. per ton on baux
ite seems a much lower rate than JI.
per ton on common clav; but the senate
committee, instead of increasing the
duty on bauxitp, has taken it off en
tirely. It is believed that a duty of even
JI. per ton would give some stabi'ity to
the business and encourage the develop
ment of the mines in the bauxite region
and aid this “infant industry” in a sec
tion where diversified industries are as
suredly greatly needed—Georgia andl
Alabama. It is true that bauxite was on
the free list Tn the tariff of 1890, but as
stated mining in this country only com
menced in 1889, and the business was
not launched when that tariff bill be
came the law.)
Bauxite is used in chemical works for
the manufacture of alum and alumina
and from the latter the metal aluminum
is made.
The consumption of alum is far larger
than is generally known by those who
are not brought directly into connection
with the business. The future of alumi
num is a theme upon which very much
has been written and many brilliant
predictions have been made—the pro
duction is nlready considerable and
growing rapidl". A discussion of alum
and aluminum does not come within the
scope of this brief paper, but their fu
ture manufacture is directly dependent
upon the bauxite supply. Therefore the
importance of a systematic development
of the biuxite industry is not confined
. to the two states which furnish the ore.
but the whole country should be inter
es»ed in the proper opening up of a re
gion whose mineral resources in this
line may assrme large proportions and
add materially to the wealth of the ,na
tion.
HOW ALUMINUM IS MADE,
Description Published in the Ameri>
can Review of Reviews.
The Oxide, which is obtained from
bauxite quarried by the company in
Georgia, is fused with cryolite iu pots
of boiler-iron lined with carbon. An
electric current is passed through these
long series of pots, arid the result is
precisely similar to what it was when
Hall fi-st sent the seven-cell Grove
battery current through his two-inch
crucible in Oberlin —the melted alum
inum collects on the carbon negative
el ctrode. and, as already stated, the
quantity thus collected daily is meas
ured in tons.
Continually, night and day, with
out cessation, this operation proceeds.
The raw material is fed in as required;
the product is removed and the car
bon renewed. The waste of the pro
cess is said to be so slight as hardly to
be an element of calculation. Then
comes the casting into ing. ts and bars
the rolling into sheets, and the draw
ing into rods and wire.
Previous to the opening of the Pitts
burg works practically no pure metal
was made in the United States. The
market price of what was imported
had not been lower than J 5 a pound
in New York. The American manu
facturers were soon able to place the
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THE ROME IRON FURNACE
pure metal ot - the market at 50 cents
a pound, and an impotant Veduc'ion
from this price has lately been made.
Bes d-'S the original w-rks near Pitts
burg, which have been op -rated con
tinuously s nee November, 1888, two
plants at Niagara Falls are now ope
rated by the same company, and the
total productive capacity of the three
plants is more than ten thousand
pounds of aluminum a day. Tnis out
put nearly «quals the combined daily
capacity of all the aluminum works
of Europe together.
NEW USES FOR ALUMINUM.
Taking Its Place With Iron and Steel
as the Most Useful Metals.
Aluminum bids fair to become,
within the next half century, one of
the most useful of metals, says the
Philadelphia Times. Scarcely a week
goes by that some new field of usetul
riees for it is not discovered. From a
strong possibility of becoming the
metal which enters most largely into
the subsidiary coins of the United
States government to the newest of
shoes for the feet of horses, it runs
through a catalogue of US'S that is
marvelous in its extent. Iron and
steel have long been known as the two
most useful metals. Aluminum must
now be given a place with either of
them.
The odd usee to which this metal is
put are almost innumerable. The
gruesome metallic casket of copper
and steel that is used to hide away
forever the mortal tenements of hu
manity is gradually being replaced by
the lighter aluminum affair, which
answers the purpose more satisfac
torily, and and at the same time may
be hermetically sealed.
Almost a revolution has been cre
ated by aluminum among- the litho
graphers. The chances are that nine
persons out of ten suppose the old
stone processs, as it is called, is still in
vogue. This consisted of tracing on
a slab of stone, known as lithograph
ographers’ stone, whatever it was de
sired to take a lithograph of. To print
these lithographs under the old sys
tem described necessitated the use of
a fl it press, and this meant slowness
of speed. With the up-to-date alumi
num lithographic plate it is different.
The aluminum plate may be bent so
that it will fit upon the cylinder of a
fast press, making the speed fullj 100
per cent greater, and thus saving ex
pense on the basis that time is money.
So far as Uncle Sam and aluminum
there is much to think of. Should
aluminum, as seems very probable
now. succeed copper as the metal in
use at the mint, every person who
utilizes a penny will be affecti d
When that day comes each cent will
be light weight and a thousand times
more convenient to carry about. For
this use aluminum is also preferable,
it is said, from a hygenic standpoint,
as copper affords a resting place for
microbes of various diseases, which
aluminum’certainly would not do.
Some months ago a series of expe
riments with aluminum were carried
on at the United States mint at Phil
adelphia, and although not as exten
sive as they might have been, were
sufficiently so to prove that the sub
stitution of aluminum for copper in
money was entirely feasible. The
matter was reported upon by the
congressional committee upon coin
age weights and measures, and in
view of its report it is very likely that
some action will be taken at the next
session of congress.
Speaking of hygenic purposes of
aluminum, It is said to be as excellent
a purifier of water as there is. The
silts of aluminum are insoluble in
water, consequently it is plain that
when these salts are formed the water
can be strained and the impurities re*
moved from it. Perhaps the most pop
ular method of purification of water
by means of aluminum is what is
known as the trough method. The
trough is composed of plates of alnm-
inum and zinc, or iron six or eight
inches apart.
one end of the tank affords an en
trance for the volume ot water which
passes over the top of one p ate and
thence under the plate next to it, this
being accomplished by the fact that the
elevation of the plates is different. Iu
connection with this tink or trough;
here is a moderate-sized electrical gen
erator. Aluminum will not form the
negative pole of a current, but the other
plates used will. It is always the case
that when an electric current comes in
contact with water in this fashion, it
decomposes a certain poition of the
fluid, as it were.
The result of this decomposition is
that ozone is formed and oxygen freed.
This means absolute extinction to any
microbes or any organic matter which
the water might contain, leaving it, af
ter meeting the purification, the salts cf
aluminum occasion, as clear and health
ful as the water which flows from the
purest, spring. There are other metho is
of purifying water by the use of alum
inum, but they are not adopted to any
extent, the trough or tank system al
ways having been productive of the
best results.
Possibly one of the greatest claims of
aluminum to preference is that it is
cheaper, for, although the demand for
it has tremendously increased, there has
been no notable increase in price. It
costs much less than zinc or copper, for
instance, and it is replacing them in
many instances, such as in the manu
facture of paper and celluloid. Even
some of the most popular musical in.
straments are made ot aluminum. Tne
mandolin, the guitar, the banjo are all
constructed of the metal ocsasionally.
Even the violin has bean made of alum
inum, aud very successfully.
THE ROME BUGGY CO,
Its Short Career Has Been One of
Unprecedented Success,
Among the many branches of busi
ness conducted in communities there
are none that contribute more to the
general convenience than that of car
riage and wagon making. Hence the
enormous demand for these articles
has rendered their munufacture an
important industry, and one in which
the Americans have, by their skill
and ingenuity, outstripped all compe
tition.
The leading representative of this
industry in Rome is the extensive es
tablishment of the Rome Buggy Com
pany of which W. J. Satterfield and
R. L. Williams are at its head as
agents
The qompany was established on
May Ist, 1897. and its success has
more th n met the expectations of
the men at is head.
The concern manufactures all kinds
of carriages, buggies, phaetons, sur
reys, road, spring and delivery wag
ons, drays, etc., in fact everything on
wheels.
Special attention is giving to re
pairing, overhauling, painting, car
riage trimming and general black-
h. N. KUTTNER !
* $
W
W F’OK *
f Fine Footwear, s
%
-mithing The premises at 509 and
511 Broad street fully equipped
with all the i.ecessaiy machinery,tools
and appliances for conducting the
business on an elaborate ' scale, and a
large force of skilled, mechanics ara
constantly emyloyed.
A visit tq. this well appointed re
pository will repay the reader to note
the fine dup'ay of vehicles of every
discription of the latest and most ar
tistic designs and superior workman
ship and finish. The trade territory
of the company extends beyond the
regular trade radius of the city, and
is rapidly increasing, which is due
largely to the able management, the
liberal business methods pursued,
and the superior quality of the pro
ducts. A noteworthy feature of the
Rome Buggy Company is that all its
products are made of the very best
material money can buy, and not an
article is allowed to leave the premi
ses that is marred by the slightest
imperfection.
In addition to their own make of
vehicles, Messrs. Satterfield aud Wil
liams have a large and well arranged
stock of the manufacturers of some of
the largest concerns in the country.
Their prices are as low as is consistent
with good workmanship.
Concluding it may bo added that
those wanting a first-class vehicle can
do no better than to call on this com
panv. All work is first class and sat
isfaction guaranteed in every in
stance.
J. DARCY,
Professional Horse Sheer, Second
Avenue, Near Land Co, Bridge,
The unswerving rectitude, high prin
ciple and great energy as applied in
business have a fitting exemplar in
Mr. J. D’Arcy, the leading horse
shoer of Rome. Mr. D’Arcy is an ex
cellent type of the young man in busi
ness who sticks to the well worn meth
ods of strict honesty and fair dealing
and succeeds by dint of honest effort
and perseverance
“J. D’Arcy, professional horse shoer,”
has been established in Rome for the
past three years and as each year has
become numbered with the past, he has
steadily increased his business and repu
tation. He has deservedly earned the
title of piofessional, and the writer
doubts if there is a more practicable
man in this business in America. Rome
is indeed fortunate in having such «n ex
pert in its midst. Aside from his Regu
lar shoeing business, Mr. D’Arcy is an
expert in treating interfering, and lame
horses, when the trouble lies in the foot,
and has gained no little notoriety io
this section through the success he has
met in this line. All work is attended
to personally and satisfaction guaranteed.
He solicits your trdae.
Begin Housebuilding at the Top.
The Japanese begin building their
houses at the top. The roof is first built
and elevated on a skeleton frame. Then
it affords shelter to the workmen from
storms.
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