ctors, Mr. Mallory, who says: "The
Concentrating Works had been in operation, and we had produced a
considerable quantity of the briquettes, and had been able to sell
only a portion of them, the iron market being in such condition that
blast-furnaces were not making any new purchases of iron ore, and
were having difficulty to receive and consume the ores which had been
previously contracted for, so what sales we were able to make were at
extremely low prices, my recollection being that they were between $3.50
and $3.80 per ton, whereas when the works had started we had hoped to
obtain $6.00 to $6.50 per ton for the briquettes. We had also thoroughly
investigated the wonderful deposit at Mesaba, and it was with the
greatest possible reluctance that Mr. Edison was able to come finally to
the conclusion that, under existing conditions, the concentrating plant
could not then be made a commercial success. This decision was reached
only after the most careful investigations and calculations, as Mr.
Edison was just as full of fight and ambition to make it a success as
when he first started.

"When this decision was reached Mr. Edison and I took the Jersey Central
train from Edison, bound for Orange, and I did not look forward to the
immediate future with any degree of confidence, as the concentrating
plant was heavily in debt, without any early prospect of being able
to pay off its indebtedness. On the train the matter of the future was
discussed, and Mr. Edison said that, inasmuch as we had the knowledge
gained from our experience in the concentrating problem, we must, if
possible, apply it to some practical use, and at the same time we must
work out some other plans by which we could make enough money to pay
off the Concentrating Company's indebtedness, Mr. Edison stating most
positively that no company with which he had personally been actively
connected had ever failed to pay its debts, and he did not propose to
have the Concentrating Company any exception.

"In the discussion that followed he suggested several kinds of work
which he had in his mind, and which might prove profitable. We
figured carefully over the probabilities of financial returns from the
Phonograph Works and other enterprises, and after discussing many plans,
it was finally decided that we would apply the knowledge we had gained
in the concentrating plant by building a plant for manufacturing
Portland cement, and that Mr. Edison would devote his attenti