194., The workers in coal and iron.— Smelting iron is hot, dirty work; never theless, men of many nations have come to Pittsburgh to work in these mills. In that city we can hear men speaking Swedish, German, French, Italian, Bul garian, Rumanian, Polish, Russian, Greek, and several other languages.
The need for workers in mine or factory has caused towns to spring up suddenly where a few years ago there were fields and forests. The foreigners who came to America, are not used to our ways and do not know our ideals. Their children must be taught our language and what it means to be a good American. Some of us forget that all people in America except the Indians were once foreigners.
195. Where iron is made.—Pittsburgh is called the Smoky City because the soft coal that is 'burned in the iron furnaces and steel mills theye makes a heavy smoke that often hangs over the city. (Fig. 195.) There are many more of these furnaces and mills in smaller cities and towns along the rivers near Pittsburgh, and between Pitts burgh and Lake Erie. Buffalo also has great iron and steel industries, using coke from western Pennsylvania to smelt the ore right beside the dock where the steamers unload it.
Large new iron factories, called iron and steel plants, have been built recently in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, and in other Pennsylvania towns. Some of the ore for these eastern Pennsylvania plants comes through the ports of Balti more and Philadelphia, from Cuba, Swe den, and even from Chile. Soon we shall be getting iron ore from Brazil, which has more iron ore than has any other country. American companies have bought mines there.
196. Pennsylvania coal. — Pennsylvania leads all the states in the production of coal. It has two kinds of the finest quality. In the east ern part of the state, about Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, is the hard coal that people like to burn in their stoves and furnaces.
Eight different railroads carry the coal from these hard coal mines, which are only a hundred miles from Philadelphia and from New York. Both of these cities are great coal markets, and both of them send out to New England cities many boats loaded with coal, for there is no coal in New England.
In western Pennsylvania, as you have already learned (Sec. 191), are the mines of soft coal. The soft coal fields are much larger than the hard coal fields, and more soft coal is used. This is the coal
that is burned in steel mills, in most factories, and in loco motives. The soft coal fields are near the ports on Lake Erie to which the lake boats come bringing iron ore. The return ing ore boats carry coal to the cities on the upper lake and across into Canada, since there is no coal in the part of Canada near the Great Lakes.
In such a cold country as Canada people need much coal.
Pittsburgh is well located to ship coal also to the southwest. Boats on the Ohio River (Fig. 195) early coal down stream as far as New Orleans, where ocean steamers often take on hundreds of tons apiece to run their engines across the seas.
Many factories for making various kinds of things have been built near both of the Pennsylvania coal fields. Thus the coal fields help to make manufactures, and to provide work for many, many people.
197. England's coal trade.—From 1850 to 1900, England was the greatest manufacturing nation of the world. For a long time she dug more coal and made more iron than the United States did. But the United States now leads all Europe in coal production. Although England used to dig all her iron ore at home she now buys much of it from Spain, Sweden, and Norway. (Fig. 204.) In all these countries there are ore mines near the sea, handy for ships.
Although the United States mines the most coal, England exports more of it than any other country of the world. How does this happen? Because ships go from many lands to England full of grain, lum ber, and cotton, and many of them take back coal.
198. Coal in other for eign lands.—Many countries have no coal. Not one of :the countries on the Mediterranean Sea has enough for its own use. They all buy it from England. Even during the World War, when ships were so very scarce, many of them had to be spared to carry coal from England to Italy. (Fig. 205.) In Europe there is one small coal field that lies in three countries—France, Belgium and Germany. Since coal makes manufacturing easier, this coal field is dotted with factory towns. No country in South America has enough coal for its own Use. These countries, too, must get coal from over the sea. Australia has some to spare, and she sends it across the wide Pacific to supply the people of Chile, in South America.