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Show Gov. Maw Pleads for Pis: Iron Plant to Be Built Here Mt. Pleasant! Hopeful For Bright Future .:'j'.oa:v,"iii.'!! was made Saturday Sat-urday m Wivimsi, D. C. (Mil two uuartrs that tne re js hopes the construction of an $t!.0o0,-I $t!.0o0,-I P S plain Kva'.tJ n the vtc.mty of Ml. Pleasant. favorf ble svniiiiwm" (or tae ! r i iron plant w announced by L;'v.vewor Horiv.-t B. Mi and Senator Abt Murdevk o.' Utah after af-ter the officials conferred .:. Prvsidenl Roosevelt. L:W is inol.ier poi-bi!;tv wis con-sirociien con-sirociien of a So.0J0.0oJ s'.oo! re.-ll to operated m conjunction conjunc-tion :th the pi .ron pla-.t. Governor Maw and Senator M-irdovk quoted the pres. dent as sayjij! he was -immensely inter-, ciieu' m hearing of a proposed industry which, until Saturday, had r.ot been brought to his attention. at-tention. Hi commented that he was the more interested because he had ;st received telegram from Pace..: Pa-ce..: coast jh.pwrds cling a s;-.:r.age of steel (or government sh p cvristrjcruiioa. In Lie same conversation the -res-i.T.t d.scussed with Gover-rc-r Maw ar.d Sen a tec Murdock Lie proposed small -arms ammu-r.'.o.T ammu-r.'.o.T plant (or which the governor gov-ernor has been plugging all week, and ho callers (eel cor.f.dent treat if that prove, gvs to t.-.e president presi-dent with O P M indorsement it will receive prompt approval. So pleased were the senator 1-4 governor with the pr.s der.t s reaction that they told h m, as they were teav. .-.(. that i( Utah can gel the p.g iron plant and tns small-arms ammunition factory. fac-tory. :l-.e state's unemployment problem '.li be solved and t.-.ere well be no more unemployed in tree state. Sach a p g iron plant as was r-r-osed to the president would "to ,xit:i !n the vicinity of Mt. Fleiiar.t, m close proximity to vast, but as yet undeveloped, deposits de-posits c! hig.i grade coking coal. The iron ore would be m.rved is Bull valley. 13 m.ies southwest el Iron mountain, and the construction con-struction c! 13 m.les of railroad would be necessary. Ever since he returned to 'iih:.-,g.on last January Sor.alor Murixk has been workir.? to Jakin g jverrme-.'. interest in the need for. and the benefits that would f.ow from the estab-ijhtr.e-.t of a major pig iroc. in-deirery in-deirery in Utah. He had tough ptcg at first, since O P M at tnat t-rr.e insisted there is ample steel capacity ava.iable in tine United Starts for defense needs, and no necessity for new production. Eut as time went on and Pa-ciix Pa-ciix coast shipyards. airplane iaihlarves ar.d otner industries be-jaa be-jaa to experience d ff.culty in g;.ir.g r.eel, the senator's prob-iern prob-iern became easier. Day after day he has had sessions with S. R. Fuller, in c.-.arge of production of raw materls for O P M, and a.'ter three moT.ths has convinced tim that Utan ofitrs a rare oppor-tswity. oppor-tswity. The president and Mr. Fuller ere so impressed with the project, proj-ect, as it has been outlined, that ihey indicate it should receive government backing, provided it is established that there is an Mu.-.da.nce of high-grade coking coal in the immediate vicinity oi &e pig iron plant. To satisfy Mr. filler, and to reassure the presi-dent. presi-dent. Senator Murdock produced I a report by J. Bryce Forester giv- ir:g the results of tests of samples i coal taken from the Mount Pleasant deposits which show it "ot only to be high-grade coking wal, but a better coking coal than a found elsewhere in the west, with higher agglutinating property proper-ty than tne coal of the Sunny-;ie Sunny-;ie field now used at the Columbia Co-lumbia steel plant at Provo, and getter than the coking coals from San Juan and Los Animas, Colorado, Colo-rado, on which the steel industry of Colorado is dependent. not only does the Mt. Pleasant coal have greater agglutinating properties, but it shows only a half to a third the ash content of jne competitive coals, according to this report. .The coal field on which the V-g iron industry would rely has trms far been tested only with diamond drills, but these tests "ave disclosed four mineable ?'ms, one above the other, rang-,n? rang-,n? in th;ckness from three to m'f e than five feet. Mr. Forester would not esti-"te esti-"te the probable quantity of , al within the entire region, but '?ures that on a 60 per cent recover re-cover a 5000-acre tract wouid ' 75'j million ton3, and with mining and 85 per cent re-wery re-wery wou4 yield 110 million jr"- The 5000-acre tract does '" begin to indicate the extent '! tae coal deposits, he said. En-'"eering En-'"eering estimates also have J?" mad of the iron ore in Buil '-y. and the president wa3 as- -uivd that th.Me i., ore enough1 -unt coal enough to support a UOO-UMi-a-day pig nm plant lor It'll v.ars. Not oniy wlu Uu. m rieus.uu .val lu: ni.-h all the eoko ruves-safy .or i.u p t ao plant, but could real ly produce surplus coke for -.'i;ch there is an eUtlor market' it ail industrial cities on the Pa-ucie Pa-ucie civast, which today are bringing bring-ing coke from as far east as Minnesota. Min-nesota. Incident M the production produc-tion of coke, large ciuaiUities of Kiis aiso would lv produced. I Lie president mad.- cl.ar his a Aar. ne.-s for the need for a better bet-ter and a chea-r supply of steel on the Pacific coast, the Utah roj.vt (.is into his scheme of tilings but, as Senator MurdocK tvin:ed out. m establishing a pig ron uulustiy m Utah, the government govern-ment would be setting up a last-industry last-industry that would survive alter the war; that once Utah was n a position to ship 1000 tons of Pig iron a day to the racific coast, industries would be assured assur-ed a supply at pr.ces decidedly nure favorable than they are paying today in the east. Sena- or Murdock's suggestion was tnat the government, if satisfied about lie Mt. Pleasant coal, erect the pig iron plant, open the mines and operate the industry (or the defense period, and then turn the establishment over to private industry. in-dustry. There is a counter suggestion that through the aid of RFC. o.-ivate industry might inaugurate inaugu-rate and operate tiie industry from the star:. That is something yet to be determined. The pres. dent was not asked to express a pr. .'erer.ee as to plan. 3ut having freshly before him te.egraphic reports on the steel shortage on the west coast he was doubly interested, and admitted he was most favorably impressed with the snowing made. He was told tna: laA year the seven far Aestrrn stales consumed 2.276,-000 2.276,-000 tons of steel, and produced only 670.000 tons. Now, with the shipbuilding and defense pro-,rams pro-,rams under way. the coast industries in-dustries require far more steel, and already are handicapped. Such a plant as Senator Murdock Mur-dock and iho governor were ad-viA.-at.r.g. producing 1000 tons of p.g iron a day. would compare w.th the present plant at Ironton witn a production of 350 tons a day. it was agreed that Senator Murdxk shwuld discuss the pig xon project with tne president. Governor Maw devoting his argument argu-ment to the proposed small-arms ammunition lactry. Each, however, how-ever, supported the other, and .or piaet.cai purposes, presentation presenta-tion of both projecls was made jointly. Tne senator and the gov-.rr.or gov-.rr.or were a unit in believing ..-.at if Utah can get these two .ndustries, its u n e m p 1 o y m e nt problem will be solved. A. L. Morton of Los Angeles and A. E. Morton of Salt Lake Ji'.y. w.i3 ions have: been inter-e;.ld inter-e;.ld m br.ng.ng about development develop-ment of a new' iron industry in Utah, and w.io have had tests made of both the iron deposits and coal beds, have acquired title to much of the land on wh.cn the now industry would depend lor its raw matrials. They con-.rol con-.rol other parts of both fields under un-der government leases. A. L. Morton, now in Washington, indicates in-dicates entire willingness to deal .ither with the govrenment or with private industry on a rental basis. Upon Governor Maw s return to Utah today he expressed optimism op-timism that Central Utah would get a pig iron plant. He seemed much encouraged about the project. |