The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-05-04
PUDDAEI:S' WAGES.
The Situation at The Iron Mills,

The Situation at The Iron Mills.
Pittsburgh Evening Telegraph.
A Telegraph reporter this morning
called on leading iron manufacturer, to
ascertain whether The contract existing
between the Iron Association and the
Boilers Union, which expires on the 4lh
OF June, would be renewed for another
year, and ii not, what the effect Of its
disContinuOnce would be. The manuiac.
turer very freely and fully expressed his
opinions on the situation, which can no
doubt be taken as the views OF Pittsburgh
manufacturers generally. He very EN-.
phatically asserted that the existing
compact would not he renewed, and said
that the committee that entered into the
arrangement last year would never be
rccouvcned. There was no provision for
acontinuance Of the compact beyond the
date above specified, and Of course il
it were not renewed it would fall 10 the
ground. This, however, would not pre-,
vent individual manufacturers from pay.
ing five dollars per ton for boiling after
the expiration Of the contract by limita,
ton, and il any one wanted to pay six
dollars that was his own affair. In his
opinion, however, the mills could not all
continue in operation and pay that rate
for boiling iron. There were not suiEi.
cient orders coming in to Justify all, the
mills to run, and he predicted that sever.
al would shut down in the near future
Besides" he said, at costs the Pitts.
burgh manufacturer TOO much for labor
TO meet the market with his product. For
instance, he gets only cent and hall
per pound, or thirty dollars per ton, for
bar iron, certain percentage OF which
belongs 10 the raw material, certain
percentage 10 the labor, a certain per.
centage TO the capital invested, and so on
Now while the raw material is az low M
it ever was, yet when you take the cost Of
the raw material out Of that thirty dol.
lars per ton, and then take out what il
costs for labor 10 work mp that raw ma.
terial, it will be found that the proper
ton is not equitable, the cost OF the labor
being entirely loo high, and the result is
that nothing is eft the manufacturer for
the use Of his machinery and Tor interest
on his capital invested.
"a comparison Of the prices Of iron
and Of boiling now and before the war;
said the gentleman, will show the dis.
proportion between them. In ante.war
times, bar iron brought two cents per
pound, while but S. 50 and So rs were
paid Tor boiling; while now, as stated
before, SIS 90 is paid for boiling and only
one and n half cents per pound obtained
for the product. Notwithstanding thil
disproportionate advance in labor, all
the various improvements that have beer
made in furnaces and the additions,
facilities introduced during and since
the war have been TO the advantage o.
labor. Ihavc been in the iron business
he continued, "since 1850, and l neve,
sold any bar iron for less than two cents
per pound until within the past yeal
during the existence Of the contract tc
pay the boilers So 90 per ton, and l may
say generally that during the present
year iron has been sold lower in thu
market than ever before. While boilers
arc getting S. 90 per ton here, thu
prices paid in the East range from
s. rs TO 81 2j, thus enabling East.
ern manufacturers 10 obtain the
trade that properly belongs &c
Pittsburgh, Why nails have been ship.
ped through this city to Western markets
10 Chicago, St. Louis and elsewhere, and
sold below any price at which manufac-
turers here could produce them and have
literally taken the Western markets
away from us. tits ashort.sighted policy
on the part Of the boilers to keep up the
prices OF their labor 10 such an unreason.
able height in such times. 1t would be
far better for them TO take certain per
centage OF the profits, and not drive trade
away from Pittsburgh. It is true that
manufacturers in western localities pay
the same prices that We do, but that il
simply because ours are taken as a critic.
rion. II prices were reduced here cor.
responding reduction would follow
throughout the West. The prices paid
for rolling and heating in bar mills il
likewise too high, being from ten to
twenty cents higher per ton than what is
paid in the East. At the present rate,
sixty.five cents per ton, bar rollers can
make from 81 to SO per day."
From all the above, it is apparent
that il the manufacturers views are to
be accepted, the outlook for the iron