608 CENTRAL MINERAL REGION OF TEXAS. 



D. IRON. 



From the vast extent of the workable fields, the enormous quantity ex- 

 posed in the outcrops, the unsurpassed quality of the product, and the re- 

 markably favorable conditions for economical mining, there is nothing equal 

 in importance to the iron ores of our district. Whenever they receive the 

 attention from ironmongers to which their manifest superiority entitles them 

 the industrial development of Central Texas will make strides far in advance 

 of the dreams of her present inhabitants. It seems marvelous that such ex- 

 tensive accumulations of the highest type of raw material, so readily accessi- 

 ble, have hitherto lain unapplied, if not really unrecognized, while material 

 of inferior quality occurring less abundantly has already become an import- 

 ant factor in the commercial development of Texas. There are three reasons 

 for this state of affairs, which it behooves us to remember in all discussions 

 bearing upon the industrial progress of the Central Mineral Region. 



First of all, railroads have not yet penetrated this field. In this respect 

 Eastern Texas has long held an important advantage. But railroads can al- 

 ways be had where capitalists can be made to realize their justification in 

 dollars and cents. We must therefore seek further for an explanation of the 

 past neglect of these undoubted resources. A full exposition of the facts can 

 do no harm to legitimate interests in the region. We thus discover that, 



Secondly, there is an insufficient present supply of fuel for the economical 

 reduction of these ores within the area in which they occur. I am aware 

 that contrary opinions have been held by residents of the district and by sev- 

 eral persons who have reported upon individual properties, but my assertion 

 is based upon careful personal observations in every portion of the area, ex- 

 tending over a period of many months of actual field study. The results of 

 such an investigation may, I think, be fairly regarded as more liable to be 

 correct than either the estimates of inexperienced residents or the judgment 

 of outsiders hastily skimming a part of the tract. In all questions relating to 

 metallurgic practice the value of opinions is mainly dependent upon the tech- 

 nical knowledge of the field and of the subject which is possessed by the per- 

 son reporting. This question is a vital one, and it will receive special atten- 

 tion presently. 



Thirdly, the citizens of different parts of Texas have not yet come to an 

 understanding with regard to the right relations of their respective areas as 

 commercial nuclei. This is a topic which few can discuss without local bias, 

 excepting those who view it as a simple economic problem ; nor is it really 

 advisable that it should be otherwise, looking merely from the standpoint of 

 an interested individual or a trade centre. Artificial aids, often the result of 

 wholly unforeseen causes, may remove natural obstacles or enable handicapped 



