, 1874-11-25
The Pennsylvania Coal Combination
Comes In for a Large Share
Of tho Responsibility.
Advantages Of Western Furnaces
Over Those ut tho East.
d General Cutting-Down Seriously Con
temp1atea.

,tr;ctlv priya.o, Tho attendance TaB unusually
arm, lilo owuor of almost overy furnace In tho
states mined being present in person or NY
,roxy. Arr. ". II. Auoy called tho meeting to
nrder. Mr.. q. DAWSON Coleman WAS elected
CHAIRMAN, aud Sfr. George ". Copcse Secretary.
Tie call having boon read by tho Secretary, Ill.,
looycs called for m expraRBion Of views.
Mr., Aiuoy proceeded to address tho meeting.
III paid tho necessity Of the call arose from thu
condition Of Affairs in tho LehigA valley. IL
was evident that If piG-iron furnaces wont on
producing, ruiu sn'ast result. Ae suggested tue
formation Of
An 1roH-MoSGEns' EXCHANGE,
= contral body with branches in producing con-
tres to fix tlo price Of ptg-iron. With the OK
cep;jon Of one company, tho production lad
been only one-lalf tho capncitics Of furnaces.
Tho Allentown Iron Company hns run full all tho
vcar. II all tho companies had run on shorter
limo tho situation would have beon battor TO-
day. There was about ono-third OF tho usual
demand except from pipo-1nl1s:
Dr. Noot arg,led That Oh much iron MAS snauo
on tho Upper SuHqnohanna nh was 1naoo hftcon
Years ago; yet tllero was no demand ior more
tlan half tho output. Ao "antco tno mee'he
10 resolve
TO CuRrA1L PRODUCTION,
nrd fix Il prico for wliut iron MAS still on hand.
.Yt;o question WAS whether they should 80 Oh
with production and injuro ono another:
,lr RicEert snid that tho gtock on hand had
not Increased in tho Scluylkill valloy SO largely
as in other places, yet producers woEc Wiling 10
do wlat tho meeting world do.
atr, kaufman thought tho Lower s,'aqnohnn-
had ita share Of stock, but there shonla ne u
combination, and tho iron-produccra would haYo
either to blow out or blow up.
alr, Keoyca haid that Of hiB Two furnaces. ono
was bowi, out. It would be better to blow out
entirely, but for tho good of ph%nisvlllS :s i he
mill Ind worry little to do. Ho Thought
TINT tho pig-iron mon were not 30 badly
of rs bnr-ron men. Tho price Of coal aud
transportaton should bo reduced. and thus onso
affairs. Everybody waH apparently waiting to
eee whether tito price OF iron had touched bot
tom. M. QUO would pay tho present prices it
Le thought tlley won1 60 lower.
Mr. Whitaker called attention to
THE COAL. CoaIN1SATloN
which controlled prizes in Philadelphia, while tn
tho oitumiuous region coal could not 10 COL
trollcd.
to pay the men about tue 1ufnaco " or ~ per
Nlr, Whitaker argued that. if rig-iron mon
made q combination, tho bar mon would also
combine. The trouble vas With the goal mo-
paid more for conl than i'll 1877, when iron was
Mr. Donnott saitl that wagos wcro not 90 low
at pittsburg as in the EaBt. In the Nestorn part
OWED THEIR OWN ouAL,
md wero not under lhe in!!uenco OF any s'loh
coal combination as existed in Eastern pennsyl-
yaula, 1t WAS ouly Bnce the War tlat Wostorn iron
had bccu sold IN tile Eastern markets.. Tho
Ncster1, producers possesaed no advantage in
freight East over Eastern freight WeRt. For
example, Eastern freight men had sold plate
West lower than Western men could mako it.
lie uBod to buy throe-fourths Of his iron along
tho SueuuehanEn River. So many furnaces had
rono nj through tho West tlnt tho West sup
5,|icd tlo iron mills themselves. Tho condition
Of tho market WIS tho samo West as IN tho East.
tlat they lntorfolei with the sale OF the surplus
Easteln pig-iron. Hence tho Eastern market
was hurt in this way also yet
HALF THE FURNACES IN TIE WEsT WERE ouT,
dry iron lad boon sold at the Weat us low aR pig.
iron. Tho bottom would not be found 30 Ions
aB BUYERS could 70 into the market and lind the
producers willing to sell at any price. Tho roo
should bo atruok at' anu THO PRODUCTION cur
Nlr. Rcoycs asked II tho question would b.
,olyod il all the gentlemen in the tsado agrcet
10 PHI ont their turnacos now.
oig-iron would in tho next sixty days blow on
.or four months. foundry iron in that timo Touit
soll at S32 in tho Lehgh Valley
Mr.. Coleman said that the trade In tho Mlassa
sippi Valley was loAs. aud was II II tue nands o
Tho btutninouH pjG-lfon 1ncn. LILO only way nov
was to blow out. aud thus ....
FoncE THE COAL MEN DOWN.
They would come down if the iron mon stoppot
buying coal, It would not bo long before Inos
SouId find out good coke somewhere else thal
1T ConnellByitle, whcre 1t could bo transported
cleaply to tho East.
Mr. Denuot. thought. thas Pennsylvania wor''
Eccp her rauk as tho ,,reat iron btato, aud trans
oortption would settle itself; but, Just nov
Pennsylvania n,anufacturora seem to DO lcttlnl
things 80 loosely, This cual combination was
pressure on tho trade, and should bo relieved.
slr, Thomas. who represented q coal Oh we'll q
T. ptg-igon district Aaid TINT tho arrangemeu
among tho cunl 1neu was wlint Il
thought tho iron mon ought to make
It Sas q mistake to stato thai tho iro
non had TO TO Imposed upon, aud tho policy 0
roaI.mcu had done. Ito saw no other romod
THAN to
BLOW OUT soME or THE FURNACES.
Mr.. Moorhoasl Haid ho had two furnaces in blas!
both running since tue LIT Of April last. QUO Q
bis Tine. From the lst Of April to the l4th .
DO repr,eaaontsa5 5,n made a121o tons st who
would 30 out Of blast II there waa no improve
nacut. lle iusendoa to blow out, no lnatter whit
tho meeting did.
Mr. Aiucy then offered d
SERIES or nEsoLuTIoHB,
which we're adopted, as follows:
esoltd, That II uust 10 selfeyIdcnt to Ill fusnac
nwrers ttat tho largo reduction in thu ,te,naAd Il
consumption OF piH.ron imperativtly dea,allda Gu
responding reduction Ia tile amount proallccd+ ~
Tint continuance Of thu present over-rfoanctit
cannot full to result 1u accomplishing tho ruin ot Il
trade.
Its0lstd, That It Ia tho opinion OF ths meeting tl
m oIrnest effort ought to 10 immediately laso to
eompliA1 lhD reduction of tho u,akeo pg.)ron. an
With thia Wow. commltteu 10 appointed to deYl
loino l1an tn Tint end,
Itcsosrtd, That tho Chairman pro tenn. Of the pl
rou 4ranch Of tue Amosisan Irots aud steet Asaoe
n.anufactnrors Of tho country, ut Tho roons of L
Association, Oh Thursday, Dec. ~, 1874, at II oco
/. IN.
Retolptd, Tint Corn1nittne in earh Of tho leyea
strcss classified In tho List Ut irun~worka lo uppo!I
vi 10 wait upon the fnrlac0ownera t1ereit aud ur
lhtlr attsudanco ut tho general meeting and uHcera
the nantA Of tIose not able to Attcul.
Tho Chairman appointod as tho Commit.
nanod T. tue resolution TUG following gontl
Knufmanu, Colunb!h; q. A. Whitaker, Home
tam; J. y. Moorload, Philadelphia; G. Da,