Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1850-01-12
IRON MASTERS MEETING.

AT adjourned meeting of the Iron Masters and Others in
eresed in the manufacture of iron in Maryland held at TIT
Exchange Hotel the I'd instant, s. s. LEE Esq made
the following report behalf of the committee who hadbeer
appointed previous meeting report upon the presen
depressed condition of the ren interest of the State
The committee appointed g, the meeting of the iron
tiers, held in Baltimore the Sd Novembe 10 report upon
the present depressed condition Of the manufacture of The
State, respectfully report .'.#
That in the discharge the duty assigned them they have
obtained information from every furnace and rolling mill in
the State. The number of furnaces is thirty the
Der of rolling mills for bas and railroad iron is five. Of the
furnaces eleven have stopped within the last years. and
six have discontinued their mining operations, and
stopping fast the material hand is used up Those
now at work must also STOP unless there is change IN the
condition of the trade.
The rolling mills for the manufacture OF bars and railroad
iron show disastrous condition of that branch of
the iron Interest of the State. Of the five Mills only one
is at work, and that but partially the others having
been compelled to discontinue their operations the price for
English bars and rails having ruled below the cost of
ducing them for the last two years.
The amount of iron produced when the works ope
ration is about 600 tons of pig and about 600
bars and rail per In the manufacture of this
OF iron, support given to nearly SO, 900 persons in
State while in the coasng trade incident to it, large
number OF employed from other States for great
portion of the pig iron made in Maryland is carried the
manufacturing districts of New England by their coaspg
vessels and most of the bars and rails other parts of the
country.
Your committee find the chief for the extraordinary
depression of the iron interest to exist in the fluctuations
the English and Scotch markets. growing out of interruptions
in the usual channels Of their trade for whenever such inter-
rupons occur, in and A. and in the past years.
4s and 49, their surplus production is thrown upon the
American markets. Cutting it. and thereby causing the stop
page OF our works. and the consequent ruin OF large
Der of manu- facturers.
Your committee remedy for this, long the
present duty iron remains unchanged and the
difference wages between the countries exists The Eng7
lh and Scotch iron have perfect control their
labor, until is reduced almost to the point Of subsistence
through their thorough organic on the low interest CAPT.
tai, and the superabunda,ce Of borers-whie, in the
United States the demand for labor such that the iron
rs cannot reduce wages below the price paid borers in
other branches Of business At the regular quarterly meet
ings of iron masters in England the price Of Tor the
suing quarter declared and the price paid labor depends
upon the price Of iron declared.
The power which they possess their labor exhibited
their ability reduce the price the necessity Of the
may require, and still continue to manufacture it, For
ample during the years s45 1896 and ls47 the price Of
bar iron at Liverpool (see statement annexe averaged
spectvey, 49 As l3s, and f9 us; and before the
close of SiS the price reduced to 94 1885, and has
varied but few shng from that time the present, show
reduction in less than twelve months of nearly so
cent In Scotch pig iron the reduction has also been
great In lsa5 the average price "a 0s 3D. and in
s4s the average price only CO 2s and at that extreme
low price it has continued TO the present.
From the most reliable information your committee have
aseraned the cost of charcoal pig iron in the vicinity Of
Baltimore to be from S22 S23 SO per ton, and in the max
ing OF that iron the maeralore, WOOD &c. il stands in
and on the ground is worth only from 50 to SO per the
difference between the material and the being the
paid in its manufacture.
There situations the State where coal and ore
so contiguous that coke iron be produced less cost
but when the transportation market added the there
does not diff materially
The experience OF the last four has shown that the
ma poaoTen duty, chhouf minimum, laid by the Tariff
act OF 1885, has operated very nurousy the interest Of
the American manufacture For when the price Of iron is
high abroad the duty high home giving to our
acturers an incidental protection, which continues long
the foreign market remains bgh but as the foreign
market auctuates the duty falls with il that the time