Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-08-08
IRON {.
The from Trade In EnRland and
America.
Rsorn fha Nov, Rao.,..-..

"uuOeA " JC"Acs uaN more thar
doubled in value during the last twelve
months. In September, 1871, bar iron
was quoted in England at IS per ton,
At the commencement of the preseni
month it was selling at ELS 2s. Cd. ne,
ton, and with a probability that Il
would increase to Els per ton. The
advance in all the other kinds of iron
was at corresponding rate of increase,
The result is general disturbance in
values in all the various branches oi
trade in which iron constitutes the
chief or leading component. All kinds
of hardware, such as nails, plouphs.
and all kinds of agricultural and me.
chanical implements and cutlery. have
advanced from so TO 100 per cent. .
and the market is still rising. Botb
the iron masters and the iron manu-.
facturers refuse to accept orders for
future delivery except at current prices.
All the usual trade discounts have been
recalled, and the market is enti, ely un-
der the control of sellers, persons hold
ing back in anticipation of a reduction
beng finally compelled to buy at great
" increased pricea And this inflated
condition of the market is very far
from producing the usual effects of
diminishing consumption. The iron
masters in England, Scotland and
Wales are absolutely bare of stock and
have more orders to fill at the highest
rates of quotation than can be com.
pleted for six months to come. Buvers
from all parts of the world are in the
manufacturing districts trying to place
orders for immediate delivery, and are
frequently unable to do 80 at any price.
This extraordinary condition Of the
English iron trade shows that the sup.
ply has failed to keep pace with the in
creasing demands for consumption.
The close of the war between France
and Germany led to an extraordinary
demand for iron on the continent, and
the effects were soon felt in England,
the chief iron producing country in the
world. In that country exceptional
causes conduced to the enhancement OF
prices. In the first place, q general re
duction in the hours of labor increased
the cost of production from 20 to 80 per
cent. Then there was very consider
able increase in the price of coal. To
add to all this, the demand for iron was
largely increased by the new branch
es of industry to which it was
applied We now have iron
bridges, iron houses, iron ships, and
even iron forts and defenses. There
was also an enormously increased de-
mand for iron for railroads in all parts
of the world. Under these circum-
stances, there is little wonder that the
price of iron should increase to con-
siderable extent. Nor does there seem
to be any present prospect of q reduc-
tion in rates: English iron.masters
now have orders six months ahead,
and, as has been stated, stocks are alb
solutely depleted. A similar condition
OF affairs prevails in Belgium, France
and Germany. The iron trade in all
these countries presents the same feat
ures as in England. The demand is
greater than the supply, and buyers are
everywhere compelled to accede to the
terms of sellers or producers.
The remarkable increase in the price
of English iron, even without the aid
of the tariff, ought to stimulate the
production of American iron, and if we
mistake not it will produce that effect.
The Hon. David A. Wells estimated
that in 1859 the absolute cost of pro-
ducing pig iron, including interest on
capital and q reasonable allowance for
repairs and other incidental expenses,
was from $24 to $26 per ton currency.
English pig iron could not now be de-
livered in New York, without duty, at
anything like this price, and if
We add the tariff rate the profit
on homemade iron would
be simply enormous. In 1871 total Of
SIC, 618 tons of pig iron was imported in
to the United States from England. 1t
is estimated that it would only require
18 furnaces, producing 40 tone day,
to supply this demand. The cost OF
building these furnaces would not ex-
ceed 81, 500, ,00o. and at the present
price of pig iron, from $50 to $50 pc,
ton, the returns would be ample. The
cost of Goa! and production generally,
although it has advanced 10 much in
England, is, if anything, less
in the United States than it was three
or four years ago, when pig iron only
cost an outside price of $26 per ton to
make It.
We look for some such results az
this. The advance in iron in England
is likely to continue for some time, and
it is both probable and possible that
the present rates cannot be reduced
without an increased production in
other countries that would make the
supply equal to the demand. And no
country in the world possesses more
unbounded mineral resources than the
United States, or is better qualified to
compete with England for the iron
trade of the world. The entire ALE.
ghany range from Pennsylvania to Ala.
bama is rich with surface ores that can
be obtained at far less price than i,
costs in England. The increased price
of cotton during cur civil war stimu
lated the growth of cotton in q great
many countries, and it will be our OWE
fault if the present advance in English
iron Goes not enable us to enter into
competition with that country in thu
iron markets of the world.